Marike Jager is a Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist and television presenter. She grew up in Leusden and learned to play the guitar while backpacking through Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa. There she wrote her first song 'Lizzy'. When she got back in the Netherlands she went to the stages, quickly winning the 'Studenten Songfestival in Maastricht. Soon after she also won the Sky Radio Talentenjacht, the demopoll by the Brussels Studio and the prestigious 'Grote Prijs van Nederland' 2003 in the category singer-songwriter. After winning the Grote Prijs, she meets Henk Jan Heuvelink. He plays the wurlitzer, harmonium and the piano. Together they regularly play at festivals, in theaters and on the radio. In 2008 drummer Nicky Hustinx joins the band. The Beauty Around In the summer of 2005, Marike records her first album The Beauty Around. It was released on 15 May 2006, on her own record label, Morning Coffee Records. It is distributed by V2Records. The debut lives up to everyone's expectations. Marike is awarded the Essent Award for young musical talent, and the album spends many weeks in the charts. She supports the Canadian artist Feist when on tour in the Netherlands. Feist leaves her a personal message: ‘It was very inspiring to share the stage with you.’ Celia Trigger In 2008, after the band has been joined by drummer Nicky Hustinx, the band releases its second album, Celia Trigger, which receives good reviews and is nominated for the Dutch Edison Awards in two categories: best female artist and best album. A recording of a concert in Nijmegen, part of the band's first theater tour, is released on a DVD in 2010. The Magic Live Box contains the DVD, a cd containing a selection of the songs, and a bonus cd containing piano versions of some of the songs, played by Henk Jan Heuvelink. Here Comes The Night Marikes third album is something different, something special. The recordings were done by engineer Staf Verbeeck in the Jet Studio, the oldest studio in Belgium and a musical monument where both Edith Piaf and The Rolling Stones have set foot. Soundwise she chooses a new path. ‘Here comes the night’ was mixed by multiple Grammy Award winner Tchad Blake, an idiosyncratic producer who has worked with such artists as The Black Keys, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, and Suzanne Vega. Marike's newest album is very distinctive, with cinematic underpinnings. The band is bursting with energy and Marike's guitar playing is compelling. The recordings were done in the Jet Studio, the oldest studio in Belgium and a musical monument where both Edith Piaf and The Rolling Stones have set foot. In September 2011 Marike is again nominated for two Edisons: 'Best Album' and 'Best Female Artist'.
