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Four Wheel Drive is probably the most talked-about and lauded European bluegrass group of this past decade that has achieved great popularity without diluting or jazzing up too much this intriguing subgenre on the big Americana tree.

The earliest roots of the Four Wheel Drive story can be found in the late 80's when the Dutch mandolin player Paul Van Vlodrop was asked to gather a group of musicians to play background music for an American theatre play. Since then the group has stayed together in different line-ups featuring some of the finest European bluegrass musicians.

In 2000 their first album No doubt about it was released on Continental Records (now Rounder Europe) . This CD got things really going for the band. Bluegrass Unlimited, the most popular American bluegrass magazine, published a highlight review and a full length article on this group, something very rare for a European band. The cd can be downloaded from I tunes.

In 2002 - Four Wheel Drive won Best European Bluegrass Band Award at the EWOB (European World of Bluegrass) and they were sent to the States to represent Europe at the world famous World of Bluegrass Festival, where they received standing ovations at the fanfair . They also performed successfully at The Station Inn in Nashville, the American mecca of bluegrass music but also at The Cobblestone, one of the oldest and prestigious folk venues in Dublin.

On top of that Four Wheel Drive won the Audience Popularity Award at the annual Ewob festival in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands in 2006 as well as in 2007.

Their repertoire is a keen mixture of hardcore bluegrass, some country flavored songs and some more old-timey celtic sounding instrumentals. They do not hesitate to throw in an a'cappella-song once in a while either !
The versatility of this group of well seasoned traditional musicians with a stunning instrumental and vocal technique allows them to make a cross-over from American oldtime and bluegrass styles to the European folktradition. In doing so they seem to please bluegrass, country and more Celtic/folk -oriented audiences all over Europe.

In the last couple of years they were considered a revelation at prestigious festivals like the Omagh Appalachian & Bluegrassmusic Festival in Northern Ireland as well as at the Skagen Folkfestival in Denmark and the Bluegrass & Celtic Music Festival in Namur (B)

Four Wheel Drive prefers to play for just one microphone which adds a nice entertaining effect to their stage show.

They have just released their long-awaited second CD 'Another Town' that can be previewed and eventually purchased after general approval by clicking on this picture :

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Four Wheel Drive certainly possesses the chops to be fan favorites worldwide. No question : 'Another Town' is another quality album from another quality European bluegrass band - Tom Walsch - Bluegrass Now Magazine

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Four Wheel Drive also performs in the musical show Somewhere Between that has been running in the Dutch theaters for quite some years. In this show they team forces with Ruud Hermans, Savannah, and young female singer Jolanda Peters, who sings her heartfelt rendition of Townes Van Zandt's classic 'If I needed You' on Four Wheel Drive's new CD 'Another Town'.
See our agenda for the exact dates of this show

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They are creeping in at night to take over...town by town.

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It may be a good idea to stop the music player on top of the page before you start the video. You don't want to hear two songs played at the same time, do you ?

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For more footage on Four Wheel Drive's adventures : click



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