The C2C Berlin Sit Down with Douwe Bob
Dutch singer-songwriter Douwe Bob recently unveiled his latest single, With You, blending his signature storytelling with an ever-evolving country-inspired sound. Ahead of his upcoming performance at C2C Berlin, we caught up with Douwe Bob to talk about the inspiration behind the new release and what fans can expect when he takes to the stage at one of Europe’s biggest country music festivals in just a few weeks time
Thank you Douwe for taking the time.
Of course. My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
We head over to Berlin for the festival each year and always have the best time. Are you ready for your C2C debut?
I haven’t been to the festival before, I’ve been to Berlin loads. This is going to be my first gig in Berlin ever too. I’ve been wanting to play there for a long time because it’s one of my favourite cities. I grew up in Amsterdam and I thought I was like a big city boy and then I came to Berlin for the first time and they put me in my place, obviously.
You have though played in Germany — I understand you did the Reeperbahn Festival.
Yeah, I did the Reeperbahn and then I did a show in Düsseldorf and I did a couple of shows. I’m in the charts there now too which is great. Things are starting to look good.
So is Germany a market you’re really trying to push into now?
Yeah, the cool thing about Germany is that they really love music. If you just look at the numbers, they still like buying music and listening to music. And country-wise they’re market leaders as well.
And they’re a very listening crowd as well, is what we’ve always found. Is that something you’ve found?
Very respectful. We have something in Holland called the Dutch disease — bands know it all over the world. The Dutch crowd tends to talk through music, talks over your music and over live performances and it’s totally not done in Germany.
No, not at all. It’s almost silent in some rooms.
The first couple of times I played it was kind of awkward for me. Like, why is everyone so quiet? And I’ve played England — you guys are amazing as well — but compared to Germany it’s almost Japanese quiet. Almost Japanese respect. It’s a lot of fun.
And you’ve obviously got a new single out as well. You released “With You” about two weeks ago now. Is it nice having new music and getting it heard in a new market so soon after release?
It’s awesome and “With You” is in the charts now in Germany as well, so that’s a lot of fun.
I understand it’s a track about your wife.
Yeah, it’s about my wife. She just left — I’m okay to tell! It’s about taking time for your loved ones, taking a step back and putting your phone down. f you look at the news now, I don’t know if the world is more on fire than it was twenty years ago, but everyone has a camera now. The fire is being filmed from every angle and it gets me down. I think this is the song I wanted to get out there and send some positive vibes — fuck all that shit. Put down your phone, forget about the news, hug your loved ones, be in the moment. It’s a little cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason!
Thank you Douwe for taking the time.
Of course. My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
We head over to Berlin for the festival each year and always have the best time. Are you ready for your C2C debut?
I haven’t been to the festival before, I’ve been to Berlin loads. This is going to be my first gig in Berlin ever too. I’ve been wanting to play there for a long time because it’s one of my favourite cities. I grew up in Amsterdam and I thought I was like a big city boy and then I came to Berlin for the first time and they put me in my place, obviously.
You have though played in Germany — I understand you did the Reeperbahn Festival.
Yeah, I did the Reeperbahn and then I did a show in Düsseldorf and I did a couple of shows. I’m in the charts there now too which is great. Things are starting to look good.
So is Germany a market you’re really trying to push into now?
Yeah, the cool thing about Germany is that they really love music. If you just look at the numbers, they still like buying music and listening to music. And country-wise they’re market leaders as well.
And they’re a very listening crowd as well, is what we’ve always found. Is that something you’ve found?
Very respectful. We have something in Holland called the Dutch disease — bands know it all over the world. The Dutch crowd tends to talk through music, talks over your music and over live performances and it’s totally not done in Germany.
No, not at all. It’s almost silent in some rooms.
The first couple of times I played it was kind of awkward for me. Like, why is everyone so quiet? And I’ve played England — you guys are amazing as well — but compared to Germany it’s almost Japanese quiet. Almost Japanese respect. It’s a lot of fun.
And you’ve obviously got a new single out as well. You released “With You” about two weeks ago now. Is it nice having new music and getting it heard in a new market so soon after release?
It’s awesome and “With You” is in the charts now in Germany as well, so that’s a lot of fun.
I understand it’s a track about your wife.
Yeah, it’s about my wife. She just left — I’m okay to tell! It’s about taking time for your loved ones, taking a step back and putting your phone down. f you look at the news now, I don’t know if the world is more on fire than it was twenty years ago, but everyone has a camera now. The fire is being filmed from every angle and it gets me down. I think this is the song I wanted to get out there and send some positive vibes — fuck all that shit. Put down your phone, forget about the news, hug your loved ones, be in the moment. It’s a little cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason!
Do you think this leads into your next album? It’s been a couple of years now.
It has. Yeah. Actually, I wrote the last song for the album today. I just came back from the studio. It’s going to be called Outcast Town. There are references to the genocide in Gaza, and to the world falling apart — but also us as people uniting.
Excellent. And you’re touring the Netherlands in April, are you excited to kick-start the year?
Yeah. We’re doing some pretty big, awesome venues. I love playing live. I wouldn’t call myself the best singer or the best writer, but I know I’m pretty good playing live and that’s what I just love to do most. I’ve got a beautiful band — they’re amazing – and we all love playing live. That’s why Germany is the place to be. There’s eighty-four million Germans — that’s almost one hundred and seventy million ears!
Are you taking your full band to Berlin?
I think so. I might. I’m working on it. It might not be possible, but then again I might just rent a bus and get them there!
Is the live show quite an electric atmosphere?
Yeah, I think so. We’re not rocky, but as a genre, country doesn’t need much — if it’s a good song, it’s a good song You just write the three chords and the truth kind of thing. I doesn’t matter as a good song is a good song. I started off as a songwriter, like anyone else, just me and my guitar. Playing with great musicians is just a lot of fun.
Netherlands now hosts this opening C2C weekend alongside Germany, has it been great to see the Nashville markets starting to include stops in The Netherlands now as a regular stop on European tours?
Of course, it’s been amazing. The world is getting smaller. Country is making a big re-entry and it’s getting huge again, which is a great thing for the genre and here in The Netherlands. I’m not sure Beyoncé made the number-one country album, but it is a good thing for the genre as it opens doors to country musicians from the States to be able to play here and also the other way around that we get to play there too.
Is there a strong domestic country scene in the Netherlands as we don’t hear many names from The Netherlands over here?
There is — so that’s your loss! Country is pretty big here. There’s only 17 million of us making us a pretty small country but I think if you look at it percentage-wise, country would be considered huge here.
Today, you are quite a household name at home, but ten years ago you took to the Eurovision stage and finished 11th.
Yeah you bet, I represented Holland in 2016 with kind of a country song. That put me on the map here for sure.
Was it tough getting past the Eurovision label, as that can be a huge obstacle here?
No. Unlike Great Britain, Eurovision isn’t frowned upon here. We actually won a couple of years back and we take it seriously! We try to send the best, not saying I’m the best, but we try to send people we take seriously and think can win. It’s a big thing here.
How did that come about getting selected?
They asked me! They literally just asked would I like to be in Eurovision! They came to my house, we got drunk, I played two songs and they liked one of them. I said what are we thinking, we shook hands and got even drunker. A few months later I was in Stockholm playing on the Eurovision stage. It’s a very Dutch way of doing business. We are upfront and people are like are we doing this or not rather than going on optics – we don’t beat around the bush. I take pride in that!
It has. Yeah. Actually, I wrote the last song for the album today. I just came back from the studio. It’s going to be called Outcast Town. There are references to the genocide in Gaza, and to the world falling apart — but also us as people uniting.
Excellent. And you’re touring the Netherlands in April, are you excited to kick-start the year?
Yeah. We’re doing some pretty big, awesome venues. I love playing live. I wouldn’t call myself the best singer or the best writer, but I know I’m pretty good playing live and that’s what I just love to do most. I’ve got a beautiful band — they’re amazing – and we all love playing live. That’s why Germany is the place to be. There’s eighty-four million Germans — that’s almost one hundred and seventy million ears!
Are you taking your full band to Berlin?
I think so. I might. I’m working on it. It might not be possible, but then again I might just rent a bus and get them there!
Is the live show quite an electric atmosphere?
Yeah, I think so. We’re not rocky, but as a genre, country doesn’t need much — if it’s a good song, it’s a good song You just write the three chords and the truth kind of thing. I doesn’t matter as a good song is a good song. I started off as a songwriter, like anyone else, just me and my guitar. Playing with great musicians is just a lot of fun.
Netherlands now hosts this opening C2C weekend alongside Germany, has it been great to see the Nashville markets starting to include stops in The Netherlands now as a regular stop on European tours?
Of course, it’s been amazing. The world is getting smaller. Country is making a big re-entry and it’s getting huge again, which is a great thing for the genre and here in The Netherlands. I’m not sure Beyoncé made the number-one country album, but it is a good thing for the genre as it opens doors to country musicians from the States to be able to play here and also the other way around that we get to play there too.
Is there a strong domestic country scene in the Netherlands as we don’t hear many names from The Netherlands over here?
There is — so that’s your loss! Country is pretty big here. There’s only 17 million of us making us a pretty small country but I think if you look at it percentage-wise, country would be considered huge here.
Today, you are quite a household name at home, but ten years ago you took to the Eurovision stage and finished 11th.
Yeah you bet, I represented Holland in 2016 with kind of a country song. That put me on the map here for sure.
Was it tough getting past the Eurovision label, as that can be a huge obstacle here?
No. Unlike Great Britain, Eurovision isn’t frowned upon here. We actually won a couple of years back and we take it seriously! We try to send the best, not saying I’m the best, but we try to send people we take seriously and think can win. It’s a big thing here.
How did that come about getting selected?
They asked me! They literally just asked would I like to be in Eurovision! They came to my house, we got drunk, I played two songs and they liked one of them. I said what are we thinking, we shook hands and got even drunker. A few months later I was in Stockholm playing on the Eurovision stage. It’s a very Dutch way of doing business. We are upfront and people are like are we doing this or not rather than going on optics – we don’t beat around the bush. I take pride in that!
Five weeks out from Berlin — have you planned your sets to introduce yourself, especially as you get to play multiple sets across the weekend?
The cool thing about playing live is that you get to play with the crowd and play off their vibes. I like to see what the vibe is and I’ll make my setlist an hour before and call the boys together. When I’m playing by myself I might not even make a setlist! I’ll just play as it goes.
We can’t wait to see you play in Berlin as we will be there all weekend and I’ll see you there.
I’ll see you there. We’ll have a beer. I’ll find you.
Thank you so much. See you in Berlin.
Thank you for having me.
Douwe Bob will be playing twice on Saturday 7th March at C2C Berlin at Uber Platz as he takes to the Holler Stage at 11:25 and the Whiskey Barrel Stage at 13:35 for two thirty-minute sets.
With more than 12,000 visitors expected from across Europe from 5 to 8 March, C2C Berlin 2026 underlines the growing importance of country music in Germany. With nine daytime side stages and an expanded Town Square, C2C Berlin 2026 offers a diverse festival experience beyond the concerts themselves. Regional and American-inspired food trucks with smokers, line dancing, merchandise and fashion stalls will create authentic Nashville vibes in the heart of Berlin. Access to the tent and the Town Square is free of charge and open to all visitors, while tickets for the opening night Bluebird Café songwriters round at Berlin’s Passionskirche, daytime stages and the main arena at the Uber Eats Music Hall, with headliners Scotty McCreery, Jordan Davis and Zach Top, are on sale now
The cool thing about playing live is that you get to play with the crowd and play off their vibes. I like to see what the vibe is and I’ll make my setlist an hour before and call the boys together. When I’m playing by myself I might not even make a setlist! I’ll just play as it goes.
We can’t wait to see you play in Berlin as we will be there all weekend and I’ll see you there.
I’ll see you there. We’ll have a beer. I’ll find you.
Thank you so much. See you in Berlin.
Thank you for having me.
Douwe Bob will be playing twice on Saturday 7th March at C2C Berlin at Uber Platz as he takes to the Holler Stage at 11:25 and the Whiskey Barrel Stage at 13:35 for two thirty-minute sets.
With more than 12,000 visitors expected from across Europe from 5 to 8 March, C2C Berlin 2026 underlines the growing importance of country music in Germany. With nine daytime side stages and an expanded Town Square, C2C Berlin 2026 offers a diverse festival experience beyond the concerts themselves. Regional and American-inspired food trucks with smokers, line dancing, merchandise and fashion stalls will create authentic Nashville vibes in the heart of Berlin. Access to the tent and the Town Square is free of charge and open to all visitors, while tickets for the opening night Bluebird Café songwriters round at Berlin’s Passionskirche, daytime stages and the main arena at the Uber Eats Music Hall, with headliners Scotty McCreery, Jordan Davis and Zach Top, are on sale now
