The Black Flamingo road leads me to discover some great musicians, but also guides me towards some wonderful champions of the music. Jo kept gushing about the Rua Room, the brain child of Irish born artist and music lover Daithi Rua. He’s a singer-songwriter who grew tired of life on the road and turned into a music promoter by way of his home studio and YouTube channel, that features the cream of the crop in singer-songwriters from Belgium and beyond.
Every Monday night he hosts The Singer-Songwriter Show, a YouTube live-stream that features some amazing artists. It shows their (often very creative) music videos, or the live-sessions he records in his own studio. He’s created a beautiful community of musicians and music lovers who tune in every week to discover the sounds of some promising new or established artists, and everything in between.
The live chat feature is a great bonding tool for artists and fans alike. To me it’s pretty nostalgic, because it reminds me of the olden days of the Belgian music channels TMF and JimTV, that also featured a live chat while showing the music videos.
The two main differences being:
- The music is way better at the Rua Room than what was represented on those channels at the start of the 2000’s.
- The chats revolve all around the music and aren’t inundated with people looking for hook-ups. 🙂
Since discovering the channel, there have been some nice exchanges between artists that played the Rua Room who ended up at The Black Flamingo (above) and vice versa (below)! I’m sure there’s many more to follow in the not too distant future.
Aside from the online presence of the Rua Room, there is an offline component in the showcases Daithi puts on regularly. Yesterday, Jo and me got to experience one of those, Daithi’s birthday edition no less! And let me tell you, what an amazing afternoon it turned out to be.
Sunday May 26th, time for another Flamingo roadtrip ! From Mechelen via Nijlen, (Less than 12 hours after driving home from the Black Flamingo following a beautiful performance by the lovely Jana Nys aka Jana Jane, as seen above, and the lively and incomparable 5dayBoon.) and all the way to Eeklo central, where the festivities were to take place.
Along the way and arriving there, we were delighted with some torrential downpours. Minutes after the music started however, the sun came back, lured in by the tunes radiating from the Pingouin café. We got to meet the man of the hour for the first time, after getting to know him online. After a few moments of confusion as to ‘who the fuck these people were who gave him the gift’ and where Jo & Julie from the chat were, the penny dropped and a lively conversation ensued. Daithi has an incredible knack in finding the most amazing artists and gives them a three song set to woo their audience, with one performer ending the show with a six (or seven) song set.
We had the pleasure of discovering the live versions of Hondshaai, Bob Theil, Eves Garden, Allan Temple with the cherry on top of the (whipped cream) being Peter Arnout. Added benefit: the mandated and well respected silence while the artists did their thing! Amazing artists all (who deserve all the praise in their own right, but I have to stay on topic JUST A LITTLE), but Peter Arnout especially managed to sweep us completely off our feet. Jo and I sat entranced at the performance from our vantage point of the table right next to the stage.
Over the last year I followed the Red (Rua in Irish, fyi.) Thread of the music, which healed the burnout I had been going through and helped cure the grief in mourning the death of my father. Here I was again, transfixed on an artist he would have loved so much as well. I often call music my religion and in truth, this was the best religious experience one could ask for on a Sunday afternoon.
Peter is a story weaver, a man made for, and made up of music. After the set we had a chance to talk to shower him with well deserved compliments. (And beg him to please grace The Black Flamingo, because that place is made to showcase artists like this incredibly purple man.)
He told us the story of how he acquired his great love, the beautiful guitar that he seemed to be one with. An origin story of pure synchronicity, fate and love at first sight. If I ever get the chance (and work up the courage and find the right questions to ask) to interview this man, I would JUMP at the opportunity. I am sure he’d tell musical and artistic stories that could fill a(n anthology of) book(s).
So in short, any music lover should already be subscribed to the Songs of the Rua Room channel at the very least, try to catch up on a live-stream soon and plan their calendar around some of the showcases yet to follow. I promise you will not be disappointed!
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