Billy Bragg

The British songwriter Billy Bragg was inspired by the punk of The Clash and the commitment of Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. In the 1980s he was one of the voices of socialism in Thatcher's England with songs such as A New England, The Milkman of Human Kindness and The Man with the Iron Mask. In 1991 he scored another hit with Sexuality. Just like Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg has mastered the art of capturing the spirit of the times in a song without becoming melancholic. Entertainment guaranteed.

But Bragg is more than music, he is a role model, including in the fight against the extreme right, where he often personally stands on the barricades. In 2010 he refused to pay taxes again in protest against the payment of bonuses at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Paul Morley of The Guardian describes Billy Bragg as “a formidable, inquisitive and globetrotting combination of storyteller, historian, activist, father, enthusiast, pilgrim, entertainer, minstrel, humorist, rambler, sermoniser and scholar, he's always got a point of view, a word of wisdom, a rigorous insight, a calming thought, an inspiring idea, a brilliant punchline, whatever it is I'm asking him about.”

SUPPORT: MARC WETZELS

Marc Wetzels (COEM, boyShouting), whose roots lie in Limburg, is at home in many worlds. You may know him as boyShouting with which he has already released one solo album, which he put together with the help of about 100 shareholders who financed the record and received a unique song in return. Or does COEM ring a bell? He will perform no less than twice this year with this idiosyncratic collective: the 'Not A Single Collection', to be released on May 5, a sort-of-best-of compiled by Dirk Steenhaut (journalist), Zjakki Willems (radio maker) and Luc Waegeman (label manager) and offered on the band's site entirely according to the rules of DIY. Their 6th studio album will be released in the fall of 2012 and the band will be back on the road. In support of Billy Bragg, he will perform a set with songs from both. Stoffel Hias (COEM) supports him on guitar.