Jonge Helden, the stars of the future

Back in the days, at the old Muziekgieterij at Bankastraat, the Muziekgieterij organised the ‘Jonge Helden’ (Young Heroes) band competition together with Kaleidoscope.

Young Heroes

The Muziekgieterij was born from a musician’s heart and the captains at the helm, Wim and Jan, had experienced the tricks of the trade as musicians themselves. As a result, one vision has always been strongly propagated: as a band, you have to cover a lot of ground, you have to play, go on tour, and preferably at least seven days in a row. It provides focus and because you play together every day, you get used to each other. You make huge strides as an artist. With this wisdom in mind, my better half Maartje Meessen started the ‘Jonge Helden’ project and became the standard-bearer of the coolest band competition in the Euregion.

Nightliner

Any band with an average age of 18 was allowed to enter. The prize package was fantastic: you got to record an EP in the studio and you went on a tour of the UK on a nightliner bus.

From the first edition, it was a madhouse. High schools were jumping on it! There was competitiveness, but also fraternisation. Every preliminary round was sold out and the audience went wild. Every night was ‘done’, including after parties that people still talk about today.

Maastricht’s Pride

The Muziekgieterij became a breeding ground for talent and we still see them today in the pop landscape. From the singer of Spoil Engine to the bassist of current ‘Maastricht’s pride’ YĪN YĪN: they are all Young Heroes alumni and we are proud of that! Yet Young Heroes and its breeding ground, sadly, disappeared a bit into the background when we moved to the inner city.

Muziekgieterij Production House

Fortunately, we now have had our production house since 2019 and are making strides in this area again. Slowly but steadily, the collectivity of Bankastraat is resurfacing in the Muziekgieterij DNA. Now that the rehearsal rooms and recording studio in the Timmerfabriek are up ‘n running, there is once again room for fraternisation and jam sessions. The building is once again filled with a cacophony of rehearsing bands and that is what makes a programmer’s heart beat faster. You get a front-row seat to artists making new music. You get a feel for music that is relevant now and what is to come. Connecting with fellow musicians is the most important thing there is, even if you are not on the stage of the big or small hall. After all, Muziekgieterij is not just a music venue, but a safe haven for music lovers that we work day and night for.

Text: Ingo Dassen Pictures: Harry Heuts