Rowan Rheingans

Rowan Rheingans is an accomplished fiddler, renowned banjo player, composer, theatre maker and audio producer. Her music has a way of hitting you right in the heart. Known for her much-loved groups Lady Maisery and The Rheingans Sisters, she’s won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and earned six nominations. With The Rheingans Sisters, she was shortlisted in 2019 for Best Duo/Band.

Her debut theatre piece, Dispatches on the Red Dress, co-written with Liam Hurley, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won a Fringe First Award, while also being nominated for the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh and the Filipa Braganca Award. In 2021, Rowan received the Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers.

Those who’ve seen her onstage with Lady Maisery know that Rowan has a gift for captivating audiences. As a solo artist, she’s equally compelling. Her music combines rich, warm textures with refined storytelling, taking you into a world where tradition and modern influences blend in perfect harmony.

Derroll 100

From Portland, Derroll Adams landed in Brussels in 1958 with his banjo, his tales of the American West, and a simple philosophy: music belongs to no one, it’s bohemian, it travels. Steeped in California beat culture, he drifted his way to EXPO ’58 before settling in Brussels and Antwerp. He would never leave. Derroll Adams inspired generations of musicians with his deep voice, the gentle sound of his banjo and his raw authenticity. A century after his birth, his wandering, poetic spirit still echoes through the streets where he lived. This November 2025, we celebrate the life of this legendary cowboy-hatted banjo player.

To mark this extraordinary centenary, we’re presenting a series of unique, free lunchtime concerts at MIM (Musical Instruments Museum). Each invited artist carries forward Derroll Adams’ legacy in their own way. On the program: the gritty blues of Roland Van Campenhout and Nils de Caster, the captivating sounds of American troubadour Cahalen Morrison, British multi-instrumentalist Rowan Rheingans, and the luminous koras of Senegalese masters Malick Pathé Sow and Bao Sissoko, building bridges between Mali and the Mississippi. Lunchtime concerts as interludes, packed with authenticity and rich in musical encounters. Here we blur boundaries, let genres roam and forge our own paths just as Derroll Adams loved to do.

Alongside the concerts, you can discover an exhibition in Brussels (MIM) and Antwerp (Vleeshuis Museum) that traces the life, philosophy and remarkable influence Derroll Adams had on the contemporary folk and country scene. The exhibition unveils personal archives specially made available by his widow, Danny Levy. A deep dive into the intimate life of a man who crisscrossed folk cafés and stages.

4 free concerts at MIM to feel why the soul of this gentle, rebellious troubadour-storyteller still hovers over today’s folk music.

Derroll Adams in the Petite Rue des Bouchers – © F.Hellinckx