Concert: Waylon: This Is Our Night @ TivoliVredenburg Utrecht

The name Waylon may not ring a bell for everyone. But most Dutch people will at least know who he is. If you're a fan of Eurovision you may remember him as well. But maybe just not his name. He was the male half of The Common Linnets, the country duo that ended up in second place (behind Conchita Wurst) with their song Calm After The Storm at Eurovision 2014 in Copenhagen. He was the guy with the big hat. In The Netherlands we have known him ever since he first auditioned for Holland's Got Talent in 2008 with 'It's a man's, man's, man's world' by James Brown.

After Eurovision Waylon soon left The Common Linnets and proceeded to work on his solo career. Recently he released a new EP called Seeds. Which is a collection of songs inspired by different artists and genres. In support of this EP Waylon is currently touring through The Netherlands with his This Is Our Night tour. February 25th he played a show at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. I was lucky to score a ticket and finally see Waylon in concert, something that has been high on my list for a while now.

The crowd didn't gather around very early, so before the show started I managed to score a great spot at the front against the stage. Right in front of Waylon's guitar player Stefan Siwabessy. Unfortunately I couldn't find a setlist anywhere and I didn't write down which songs were played exactly. The show started right on time with 'Seeds', the title song of his last EP. 'Seeds' is a great reggae track that made for a great opener of the show. A few songs later the crowd really got going when they played 'Happy Song', a single from Waylon's first album 'Wicked Ways'. Waylon himself seemed in good spirits throughout the show. Making a few jokes here and there, even making fun of a fan in the crowd who was yawing at some point.

Musically the show was amazing as well. Waylon was vocally as strong as usual. With a great band behind him it made for an amazing show. All the songs you would expect to hear from Waylon were present. The only I missed was his single 'The Escapist' from his second album. Effortlessly they went from one genre to another. Soul, country, reggae, it was all present and it all sounded just as good. During the breakdown in crowd favorite 'Wicked Ways' (probably his most familiar song) there was a little mix up. But effortlessly charming and professional as Waylon is he easily managed to pick up where it went wrong and charmed the crowd in one go.

Before the song 'Jailbreak' (also from
his 'Seeds' EP) he held a small speech about the past 3 years. Referring to (but not outright mentioning) his falling out with former bandmember Ilse DeLange (The Common Linnets). The song itself holds some clear references to her, so it was no surprise when he told the crowd that this was the subject of the song. Yet he did managed to keep it classy and didn't throw any dirt.

During the encore there was an extra surprise when he invited The Voice Of Holland winner Pleun Bierbooms onto the stage. Waylon was a coach on this season of The Voice Of Holland for the first time and Pleun was on his team and managed to win this season. Together they performed two songs. A beautiful rendition of 'Calm After The Storm' and his own song 'Giving Up Easy'.

As a fan of Waylon I started watching The Voice Of Holland as well this season. I became a big fan of Pleun, so to have her on stage with Waylon was a great bonus to an already amazing concert. All in all the crowd for the show was very diverse. There were a few teens close to me at the front of the stage, but I also saw many people closer to the age of 40. Which proves that Waylon and his music appeal to many different age groups.

All in all I can only say that Waylon played a fantastic show, proving once again that he's a seasoned performed. And that he clearly knows his strengths very well. Setting a great vibe with his humor it made for a pleasant experience for everyone present. The rest of the This Is Our Night Tour has been completely sold out, so there's no chance of seeing Waylon on this tour. But if you get the chance to see him, I would highly recommend going.

Waylon is playing his top 2000 of all times shows in Ahoy Rotterdam on 1 and 2 December. You can buy tickets here.