Stef Kamil Carlens and De Roma form a match made in heaven. Time and again, this singular artist manages to delight the audience, with concerts that seem to get better each time. De Roma adores Stef Kamil Carlens and this affection is mutual. After his astonishing tribute to the great Bob Dylan in September 2022, the flamboyant singer-musician-composer-producer will return to De Roma at the beginning of November with a brand new record under his arm. 

Stef Kamil Carlens first appeared in the press and public in 1993 with the EPs Zea by dEUS and Jintro Travels The Word In A Skirt by his own A Beatband (later Moondog Jr. and eventually Zita Swoon). Thirty years later, he completed his twentieth album in his own studio The Rabbit Field near Antwerp and has given hundreds of live shows in Belgium and abroad. His style is unique: raw blues, playful theatricality and sincere melancholy with super funky escapades. As an artist, Carlens is impossible to classify. He is a singer, musician, composer, producer, theater maker, designer and visual artist. 

His career can roughly be divided into three main periods. From 1993 to 2009, he operated primarily under the name Moondog Jr. and especially Zita Swoon, who received the first of several gold records for the album I Paint Pictures On A Wedding Dress (1999), recorded in New Orleans. During this first period he traveled extensively throughout Europe giving intense and explosive concerts. 2009 is an anniversary year and a period which ends with 5 sold-out concerts in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and a Best Of album. 

From 2009 to 2016, Stef Kamil Carlens renamed her group Zita Swoon Group. The group operates more like a business company than a band. With music as its basis, Zita Swoon Group interacts with artists from other disciplines and other cultures. The band traveled to Africa, collaborated with Rosas and Needcompany and ultimately created 5 performances and 4 studio albums. 

From 2017 to today, Stef Kamil Carlens plays under his own name. He brings songs from two studio albums, combined with a selection from his vast repertoire. For these performances he gives different kinds of concerts, one with his group of five musicians and apart from that remarkable solo performances, during which he plays a multitude of instruments simultaneously. In 2019, he won a MIA in the “Best Musician” category. In 2021 he delved further into Bob Dylan's repertoire with the one-off formation The Gates Of Eden, which resulted in a streaming concert, a live album and a tour. 

Line-up

Alban Sarens: tenor and baritone saxophone, piano, synths 
Nel Ponsaers: vocals, Wurlitzer piano, synths 
Jonas Meersmans: electric guitar 
Maarten Moesen: drums, vocals 
Mirko Banovic: electric bass 
Rahmat Emonds: vocals, violin, mandolin, electric guitar, synths 
Stef Kamil Carlens: vocals, acoustic and electric guitar