Under the motto 'Migration, engine of musical renewal', concert series Old Roots New Routes charts the latest developments of a vital Dutch music scene during this 5th edition. A subculture in which musicians from all corners of the world find a second home, take a third way, and 'walk new roads from old roots'.
Mokum Music Map
Saturday 25 October | Amstelkerk Amsterdam
Stan Rijven (NL): lecture; Nihad Hrustanbegovic (B&H/NL): accordion
On Saturday 25 October, pál before Amsterdam's 750th anniversary, programmer and music journalist Stan Rijven opens the concert series with the lecture Mokum Music Map, mapping Mokum's music & migration history in a bird's eye view.
'Although the city is centuries old, it remained eternally young through constant renewal - mainly thanks to the crucial contributions of migrants. Each time, they provide Amsterdam's musical life with new impulses. Mokum & Muziek form the A- & B-side of a record that may have been running for 750, but has certainly been running for 400 years,' says Rijven.
Thus, migrants introduce the carillon, the barrel organ and the accordion that we so naturally associate with Mokum today. Think of the Jordaanlied, the fusion of Italian canzone napoletana with French musette; or the Paramaribop that blossomed in the Bijlmer. Together, they compose the driving soundtrack of a cosmopolitan port city that - precisely thanks to migration - is constantly transforming and integrating.
On a 'typical' Amsterdam instrument, Bosnian-born maestro accordionist Nihad Hrustanbegovic provides this lecture with appropriate footnotes, including the world premiere (!) of his own ode to Amsterdam 750. In addition to this guest appearance, Hrustanbegovic will give a solo concert in Amsterdam for the first time in years on 17 January 2026.
'One of the best accordionists in the world' (Erik Voermans, Het Parool)
Hamid Reza Behzadian - Blues for Leila
Za 15 November | Amstelkerk, Amsterdam
Hamid Reza Behzadian (IR/NL): diatonic harmonica, Indian slide guitar, dobro, vocals; Pouriya Jaberi (IR/NL): bendir, daf; Suresh Sardjoe (IN/NL): tabla.
Iranian-Dutch slide guitarist Hamid Reza Behzadian will open the concert series on 15 November. Hamid's soul-cutting harmonica recalls the legendary film Once Upon a Time in the West, his unhinged guitar playing to forgotten country blues heroes. Born in Iran, active in the Netherlands since 2011, he is developing his own route. Drawing on three sources of inspiration - Persian folk, Indian ragas and American blues - Hamid creates a new blues biotope. He interweaves his eventful life story with sublime improvisations on slide guitar and diatonic harmonica; with subtle percussion accentuated by two accompanists on bendir, daf and tabla. "Nothing short of breathtaking, and stunning in its simplicity" according to a review of Hamid's debut CD Blues for Leila (2025).
The series will continue from January (see playlist below).
The concerts in Amsterdam will be introduced by Stan Rijven. Afterwards, visitors will have the opportunity for an informal 'meet & greet' with all the musicians.
Information on all concerts and tickets: www.oldrootsnewroutes.nl
Old Roots New Routes
Since 2017, the Old Roots New Routes concert series has provided a stage in intimate semi-acoustic settings for musicians from elsewhere who have settled in the Netherlands and embarked on adventurous crossovers here. All this provided with a historical context through lectures and introductions.
Music as antidote: with the programme of this fifth edition, Old Roots New Routes connects to current events by offering hope and connection through music with a range of personal stories that resonate in the individual concerts. The programming and organisation of Old Roots New Routes is in the hands of Sonja Heimann and Stan Rijven. This 5th edition comes about with financial contributions from, among others, Cultuurfonds and Stadsherstel Amsterdam.
