If the weather holds they will be playing outdoors in the the garden and David will also do a BBQ; if the weather is not so good we will be indoors - but who will care!
Below is their biography:
As befits a true circus, there is always something going on with Bradley's Circus. Namesake Mattanja Joy Bradley won't be performing the well-known trick, where the beautiful magician's assistant is sawn in half. Nor will harmonica player Lidewij Veenhuis, be preparing blindfolded to face the dreaded knife thrower. Nevertheless, these roots and Americana band comes closest to a so-called medicine show from the days of the Wild West, when various remedies were promoted to the assembled audience in between all kinds of circus acts. Prescription: four times daily. Shake before use.
Always hungry for travels and adventures, this band is a guarantee for unique experiences. For instance there was a false start on their first tour in the U.S. (three in total). Initially Mattanja and guitarist André van den Boogaart were in succession handcuffed, imprisoned and deported because of incorrect visas. Then after a journey through hell with the authorities, all the necessary arrangements were finally in place, and the band ended up in the world's most soulful city of New Orleans. The music is just as spicy a mix as the famous gumbo, the local dish. With producer John Snyder - good for five Grammies - they recorded the album Bang Bang Wa Wee's in the Dockside Studio of BB King fame (Maurice, Louisiana). That curious title can be attributed to the shooting of ‘holes in the air’ with a real gun in a parking lot after a visit to a rednecks bar.
After Bang Bang Wa Wee’s another album recorded in the U.S. followed: Kickin' But Not High. The title was taken from a saying typically used by a good friend of the band, actor Earl Maddox, who sadly passed away in 2013. They befriended him via the American singer-songwriter Grayson Capps. When Maddox, man of many one-liners, to whom this album is dedicated, was asked how he was, he habitually replied ‘I'm kickin' but not high.’
The album launch party in New Orleans felt like liberation for Bradley's Circus, which over the years has built a special relationship with the locals. The people in the songs on the three studio albums of Bradley's Circus (all released on their own Lizzy Records) also actually exist. Now they want to focus on Europe as well, headed by Germany. ‘We are a real live band, very intense,’ articulates Mattanja. ‘We never rock on autopilot. You have to really feel music and get into it, to be able to communicate.’ In their native Netherlands the band has already been honoured with five nominations at the Dutch Blues Awards. Individually, by now Mattanja has won that award for best singer.
Line-up:
Mattanja Joy Bradley: guitar, vocals
Lidewij Veenhuis: harmonica
Beewee Nederkoorn: drums
André van den Boogaart: guitar, vocals
Joris Verbogt: contrabass
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