Roel van Velzen Beatles Show: ‘They’re in My DNA’
Dutch singer-songwriter Roel van Velzen announced plans for a theatrical tour, “Music & Wonders of The Beatles,” during an appearance on Radio Veronica’s “Ekdom in de morgen” program on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
The production, a long-held ambition for Van Velzen, will feature reinterpretations of Beatles classics alongside lesser-known tracks from albums including Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, and Abbey Road. Van Velzen will be joined by pianist and vocalist Ruben Hein, and pianist Daria van den Bercken, musicians he first collaborated with on a television program, according to reports.
“They sit in my DNA,” Van Velzen said of The Beatles, as reported by De Telegraaf. The show aims to explore the influences on The Beatles’ music, examining how other genres and periods shaped their sound. Performers will present arrangements that reimagine songs like “Blackbird” as if composed centuries earlier, and explore the impact of composers like Prokofjev on tracks such as “Penny Lane.”
The tour is scheduled to begin on May 21, 2026, at Theater de Speeldoos in Baarn. Performances are planned throughout the Netherlands, including stops in Purmerend (May 26), Capelle aan den IJssel (May 28), Weert (June 3), Zwolle (June 17), Oosterpoort (June 22), and Waalwijk (June 24). The tour will conclude on August 18, 2026, with a performance in the main hall of the Koninklijk Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Van Velzen previously paid tribute to The Beatles in 2019, performing during a commemoration of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton. Hein is known for his work in soul and jazz, and has received an Edison award, whereas Van den Bercken has built an international career performing with orchestras and promoting classical music accessibility.
The announcement comes as part of a broader trend of artists reinterpreting pop music classics, according to De Telegraaf, and coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of The Beatles’ last tour.