BIOGRAPHY

Gumbo & The Monk take you on a musical journey through the history of the Blues. From the juke joints on Mississippi Delta cotton plantations to the big-city blues of Detroit and Chicago. With passionate vocals and intense slide guitar work, they revive the authentic sound of old blues.

To recreate this sound as faithfully as possible, they extensively use homemade (or modified) guitars, cigar box guitars, and primitive tube amplifiers. Gumbo immersed himself in the roots of the Blues and traveled multiple times to the southern United States to research, study, and experience its origins, traditions, and culture firsthand.

The Monk, born in southern Spain, was captivated from a young age by the raw emotion and devotion he recognized in the blues—echoing the spirit of flamenco. His sense of timing, expressive vocals, and charisma did not go unnoticed: Arrow Classic Rock even called him “top class Nederblues.” He’s had the honour of being the support act for his hero Eric Bibb, among others

In addition to several traditional songs, they play numbers by artists such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Jimmy Reed. Between the songs, they share brief stories and anecdotes about blues history, the tracks, and the instruments used.

Gumbo & The Monk were finalists at the Dutch Blues Challenge 2018 and have appeared at: Asser Bluesdagen, Red Light Jazz Amsterdam, Moorblues, Alkmaar Blues Weekend, Delft Blues Festival, Brielle Blues, Bluesroute Helmond, Blues in Wijk, Texel Blues, Smokin’ Guitars Festival (Germany), BSA Festival (France), CBG Days (Belgium). They also regularly perform in living room concerts, at blues dance parties, music cafés, and theatre venues.

“With their homemade instruments, they perhaps came closest to the true, authentic country blues.” – Cuby & The Blizzards Museum

“After an encore this beautiful blues performance ended in a standing ovation from the audience. Blues with a capital B!” – RTV Westerwolde

“Those two Dutchmen could just as well have come from Mississippi.” – Südkurier

“Gumbo & The Monk are true purists.” – Johan Derksen