Stukafest, the Rotterdam student-room festival, held its kick-off event at the Smitse on Wednesday. The evening started quietly and seemed just like any other night at our trusty Smitse. However, once the husky voiced singer Roos took the stage, that all changed.

More whisky than Ray Charles

This Amsterdam duo, Lars en Roos, played a variety of old blues and folk tunes in a way seldomly seen before in the Netherlands. Roos’ singing can only be likened to that of Ray Charles, if Ray Charles drank more whisky and smoked more cigarettes. Her incredibly low, growling voice and her classically trained guitarist brought a new atmosphere that the Smitse had not seen before. 

Stukafest stands for student-room festival. On the 12th of February twelve student rooms will be transformed into mini-stages hosting a variety of acts, from Canadian comedian Neil Robinson, to the Netherlands based punk band Orgaanklap. Visitors can buy tickets for three different shows in three different student rooms. The whole event will take place in the west of the city, so between acts Stukafest-ers will have a chance to get to the next venue.

After party

After all the festivities, there will be an after party at Rotown with DJ’s. The President of the Rotterdam Stukafest committee, Sofie Post (24, Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship masters student) claims that this is a great opportunity for students to be exposed to new forms of art and culture in a really accessible way, and of course, have a great time. DB

Tickets can be found at:

www.stukafest.nl/rotterdam

Find the band at:

https://www.facebook.com/larsenroos?fref=ts