Biography
A few months ago, when we, graybeards of the Lokerse Feesten management, organized a poll among our employees, asking which artist or band we should bring to our stage, 91% of all volunteers put Merol at 3, at 2 but even more often at 1. That deserved further investigation and with an old cassette recorder in hand and a microphone in front of them, we asked everyone the why question. Nicole (52) praises her exemplary role, the empowerment of young girls is close to her heart and in Merol she sees the personification of guts and decisiveness. Near-namesake Merel (23) spontaneously sings some - we quote but hey - "fucking world songs because Merol songs are always world songs" like "Gemengde signalen", "Knaldrang" or "Hou je bek en bef me". Leslie (45), the mother of the soon-to-be-namesake, picks in and demonstrates her supple hips as she performs the choruses of "Krijg het er geil van" or "Foefsafari" with surprisingly steady key. Willy (58) is the man of security and answers nothing when we ask why he entered Merol three times. Indeed, his mouth full of teeth prevents him from saying anything but his eyes shine as hard as a nighttime runway. Bert (18) knows her from The Smartest Man in the World and praises her for no less than thirty things, he even lists all thirty of them, finishing with "And she can sing so beautifully too!". Finally, Pascale (28), whom all artists know from the excellent backstage restaurant, ignites a half-hour-long ode to CD "Troostprijs" (2022), while she rolls freshly made croquettes through egg whites, and to Merol herself, whom she considers the greatest Dutch-speaking phenomenon since Boudewijn De Groot and Bram Vermeulen. That way you can hear it all from someone else for a change. The Phenomenon plays at our house on Friday, August 4. A Friday rarely sells out.