Bruce may have written it for a completely different context, but for my money there’s no song more suitable to serve as the anthem for 2021 than “The Rising.”
Dutch band Krezip recognized that from the start when they covered it for their New Years Eve performance a few months back on the television show Matthijs Gaat Door.
“The Rising” is an appropriate song for the band: Krezip started way back in 1997, and if you’re thinking that their lead singer Jacqueline Govaert looks way too young for that to be true, that’s because she started her band when she was in high school.
Krezip enjoyed considerable Benelux success for more than a decade before going their separate ways in 2009. Ten years later, though, they reunited at Pinkpop and released their first new album in more than a decade just a few months before the pandemic hit.
Now, with optimism on the rise and the end of this dark tunnel growing ever closer, it seems like Krezip’s prospects are looking up as well. They’ve got a new song out–“You Are Not Alone“–and a terrific performance with the Sven Hammond Big Band and ZO! Gospel Choir on Matthijs Gaat Door to start off the year.
This is a great performance that pays tribute to Bruce’s original album arrangement but feels fresh and new at the same time.
Keep that mask on, roll your sleeve up, get that shot, and come on up for The Rising.
