Our story...
Since 2019, Touchstone is our home, a place where we create and facilitate a dialogue between audience and artists. We strive to be a community. Now and then we have guests organizing something at Touchstone.
We don’t receive fundings and work with a system where the guest artists contribute 40 euros to Touchstone and can keep the income from the tickets, of which the price they decide on themselves. Touchstone provides the space, equipment (amplifiers, piano, drum kit, PA system, etc.) and one of us is always there to host and help the artists around with anything they might need throughout their visit.
Indeed, that amount is not enough to cover the rent. However, we want to make it possible for everyone to afford playing at Touchstone and make some profit. Our recently launched and growing newsletter and social media channels will notify Touchstone’s friends and audience of upcoming events.
If you are looking for a grand stage with a huge audience, a bar where the beer flows abundantly from the tap and the audience can have a nice catch-up with friends while the artist is playing background music, Touchstone isn’t the jam. Are you looking for an intimate stage with a living room vibe where a direct exchange happens between the performers and an attentive warm audience, this must be the place.
In principle, our criteria are: original material and/or improvised music.
We are absolutely open to great ideas for events we haven’t yet thought of ourselves. If you would like to present your work at Touchstone or have ideas about something that would be great to organize for our community, please contact us!
Who runs Touchstone:
Giannis Vakaloudis
After graduating from his musicology studies in Greece and after he released his first full album as a singer & songwriter, Giannis moved to Utrecht in 2020 in hopes of a fertile ground to grow as a musician. He has been doing that ever since, by teaching, composing new material and performing throughout The Netherlands, as a multi - instrumentalist. He joined the Touchstone team in 2024, hoping to bring some fresh air and help the Touchstone idea flourish even more.
Myrthe Boersma
Myrthe graduated from the HKU Acting School and the Master of Music Theatre at the Conservatory of The Hague & De Veenfabriek. During her masters, she started writing songs. Nowadays her work is versatile. Acting, music, writing, coaching, moderating (conversations), podcasts and a dozen of other things. She always dreamt of creating a place like Touchstone, a communal place where artists would meet and influence each other. At a certain point some time ago, there was a coffee, and the rest is history.
Minas Vakaloudis
Minas was born in Greece, in 1994. He moved to Utrecht in 2018 to study music and since then he has focused on composing, performing and recording original music ranging from instrumental pop, improvised music and experimental sound collages.. He fell in love with Touchstone in 2020 and since then he's been involved, organizing events, hosting and creating this website.
Minas releases his music under the artistic moniker 'Blebiru' and is part of many other music projects as a bass player, producer or both.
Remco Jacobs
Founding Father of Touchstone, now residing in Ireland. Singer-songwriter and one half of Poems Ago, a duo putting Irish poetry to music, together with Juliana Hahn.
Get in touch!
+31 6 34 40 16 93 Giannis
+31 6 15 59 69 23 Minas
+31 6 22 11 76 06 Myrthe
our email address is:
Oudegracht aan de Werf 427, Utrecht