100 years Derroll Adams
On 27 November 2025, Derroll Adams would have turned 100. The American with the five-string banjo arrived in the Southern Netherlands in the late 1950s and quickly became an icon of authenticity, nonconformity, and musical melancholy. His warm voice and banjo touched audiences right in the heart: gentle, simple, sincere.
The Merode Festival celebrates his legacy in collaboration with Awa asbl, Muziekpublique, Muziekclub ’t Ey, the Museum Vleeshuis, and the MiM. The exhibition offers a glimpse into his personal archives, specially opened for this occasion by his widow, Danny Levy, and is accompanied by a series of weekly concerts at the MiM, providing a unique immersion into Derroll Adams’ musical world: 5, 12, 19, and 26 November 2025.
At the same time, another part of the exhibition takes place at the Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp, offering a complete experience to explore the life and work of Derroll Adams.
