Guillaume Marcenac invites Tess Merlot

“Lightning struck, the first time Tess Merlot heard Jacques Brel.”
From that moment on, music was all around. After playing hundreds of shows, the
essence remained: allowing the human soul to reach the surface the way only
French torch songs can. With original songs from Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf en
Charles Aznavour and her own catalogue.
Motivated to share her passion and unite cultures, Tess released her first EP
Chansons pour non-francophones in 2017. In 2019 she enchanted a jam-packed
Paradiso with her song ‘Mon Paris’. In 2020 she toured the country with her
Moutons, selling out venues such as PAARD in The Hague and TivoliVredenburg in
Utrecht. Leading up to the release of her debut album ‘Laissez-moi’ in July 2021,
Tess’s songs received extensive airplay on multiple popular Dutch radio stations,
such as NPO Radio 1, 2 and 5 and the Belgian VRT 2. In 2022 she continued her tour
through the Netherlands with her own band and internationally renowned trumpet
player Michael Varekamp and The Legends, bringing their show ‘Swingin’ Paris’ to
a broad audience. In the first quarter of 2023 they shared the stage again with
their new show ‘Helden van Toen’ (Heroes of the past), before Tess headed off to
Australia’s South West for her Australian debut tour ‘Rendez-vous à Paris’.
Her forthcoming album will be released in October 2023.
Whether Tess takes the stage with her band or an entire orchestra, an irresistible
joie de vivre is a given while chansons in their purest form are sprinkled across the
room. Sometimes it’s stripped down and pure, other times grotesque and bold.
Whatever it takes to do them justice. And every time Tess allows the chansons to
do their work, magic appears.
In short: Tess Merlot is the perfect addition to any room that doesn’t mind a little
wine getting spilled.