Last year, DUYSTER. and Cactus joined forces to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the legendary radio show with a festival curated by Ayco and Eppo at Cactus Club. A sold-out edition filled with wonderful people and one beautiful concert after another made one thing clear: it would be a shame to leave it at just one edition. So we will once again close out 2026 with a winter Sunday devoted to dreamy, dark and adventurous music. Ayco will host the event, while Eppo will be spinning his favourite DUYSTER. records between concerts in Cactus Café. First names announced!

Since the mid-1990s, Sophia has been the musical project of American singer-songwriter Robin Proper-Sheppard. His deeply personal lyrics and music that moves between breathtaking intimacy and expansive rock have made Sophia a staple of the DUYSTER. canon and a beloved live act.

Especially for DUYSTER. Festival, Sophia will perform their debut album 'Fixed Water' in its entirety, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, supplemented with songs that have found their way into the DUYSTER. playlist over the years. Just this once, and never again.

Dear all!

I am incredibly happy to announce that Sophia will be performing our only full-band show of 2026 (some might even call it a ‘worldwide exclusive’) at DUYSTER. Festival.
As many of you know, Sophia has had a very long relationship with the wonderful DUYSTER. (and Ayco’s ever-faithful listeners/fans/friends) and I can’t wait to be able to perform Fixed Water for you all — an album many of you still so kindly continue to vote into DUYSTER.’s yearly Top 100 even 30 years after release! (That just blows my mind. And I mean that sincerely. It just blows my mind…)
The evening is being titled ‘30Y Fixed Water + DUYSTER. Classics Set’ and believe me, I am already dreaming up the set of ‘classics’ we can build purely from all of the songs (17 in total!) that DUYSTER. have included in their program over the years.
Some of these songs we haven’t played in 15-20 years, and I am loving the opportunity to be able to bring them to you with our Sophia 2.0 line-up — now also considered ‘classic’ in its own right.
The atmospheric subtleties and nuance these guys bring to Sophia’s older material alongside the depth and weight they've added to our more recent music still never ceases to amaze me and I hope you'll join us for what I hope will be an evening of pure DUYSTER. beauty.
Much love,
Robin

Band:
Robin Proper-Sheppard
Jeff Townsin
Sander Verstraete
Jesse Maes
Bert Vliegen
+ guest musicians tbc

This Is The Kit is the musical project of English artist Kate Stables. She currently lives in Paris, although the heart of her musical community is still in Bristol. Kate sings and plays guitar, banjo, trumpet and percussion, while a changing group of friends and fellow musicians do their thing on an eclectic array of instruments and electronics. Friendship, community, connection and exchange between people are at the heart of the universe of This Is The Kit.

It is hardly surprising, then, that the result sounds warm and intimate, drawing the listener into the group. Both on record and at her live shows, Kate welcomes her audience with open arms into her world of deeply honest arty folk songs and searching, pure beauty.

In these sometimes confusing times, making music that seeks to bring people together rather than divide them may well be a heroic act. Leave it to This Is The Kit to bring us closer together on a dark Sunday evening and make us forget about time for a while in the sweet haze of her music.

Born in Georgia, Jake Xerxes Fussell is a true champion of the American folk song. His repertoire consists largely of reinterpretations of forgotten gems from the 19th- and 20th-century folk tradition, with a deep love and respect for the source material evident in every performance.

With his warm voice and expressive guitar playing, Fussell gives these melodies and lyrics from a distant past a timeless quality. For his most recent album, When I’m Called (2024), he was joined by an impressive group of American indie and folk musicians, including Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), Blake Mills and Joan Shelley.

Will Samson was born in Oxford, has Chilean and Indian roots, and has lived in Brighton, Western Australia, Berlin, Lisbon and Brussels. Since 2012, he has explored the space between electronics, folk and ambient through albums released on a wide range of labels, from indie bastions such as Wichita and PIAS to niche imprints like Belgian label DAUW and even dance label AUS Music.

Through his music, Will Samson explores themes such as identity and destiny. In doing so, he works with analogue recording techniques and field recordings. He considers his voice an instrument, its sound blending with his intricate arrangements.

The seed of his most recent album Sings Again (2026) lies in the intense and life-changing experience of an ayahuasca ceremony Will Samson took part in in 2024. During the ceremony, he experienced his own funeral and had conversations with his late father. Sings Again was created during a residency in Portugal and was inspired by the early work of Björk, Four Tet and Efterklang.

The beautifully crackling Roomer consists of three Berlin-based artists and close friends. Ronja Schößler releases her music on the multidisciplinary label Unguarded. Ludwig Wardinger creates ambient music combined with complex drum patterns on Caterina Barbieri’s light-years label. Luka Aron is a sound artist who developed a quadraphonic performance for church bells for the Venice Biennale.

When they spend time together, Roomer is what fills the awkward silences: a return to the music they grew up with, now shaped by their experience with musical experimentation. By drowning their immersive dream pop in a bath of effects and buzzing textures, they create a sound that feels both deeply intimate and otherworldly. Along the way, they play with dissonance, push-pull dynamics and unexpected turns.

Camille Camille is the musical project of Belgian singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary artist Camille Willemart. Her music is fragile yet quietly powerful, characterized by intimate songwriting and a delicate, atmospheric sound. Camille Camille draws inspiration from the folk tradition as well as artists such as Josephine Foster and Robbie Basho.

With her intimate folk songs, Camille Camille invites her audience into a concert experience filled with warmth, authenticity and a sense of comfort.