If Dutch musician Hans Theessink never picked up a guitar, he would still be well worth a listen. Stories like the first time he met Townes Van Zandt or what it was like to work on a music project with Dolly Parton, Donovan and Arlo Guthrie reel a crowd in.
“I’m just a white boy lost in the blues,” Theessink told the full house at Harmony House Concerts Sunday evening and then he picked up a guitar and showed exactly what he meant. Mercury Blues by David Lindley led off the first set but soon Hans moved on to tunes by the old masters like Lightnin’ Hopkins.
“I remember hearing Townes play this one at Kerrville,” Theessink said about the song by Hopkins.
Soon Hans moved on to material by Leadbelly, a gifted 12-string bluesman credited with writing Midnight Special.
“I had forgotten about this song until I heard Kurt Cobain do a very good version,” Theesink told the group before churning out a special cover of Leadbelly’s In the Pines.
Other crowd favorites seemed to be the Rufus Thomas classic, Walkin' The Dog, and Maybelline by Chuck Berry. Hans also moved the audience with a seamless rendition of Freight Train Blues, writtten by Derroll Adams, a five-string banjo man that developed a loyal following in Europe and never returned to America.
Some people have a way of visualizing the vein of genius that runs through the most influential artists of any genre and years of immersion in the blues have made Theessink a valuable link to this style of music long identified with the American South. His guitar prowess and strong vocals make Hans one of the most highly sought after blues artists touring today and he recently played at the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma, along with Steve Earl, Slaid Cleves and Arlo Guthrie…creating more great memories to go along with Hans’ fond recollections of European tours with Van Zandt.
After the Sunday performance in Bonham, Theessink is off to Houston for one night and then he has a special evening planned in Austin when he will be joined by Asleep At The Wheel’s Cindy Cashdollar at the Cactus Café on Wednesday, July 28.
Blues fans in the North Texas area can catch Hans on Friday, July 30 at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse at Northpark Presbyterian Church in Dallas. For more information, visit www.unclecalvins.org
