After writing a Master thesis on the bluegrass music community in the Netherlands (which, for lack of written sources, was based mainly on interviews), Loes revisited many of her sources and, this time, brought photographer Marieke Odekerken with her.

 

In 2015, she published the book. There are about 100 physical copies still left, which you can buy directly from Loes. Or you can read it online, for free, on this page!

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How do you explain to somebody that you just like the sound of the banjo, even though your peers frown upon it and there is no direct link to your national/cultural heritage? Laurens Joensen gets right to the core:

 

"My love of bluegrass music started before I even knew it existed. [...] I had always had this premonition there had to be some sort of music with fast violins and banjos. It's like you see somebody in the distance you like, but you don't approach him just yet, because you're busy doing other things."  

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Is this same message repeated in the other 55 stories? Flip through the pages of the e-book in the PDF-viewer below, enjoy Marieke Odekerken's beautiful photography and get acquainted with nearly a hundred individuals who love feeling "high lonesome below sea level."