l'Escaut Blues

Female blues from the Scheldt Valley

Bio

Some voices keep echoing long after the song has ended, and some reach across time.

A century later, somewhere along the River Scheldt, the spirit of Bessie Smith still rings out.

Led by Nette Mortelmans, L’Escaut Blues pays tribute to the powerful women who sang life in all its colors. Bessie Smith, Victoria Spivey, Merline Johnson, and others turned their lives into music: raw, bold, and deeply human.

Their voices still resonate today, touching on themes that remain urgent: climate change, femicide, Black Lives Matter, MeToo, migration. The Classic Female Blues becomes a mirror for our own times.

With a lively band united by a love of early jazz and blues, L’Escaut Blues brings this almost forgotten genre back to life. Authentic, soulful, and full of fire. It feels as if the 1920s have just begun again.

Pers

"Old-school blues over a century old, performed by top musicians and a frontwoman with a stunning voice who brings the spirit of the blues divas of the past back to life" - Rootsville

I Used To Be Sweet

L’Escaut Blues’ debut album I Used to Be Sweet is a soulful collection of stories from a life full of emotion and music — fierce, playful, nostalgic, and bold.

Listen here on Bandcamp.