The Waterman

Dutch singer-songwriter Raoul Wijsma has a special connection to Slovenia. He spent time there as a teenager and was unofficially adopted by a Slovene family. Their relationship only grew when the family endured a tragedy.

Raoul returns to Slovenia every year to visit and has performed numerous concerts in Slovenia with his popular band, Raoul & the Wisemen. He's returning this summer for a special tour which combines his band's original songs with a Slovenia-specific project.

Raoul has teamed up with Noah Charney, an American professor and writer, and Svetlana Slapšak, a writer and professor of classics, to create an event based on poet France Prešeren "Povodni Mož" ("The Waterman").

Last fall, Noah and Svetlana had a book coming out called The Slavic Myths (Thames & Hudson) in which they wrote a modern retelling of Prešeren's famous poem. Raoul has written four songs to accompany a live reading of this retelling, called "The Waterman." As part of the tour in August 2024, Noah will read "The Waterman" to accompany Raoul's new songs, and Svetlana will give a short talk on the original poem, its influence, and the role of water creatures in Slavic mythology. This special event also includes a full concert performed by Raoul & the Wisemen.