By Marc Loison 
From Heerlen in the Netherlands, Robbert Duijf blends Delta blues, gospel and folk. The singer and guitarist, who won the European Blues Challenge in 2024, shares the stage with his son Rubin on double bass. Before his July 23 performance on the Forest Stage in Brezoi, Romania, he spoke with Marc Loison about his influences, family, simplicity and the stories behind his songs.
Robbert Duijf is a Dutch singer, guitarist and songwriter from Heerlen, in the province of Limburg. With a passion for traditional blues, he draws inspiration from Robert Johnson and Charley Patton, blending Delta blues, gospel and folk. His acoustic fingerpicking and slide guitar accompany a warm, expressive voice. Whether performing solo or with the Robbert Duijf Band, which includes his son Rubin on double bass, he champions an authentic, stripped-back approach to the blues. After winning the Dutch Blues Challenge as a solo artist in 2019 and with his band in 2023, he won the European Blues Challenge in 2024. His albums Change Myself (2023) and Silver Spoon (2025) were both named Best Dutch Blues Album of their respective years.
🎙️ Robbert Duijf in conversation with Marc Loison
How much do the awards you have received mean to you, particularly your victory at the European Blues Challenge in 2024?
They matter because they help your music career. Both my albums were named Best Dutch Blues Album. It’s really nice when people appreciate what you do. It feels good and gives you confidence in your playing. But ultimately, it’s still an award. Even if I hadn’t won, I would still make music. I would play even if nobody came to the shows. I just want to make music. But if people enjoy it, that’s really great!
In 2025, in Split, you experienced the other side of the competition as a member of the European Blues Challenge jury. What was that like?
It’s really difficult because you have to judge someone else. In a music competition, that’s a delicate thing. There is always something good to take away! One of the questions that comes up is whether a performance really is blues.
You can say, “This is more blues than that…” But you have to look at the bigger picture, because the music is getting older. We need to bring new sounds into the blues to make it appealing to young people again. If there’s hip-hop in a blues band, a rapper for example, it’s still blues. For me, being a judge was the hardest part. People are counting on you; they want to be nice to you because they want to win.
When we won in Braga, I wasn’t expecting it at all. My son wanted to win! But I had come to present my music and show people that there are good blues bands in the Netherlands.
“I wanted to play music for myself.”
Which musicians shaped your style?
I didn’t start out with the blues. I was a heavy metal guitarist for a very long time. Then I got older, and music took on a different role in my life. When my first son was born, I stopped playing in bands: I needed to be there for him.
I got into playing blues because I loved it. It wasn’t that I had never heard it before, but I wanted to play music for myself. Not for an audience, just for me. I started listening to Robert Johnson and Charley Patton.
Listening to Charley Patton opened a door. I was hooked straight away. Today, he is the biggest influence on my music. Later, I listened to Dave Van Ronk. That’s more folk, but I love him. He is another major influence. But it all started with Charley Patton.
Sincerity is central to your approach. How do you distinguish between an emotion that moves you and one that feels manufactured?
I’m not going to name names, but I think we all know when we watch an artist whether they move us or not. It’s personal. They might be on a different frequency. It might not be your frequency, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good.
I prefer to be honest. Sometimes my musicians don’t like it, because I tell stories on stage that we shared an hour earlier, or in the car. Blues and folk are about life, about lived experience, and that’s what I talk about. I don’t try to invent a story: if I tell something in a song, it’s because it happened to me at some point.
That’s what I try to do on stage: be no different from who I am off stage. I’m just myself.
“It’s one of the things I’m proudest of: that one of my sons wants to play in my band.”
Your son Rubin plays double bass with you. What does sharing the stage with him mean to you?
I’m very honoured that he wants to play bass on my music. I play with him every day, or almost every day. It’s one of the things I’m proudest of in life: that one of my sons wants to play in my band.
I’m lucky, because I have another son who is a drummer. He’s starting to play a really good shuffle, a rhythm that gets your backside moving. I’m honoured that they want to make music.
They listen to all kinds of music, but they say, “When I play with you, Dad, it’s simple music, easy to play along with. It’s not easy to interpret this music, but you can latch onto it. You can hold on and create something.” They’re starting to understand that, and it’s really great!
You believe in music that brings people together and makes them feel good. How much can it achieve in today’s world?
It can’t solve everything, but it can achieve a lot. Yesterday, here in Brezoi, there were so many smiling faces when the music was playing. Everyone gets on the same wavelength and thinks about love. As long as there isn’t too much alcohol, of course! But nobody is trying to hurt anyone else.
Different cultures can play together. That’s what blues is: all cultures playing together. There was yodelling in the blues yesterday. It’s that whole mixture. You can do a lot with music, but it can’t solve every problem. Kindness… Let’s start there!
You play blues and gospel. Do you also see yourself as a preacher?
I think I do preach. My wife says I preach! I try to do it through blues songs. I try to tell people that they should be kind to one another and simply live in the moment. That’s what I try to get across.
How do you bring blues and gospel together in your music?
I just put them together. It’s funny, because blues often talks about naughty things, devilish things. Whereas gospel blues is always about the good side of things. It’s about choosing between good and evil, and that’s what I do, I think.
“Just a beat and a groove.”
In Fools Parade, you champion a kind of simplicity. Is keeping things simple difficult in such a complicated world?
I try to make music as simple as possible. Just a beat and a groove. The world is very complicated, though.
It’s funny that you chose that song, because it’s one of my favourites! I think it’s the best song I’ve ever written. For me, anyway: I don’t know what other people think.
It’s about an Irishman who told me lots of stories and lots of positive things about life. I did a few tours in Ireland, five years in a row. I played there for a week each year. He acted as a kind of manager. He always used to tell me, “Robbert, just play your music. Keep it simple. And it’s all for the fun of it anyway…”
What message did you want to get across with that song?
You only live once. When you mess up in life, because we all mess up eventually, we’re human… We make mistakes; it’s in our nature, and it doesn’t matter. The Irish say, “It’s all for the fun of it anyway.”
Tomorrow is another day. You can try again. You can try to mess everything up again, or you can try to do something good. That’s the hidden message of the song.
What we’re doing here is a fools’ parade. The world is a fools’ parade. It’s a stage. Politics is a stage. War is a stage. Everything is a stage. But you can simply be here, live in the moment and be kind to others. That’s the message!
Your singing on Fools Parade reminds me of Bruce Springsteen, particularly Nebraska. Is he an influence?
I see what you mean. I don’t listen to Bruce Springsteen all that much, so I wasn’t trying to imitate him. But you’re not the first person to tell me that. You’re probably right, though.
What message would you like to share with our listeners?
Just be kind. Try to find the other person’s frequency.
We’re here at the Brezoi Blues Festival. What makes this festival special to you?
I had heard so much about it, and I really wanted to play here. I’m proud to be part of the line-up. The bill, the artists performing here… It’s incredible!
It’s a really special place. The setting here in Romania is beautiful. The people are very kind. There’s a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere, with no pressure. It’s fantastic, right in the middle of nature!
Festivals are also places where musicians meet. Which artists would you like to share the stage with?
I’m a guitarist, but with a different style. I’d love to share the stage with Dave Van Ronk, if that were possible. Or with Doug McLeod. It’s a different style of blues. Or with Peter Kern.
That would be great, and I think it will happen one day. We see each other often. But on a big stage, with an electric guitar… I’m an acoustic guitarist! Don’t ask me to do that!
