5 years Missy Sippy, 10 years Ghent Blues scene
Five years ago on March 6, 2015, Missy Sippy Blues & Roots Club started off with a fierce opening party and since then has only gone from strength to strength. The monthly blues jams, local heroes concerts, club concerts with international stars, lindy hop evenings, burlesque shows and a genuine Blues and Roots festival during the ‘Gentse Feesten’ provide a constant stream of quality evenings. These evenings usher in the necessary fresh wind that reclaims Blues and Roots music from oblivion and makes it sexier and more appealing to younger generations. Since its inception, Missy Sippy has been the ideal place for musicians with a heart for Blues and Roots to meet, jam together, form bands and pursue personal artistic development.
When the Belgian blues musicians Tiny Legs Tim and Guy Verlinde were introduced by a mutual friend 10 years ago, neither could have guessed this would turn out to be the proverbial big bang that created the vibrant Blues & Roots scene in Ghent, now based in Missy Sippy. The first years of this evolution and numerous crucial encounters – such as with the owners Marie Follebout and Jelle de Boevé – that led to the first real blues club in Ghent, is sublimely documented in the film ‘Goin’ Down To Missy Sippy’ (A production by Dominique Willaert, 2020).

Last winter, Tiny Legs Tim went into the studio with about 20 of these resident musicians to capture the musical identity of the first 5 years on tape. The 12 songs on MISSY SIPPY ALL STARS VOL. I are an illustration of the wealth of young talent, diversity and collegiality that are so characteristic of the Ghent blues scene. The recordings were conceived according to the principle of the blues jams: 2 fixed rhythm sections were combined with alternating line-ups. In order to guarantee spontaneity, everything was played live and recorded on tape with analogue equipment. The result is a multicoloured album that captures the essence of ‘making music together’; a sample of the quality and diversity that explains why Missy Sippy is the
epicentre of Belgian Blues & Roots music today. (Ghent, March 2020)
On Friday the 6th of March, exactly 5 years after the opening, the MISSY SIPPY ALL STARS will launch the album in the Missy Sippy. This event kicks off the festive birthday weekend.