Student Myrthe van Dok will be performing alongside the professionals. Photo Sjoert Bakker Not much culture in Wageningen? Not true! If you keep an eye out, you will notice people all around you are making music, giving poetry readings, taking photographs or designing clothes. In this feature Resource gives WUR’s creatives a podium. This time: Myrthe van Dok (artistic name: Mips), who is performing at the Singer-songwriter festival in Cultura in Ede on 27 January.
Myrthe van Dok (22) is busy: she’s in the second year of her Master’s in Biology, she’s writing her thesis, working as a student assistant, chairing Popculture Wageningen and writing songs. Tonight, Resource can have a word with her just before an open mike night in the Bblthk, where she’s singing one of her songs. ‘It’s called Coastline,’ she says. Like a true Wageninger, Myrthe gets most of her inspiration from nature. ‘I’m working now on an album about water. Coastline is about the waves. They come and go, bringing shells to the beach or pulling them off it again. The idea is that everything is transitory, both good things and bad things.’
This open podium in the library is informal and anyone can present something. Myrthe is performing as Mips, with songs she wrote herself. Later this month she can be seen and heard at the Singer-songwriter Festival in Cultura. She sees that as a great honour. ‘I got a place at this festival thanks to a performance last year. Singer-songwriters from all around the country come to Cultura, and there is even one from the UK.
Being an amateur among the pros feels big
Some are famous or really up-and-coming.’ The line-up includes Jana Mila, Marise and Benedict Cork. So: Saturday 27 January in Cultura. Tickets for the festival (10 euros) can be bought online on Cultura’s website. Mips will be the first act, and she’s looking forward to it. ‘I’ve performed quite a lot, but being an amateur among the pros is more nerve-racking. It feels big.’
27-01-2024 Singer-songwriter Festival | Cultura Ede (Molenstraat 45) | @cultura | 19:00 – 23:00
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