First Rodeo Kensington

• 1 A Moment 03:23
• 2 Sober 03:24
• 3 Call You Home 03:43
• 4 Stay 03:45
• 5 How It Goes 02:44
• 6 Lightning 03:18
• 7 Little By Little 03:01
• 8 Days Are Gone 03:13
• 9 Failure By Design 03:29
• 10 I Could Be Wrong 04:12
• 11 Safe Haven 04:07
• 12 Spell 06:28
• Total Runtime 44:47

Info for First Rodeo

They are arguably the most famous rock band in the Netherlands: for over 15 years, Kensington have been thrilling audiences in sold-out stadiums with their energetic, rousing sound. Now they are starting a new chapter!

Founded in Utrecht in 2005, Kensington have secured their place in the European rock firmament with four number one albums, countless awards and legendary live shows. No other band has sold out the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam more often – and in 2018 they made history as the first Dutch band to fill the Johan Cruyff Stadium with over 51,000 fans.

Yet it all began rather inconspicuously: three school friends, Casper Starreveld (guitar), Jan Haker (bass) and Lucas Lenselink (drums), formed a band they named Kensington.

With the arrival of singer Eloi Youssef, the journey really took off. After Lenselink left, Nils Vandenberg joined on drums, and in 2011 the band released their debut album ‘Borders’, which brought them their first attention in the Netherlands. Kensington finally made their breakthrough with ‘Vultures’ (2012): the single ‘Home Again’ became a radio hit, and the band impressed as support for acts such as My Chemical Romance and The Wombats on international stages.

Two years later, Rivals marked their definitive rise to mainstream success. Control (2016) and Time (2019) seamlessly continued this success, securing them three number one albums in a row. At the end of 2021, the group was at a turning point: after singer Youssef left, the band's future seemed uncertain at first. But Starreveld, Haker and Vandenberg decided to continue. They found the decisive new impetus in the USA, where Jason Dowd from Louisiana immediately impressed the band with his immense presence and voice. With him, a new chapter now begins.

‘First Rodeo’, which will be released on 28 November, shows Kensington at their best: melodic, driving, emotional, and yet with a fresh American flair. In 2026, Kensington will bring this new energy to the stages of Germany! Three concerts full of passion, great emotions and honest rock music await. Kensington are back – and ready for their next rodeo.

Jason Dowd, vocals
Casper Starreveld, guitar
Jan Haker, bass
Lucas Lenselink, drums

Kensington
The sweet smell of success always draws the attention of vultures wanting to have a bite too. For Dutch indie rock band Kensington it’s the other way round. Vultures came before the hits, as it’s the title of the band’s second album. Their achievements at home are unrivalled. Additionally the album has been released internationally by Universal, in the GSA territories and Belgium.

Apart from the band’s name Kensington, named after similarly-titled areas in many international cities, which range from upmarket to impoverished, there has always been an international touch to Kensington. Their 2010 debut album Borders was recorded at Kaiser Chiefs' Nick ''Peanut'' Baines' studio in Leeds, while its 2012 successor Vultures was recorded in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Vultures was mixed by Cenzo Townshend - King among his peers in Britain – while American Steve Fallone (of Strokes fame) mastered both full-lengths. But let’s stop the name dropping here and focus on the band itself:

Domestically, Kensington is by far the band of the moment. Their string of festival and club appearances are endless, having played Europe's most iconic venues and stages.

The popularity of this band is growing daily. In April they picked up three prizes at the 3FM Awards, staged by the same-named public broadcaster (Holland’s equivalent to BBC Radio 1). They won the station’s Serious Talent Award plus awards for Best Live Act and Best Album for Vultures.

In January 2013 Kensington played an unequalled amount of 11 shows at the Eurosonic Noorderslag showcase festival in Groningen, the network event for European bands. It was crystal clear to international professionals that this band has some bonuses. With Eloi Youssef and Casper Starreveld they have two great singer/guitarists in the band plus a rhythm tandem – bass player Jan Haker and drummer Niles Vandenberg - that never misses a beat.

And then there was this tweet by Coldplay, who recognised the band’s enormous potential. Chris Martin and his lot championed the video for Home Again to their 9.2 million Twitter followers on their official website and Twitter account. Talking about these Brits, Kensington has a similar pop sensibility with songs people can sing and whistle along with. Try to get Home Again, a massive pop tune, out of your head and you are bound to fail. Mission impossible! The song is featured in an international TV campaign by Jack Wolfskin. Kensington is a hit factory full of smashing tunes, which deserve to be heard everywhere in the world outside of Holland. Kensington’s Vultures are friendly birds of prey that will brainwash your mind with great pop sense.

They rose to undeniable international recognition with Rivals in 2014, thus dropping their fourth album Control to an already massive fan base in 2016.

Control's successor, Time will be released on 15 November 2019, giving the Budapest fans a couple of months to practice all the lyrics off it. All songs on the new album were written in the forests of Canada, and according to the band, it will be a deeper material than what we are used to hearing from Kensington.

This album contains no booklet.