Take Me to the River presents the best of music city New Orleans. And that's not all: Joe Henry from USA and Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson from Denmark and Iceland have joined the 2025 roster.
Take Me to the River is a famous soul hit and now a concert experience and a treat in store for Tønder Festival's audience. The Take Me to the River project has been going for ten years now, including film documentaries, publications, history writing and, of course, concerts. At the heart of it all is American music, in particular the music of Memphis and New Orleans. A big band will take the stage at Tønder Festival. Among the musicians is 76 year-old percussionist Cyril Neville of the legendary Neville Brothers. Alongside him will be Ivan Neville, son of Aaron Neville, Ian Neville, son of the late Art Neville, and Omari Neville, son of Cyril Neville.
More from the Better Side of USA
Songwriter, guitarist and producer Joe Henry sits at the apex of the American music scene. At Tønder Festival he will perform solo and with his fellows John Smith and Jeffrey Foucault.
“I'm looking forward to this coming summer and it will be great to be playing with my old and very dear friend John Smith - musically, we go back a long way - and with Jeffrey Foucault, who is a new acquaintance, representing a promising collaboration. Honestly, I have no idea what will come of this, and nothing makes me happier,” says Joe Henry of his Tønder Festival expectations.
Power Couple from Iceland
They are a couple at home and on stage. Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson invite their audience into their private world, sprinkling the songs with personal tales. Their own description of the concert format: "The concerten is more theatrical than others, since we really want to tell a story, both via the songs but also through the dialogue. There's a lot to tell about the music and the role it plays on our lives and our history. It feels important for us to share a different kind of concert with our audience, who thus come closer than normal."
More Good News
The consummate English guitarist John Smith is also an accomplished songwriter. He has worked with Joe Henry - see above - and has a long list of his work with distinguished musicians. American Jeffrey Foucault has played at Tønder Festival before. Now he is back with his convincing blend of blues, soul and country.
THE MUSICIANS:
Take Me to the River (USA)
A unique project based on central elements of American musical history from New Orleans and Memphis, Take Me To The River examines the music cultures of the two towns, with their soul, blues and many other proud musical styles and traditions. Involving documentary film, publications, educational programmes and, of course, concerts. Tønder Festival audiences have an exciting experience in store: a live band from the top shelf. Musicians: Cyril Neville, Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, Omari Neville, Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr., Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Robert Mercurio, Dreven Trusclair og Martin Shore. Take Me To The River – the title is a tribute to Al Green's 1974 hit, but has also gospel roots reaching further back – was also used for two prize-winning documentary films by director Martin Shore: "Take Me To The River Memphis" (2014) and "Take Me To The River New Orleans" (2019). Both films portray the multifarious music life in the two cities, their history, heritage and not least their influence on global music. The music from the two films is out as an album and has been performed at over 200 concerts, including in London in the autumn of 2024. A very special experience awaits you, and this is their only Danish festival in 2025.
Joe Henry (USA)
One the major figures on the American music scene visits Tønder Festival in 2025. As a songwriter and musician, Joe Henry has won awards and fine reviews for his solo albums. His first was Talk of Heaven in 1986, followed by fifteen more. Among them is Fuse (1999) with T Bone Burnett and Daniel Lanois at the desk, and Scar (2001) with jazz aristocrats Marc Ribot, Brad Meldau and Ornette Colemann guesting. His latest album is All the Eye Can See (2022), with work by British guitarist John Smith. As a songwriter, Joe Henry knows no bounds, drawing inspiration from folk, blues, jazz and country. Joe Henry's career as a soloist and songwriter could stand alone and impress. But his reputation is also bolstered by his prowess as a producer. Joe Henry has produced for musicians such as Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, Rodney Crowell, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Joe Henry's own sister-in-law, Madonna. At Tønder Festival 2025, Joe Henry will be playing solo and also with John Smith and Jeffrey Foucault. His only Danish festival in 2025.
Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson (DK, IS)
Tina Dickow has a extensive audience as an artist in a class of her own. Her career is the tale of a girl from an Århus suburb who self-released her own songs, won an international contract, moved to London, then back to Denmark and made it big, selling over 300,000 albums here, winning all the prizes going, teamed up with Icelandic musician and songwriter Helgi Jonsson and settled in Iceland. The couple have three children, and their domestic and artistic lives meld in the concept you can experience at Tønder Festival 2025.
As a duo, Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson can of course entertain for hours with songs from their own back catalogues. As a bonus, audiences can enjoy stories of the couples' musicality meeting their emotional lives, not least their disarming humour. The life they share in Iceland is the setting. In their studio at their house outside Reykjavik the couple wrote and recorded some of Tina Dickow's hits, among them Someone To Love and Welcome Back Colour.
John Smith (UK)
A guitarist and songwriter with deep roots in British folk music and American guitar traditions, John Smith masters many guitar styles, among them fingerpicking, slide and alternative tunings. Blues, folk, country and americana form the basis, and he takes inspiration from musicians such as Richard Thompson, John Martyn and Ry Cooder. John Smith grew up in Devon and earned his first gig fees in the bars and clubs of Liverpool. He tours a lot and has released six studio albums and achieved over 100 million streams on Spotify. His most recent album is The Living Kind from 2024. His songwriting is intense and intricately bound to his powerful, inventive guitar style. He has accompanied David Gray, Lisa Hannigan, Lianne La Havas, Joan Baez and Joe Henry, who is also appearing at Tønder Festival 2025. Besides their individual solo concerts, John Smith and Joe Henry will perform together, and also in the company of American songwriter Jeffrey Foucault, who many will remember from previous Tønder Festivals. His only Danish festival in 2025.
Jeffrey Foucault (USA)
The return of the American songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Foucault, who has appeared at Tønder Festival several times, both on his own and with fellow songwriters. Jeffrey Foucault (born in 1976) has been wearing down the asphalt for a score of years with his songs, a varied mix of folk, blues and country. He has a confident lyrical touch, following his heroes, John Prine, Bob Dylan, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. His latest album is The Universal Fire from September 2024. The songs on the album deal with Nature as a place for meditation and loss. Here is also a paean to his friend and fellow musician, drummer Billy Conway, who died of cancer in 2021, and who played in Foucault's band at Tønder Festival in 2018. The album also references the fire at music company Universal's studios in California in 2008, when the masters to some of the most important recordings in American popular music were lost. Jeffrey Foucault will be appearing both solo and with his colleagues Joe Henry and John Smith. His only Danish festival in 2025.
Tønder Festival 2025 – so far:
Take Me To The River (USA), Joe Henry (USA), Sons Of The East (AUS), Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy (CAN), Elephant Sessions (SCO), Oysterband (ENG), Rikke Thomsen (DK), John Smith (UK), Jeffrey Foucault, USA), Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson (DK, IS), Melissa Carper (USA), Fantastic Negrito (USA), Adeem The Artist (USA), The Lonesome Ace Stringband (CAN), The Langan Band (SCO), Quote the Raven (CAN), Michael Falch & Zonen (DK)
Tønder Festival 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th August 2025
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Tickets: www.tf.dk
Tønder Festival has caught the Yule bug. Take Me to the River presents the best of music city New Orleans. And that's not all: Joe Henry from USA and Tina Dickow and Helgi Jonsson from Denmark and Iceland have joined the 2025 roster.
From Tuesday, 17 December at 10:00 AM, you can secure a comfortable stay in one of Tønder Festival's accommodations.
De kommer fra Sydney og suser ud i verden til udsolgte koncerter. Bandet Sons Of The East står på scenen på Tønder Festival 2025.
The kings of British folk rock, Oysterband, bid their farewells as a live band with an extensive tour, culminating in a final concert at Tønder Festival 2025.
