Dutch singer/guitarist Loes van Schaijk ("Lucy") and Czech singer/fiddler Honza Bartošek (“Johnny”) are not your typical “girl-with-guitar, boy-with-fiddle duo.” Smack dab in the center of continental Europe with their ears and hearts wide open, Loes and Honza manage to thoroughly confuse the algorhythms of music streaming sites with their eclectic taste in music. Honza has a PhD in computer science and plays everything from Moravian folklore to electro-acoustic experimental music; Loes was born an “old soul” and grew up searching for “music that feels like home,” even though she did not yet know where and when “home” might be. 

 

Loes and Honza met through their shared love of progressive bluegrass music, bonded over cheesy golden oldies and the weirdness that came out of the ‘70s, then brushed up on their trad and pub songs when they joined the ranks of house musicians at The Irish Times Bar and The Dubliner in Prague. 

 

Honza’s groovy fiddle playing, Loes’s impeccable phrasing, and their two powerful and flexible voices reveal progressive bluegrass, Irish and Scottish trad, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Fleetwood Mac as their main influences—with a splash of jazz added to the mix. Their songs of comfort and confusion have catchy choruses as well as some features that merit repeated listening sessions: ambiguous lyrics, irregular rhythms, and unexpected chord changes. The most common review about Loes’s solo album All I Ever Really Seem To Say (2021) is that it “got stuck in the car’s CD player”; similarly, people who drop into the Irish bar for just one pint when Loes and Honza are playing often find themselves five pints later wondering where the time went.

 

Though Loes & Honza can still be considered a “hidden gem” playing mostly to smaller audiences, their original work has already won them prizes at several music festivals, including the renowned Czech Porta (2021), Sofia Singer Songwriter Fest in Bulgaria (2022), and CZ-PL Fest in Poland (2022). Judges and audiences praised their beautifully blending vocal harmonies, tight arrangements, intricate songwriting, and their authentic interaction with the audiences through their charming personalities.

​