Tess Merlot - Chante La Vie

This programme is part of VOICES Rotterdam: a new city festival in Rotterdam organised by de Doelen for music, journalism and encounters.

French chansons full of joie de vivre

The first time Tess Merlot heard Jacques Brel, lightning struck. Ever since, her music has centred on the power of French chanson to bring human emotions to the surface, through songs by Brel, Piaf and Aznavour alongside her own work. For VOICES ROTTERDAM, she brings that love of chanson to de Doelen.

Chante la vie

Since her debut album Laissez-moi in 2021, Tess has become one of the Netherlands’ most distinctive chanson singers. She has performed with the Residentie Orkest at a sold-out PAARD and with her own band and string quartet at the Royal Theatre in The Hague. Her performances have also taken her to Belgium, France, Germany and Australia. Her second album Chante la vie appeared in 2024, followed by Live at Paard with the Residentie Orkest.

Tess sings with irresistible joie de vivre and boundless energy. Sometimes intimate and pure, sometimes grand and exuberant, her chansons invite you to be moved, swept away and sing along.