The Sun Will Rise Again
For the first time the Van der Westen brothers recorded an album together. An album filled with songs of engagement, love and hope.

While Eric van der Westen (57), performs at the world stages such as The Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall with Turkish superstar Sezen Aksu, , his brother Dieter van der Westen (46) plays at the largest festivals in North Africa with his Dutch-Moroccan festival band Kasba. The brothers are proud of each others musical achievements, but their worlds are far apart. Until the past year. When everything comes to a standstill due to the corona pandemic, the brothers decide to record an album with self-written Americana and folk songs, a genre they both love already for years.
On the acoustic duo album "The Sun Will Rise Again" Dieter sings and plays acoustic guitar, dobro and harmonica. Eric plays the double bass and is, together with Dieter, responsible for the arrangements. Eight songs on the album are written by Dieter, three "traditionals" complete the album. The two brothers play and sing on all the songs of the album, except for the traditional "Erie Canal", where Ferdi Lancee appears as a guest on the acoustic guitar.
Dieter has been writing and producing Americana and folk music under his own name for the last decade, both solo and with the Dieter van der Westen band. His musical background lies in North African music. For more than 20 years he has been the band leader and bass player of the band Kasba, with whom he plays all over the world. Eric built a career in the jazz and pop/world music and played with globally renowned artists such as Lenine, Kenny Wheeler, Jasper van t Hof and Habib Koite.
Dieter and Eric grew up in Tilburg in the south of The Netherlands in family of four brothers. At the age of eight Dieter gets his first guitar lesson from Eric, who is already 19 years old by that time. Eric teaches him his first songs on the guitar, but when Eric also tries to teach the dry music theory of the conservatory where he is studying at that time to his little brother, Dieter quits. He just wants to play songs that he likes and chooses his own path. Now 38 years later they gather and bundle their love for musical stories in a first joint album.
With the new album, the brothers want to give weight to a new positive era. The Sun Will Rise Again is about love, engagement and above all hope. Dieter and Eric look forward to the period after the corona crisis. “We want to play as much as possible and discover new small theaters. Playing these small stages is really inspiring, it's all about the musicality and the intimate contact with the audience. ”