DUYSTER. festival - Sophia + Jake Xerxes Fussell + Camille Camille + more tba

Last year, DUYSTER. and Cactus together closed the 25th year of the legendary radio program with a festival curated by Ayco and Eppo in Cactus Club. A sold-out edition full of beautiful people and one by one beautiful concerts made us decide: it would be a shame to keep it to one edition. So we also end 2026 with a wintry Sunday full of dreamy, dark, and adventurous music. Ayco presents and Eppo plays his favorite DUYSTER.-records between the concerts in Cactus Café. First names! SOPHIA - 30Y FIXED WATER + DUYSTER. CLASSICS SET Since the mid 90’s, Sophia has been the musical project of the American singer-songwriter Robin Proper-Sheppard. His deeply personal lyrics and music that oscillates between stunning intimacy and vast rock make Sophia a fixed value in the DUYSTER.-canon and a beloved live band. Especially for DUYSTER. Festival, Sophia plays the debut album ‘Fixed Water’ in its entirety, which turns 30 this year, supplemented with songs that found their way to the DUYSTER.-playlist throughout the years. For one time, and then never again. Dear all! I am incredibly happy to announce that Sophia will be performing our only full-band show of 2026 (some might even call it a ‘worldwide exclusive’) at DUYSTER. Festival. As many of you know, Sophia has had a very long relationship with the wonderful DUYSTER. (and Ayco’s ever-faithful listeners/fans/friends) and I can’t wait to be able to perform Fixed Water for you all — an album many of you still so kindly continue to vote into DUYSTERS.’s yearly Top 100 even 30 years after release! (That just blows my mind. And I mean that sincerely. It just blows my mind…) The evening is being titled ‘30Y Fixed Water + DUYSTER. Classics Set’ and believe me, I am already dreaming up the set of ‘classics’ we can build purely from all of the songs (17 in total!) that DUYSTER. have included in their program over the years. Some of these songs we haven’t played in 15-20 years, and I am loving the opportunity to be able to bring them to you with our Sophia 2.0 line-up — now also considered ‘classic’ in its own right. The atmospheric subtleties and nuance these guys bring to Sophia’s older material alongside the depth and weight they've added to our more recent music still never ceases to amaze me and I hope you'll join us for what I hope will be an evening of pure DUYSTER. beauty. Much love, Robin Band: Robin Proper-Sheppard Jeff Townsin Sander Verstraete Jesse Maes Bert Vliegen + guest musicians tbc JAKE XERXES FUSSELL The Georgia-born Jake Xerxes Fussell is the bold knight of the American folksong. In his songs, mostly reinterpretations of forgotten pearls from the folk tradition of the 19th and 20th century, the love for the source material is tangible. With his warm voice and guitar playing full of feeling, Fussell gives those melodies and lyrics from a distant past a timeless character. For his most recent album When I’m Called (2024), he received assistance from a beautiful selection of American indie and folk musicians, among whom Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), Blake Mills and Joan Shelley. CAMILLE CAMILLE Camille Camille is the musical project of the Belgian singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary artist Camille Willemart. Her music is vulnerable, but possesses a quiet power and is characterized by her intimate songwriting and delicate, atmospheric sound. Thereby, Camille Camille is influenced by the folk tradition and the work of artists like Josephine Foster and Robbie Basho. With her intimate folk songs, Camille Camille pulls her audience onto her lap for a concert that radiates warmth, authenticity, and security.