Roland & The Space Cowboys

There is good reason why Roland Van Campenhout is dubbed Ghent’s primeval musician. The sound magician has been taking people on journeys into mysterious musical landscapes for over half a century. These landscapes are strewn with jungles of influences - deeply rooted in blues and folk, as well as jazz through his dad and grandad, psychedelic music and a good dollop of storytelling, big enough to make beatniks jealous. Roland is a purebred artist, a dying breed whose name easily ranks alongside the likes of Ry Cooder, Captain Beefheart, Rory Gallagher, Tom Waits as well as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.

It is no exaggeration to call Roland a living legend. Something he served ample proof of yet again in 2018 with 'Folksongs from a Non-Existing Land’, a record that takes listeners on a trip to an imaginary world of infinite creativity. It is the music of a man who has travelled the world and pricked up his ears wherever he has landed, always on the lookout for new ideas and impulses. It is the music of a man who knows what he is doing but does not pretend to know it all. It is music that oozes curiosity, transparency and restlessness. Gent Jazz is putting Roland Van Campenhout in the most beautiful garden of his beloved hometown: a must-see home game he has already won.