PRESS RELEASE Walter Rootsie and his Blue Connection Celebrate 20 Years with New Album People Talk – Presentation September 21, 2025. Worldwide release November 2025.
In 2025, Finnish Roots Americana band Walter Rootsie and his Blue Connection marks its 20th anniversary with the release of their fourth studio album, People Talk, available worldwide via Coast to Coast released by Wraf Records.
Formed in 2005 around Dutch singer-songwriter Walter Rootsie, the band has built a reputation for heartfelt, genre-blending music that draws from blues, country, folk, rock, and singer-songwriter traditions. With a Dutch core and Finnish soul, the band has toured extensively across Europe and earned international acclaim for their performances, songs and sounds and previous albums Waiting, Get Up and Go and Dark Water.
People Talk features 10 original songs written and composed by Walter Rootsie, exploring themes of love, loss, longing, and emotional truth. From the haunting ballad Empty Heart to the gritty groove of Gone, Gone, Gone, the album offers a rich and varied sonic journey. All the songs are arranged to get a unique sound to capture the stories and analogue played, recorded and mixed to keep and the right sound into each of them.
Track list:
People Talk
Depression
The Hole Time
Gone, Gone, Gone
Please To Meet
You Kissed the Wrong Guy
Empty Heart
Eternal Love
We Both Know
Old Love
Band Line-up:
Walter Rootsie – Vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Parska Saharinen – Electric guitar, tremolo guitar
Jan Smedberg – Bass guitar
Anssi Lehtivuori – Drums
Guest Musicians:
Tommi Laine – Electric guitar, e-bow, slide guitar, low guitar, tremolo guitar
Gona Lehtinen – Electric guitar, Gretsch guitar
Mike Roelofs – Hammond, organ, piano, Wurlitzer
Production Details:
Recorded and mixed at IJland Studio, Amsterdam
Engineer: Tim Visser
Additional recordings in Vantaa, Tampere, Helsinki, and Nijmegen
Produced by Walter Rootsie
Mastered by Pete Maher (Pete Maher Mastering Studio, London)
Artwork by Sami Hopmans
Released on Wraf Records ©
Copyright © 2025 Buma Stemra – All rights reserved
References Tim Visser/ IJland Studio: Jason Molina, Hackensaw Boys, Pete Doherty, Brian Eno, Rome 56, Bettie Serveert.
References Pete Maher: Nick Cave, Damien Rice, Lana Del Rey, Paul Weller, Patti Smith, U2, Pixies, Rolling Stones.
People Talk is a passionate, mature, and musically rich album that reflects the band’s two-decade journey through sound and storytelling.
“I tried to capture each story in its own song, with a distinct style and musical background that gives meaning to the words.” — Walter Rootsie
More info: 🌐 www.wrafmusic.com 📘 Facebook: Walter Rootsie and his Blue Connection
Bookings and Contact: Walter.rootsie@hotmail.com or info@wrafmusic.com
Distribution: coast to coast music group: info@coasttocoast.nl
Promo cd copy available on request
Listen the album People Talk: Spotify, Apple Music, You Tube, Amazon.com
REVIEWS:
https://fotosbluesrockandmore.blogspot.com/search/label/Walter%20Rootsie%20and%20his%20Blue%20Connection?m=0
https://recentmusic.com/artist/1qQAexi8cjLxXNu2VdRHM8/
https://www.zicazic.com/zicazine/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=18768&Itemid=62&fbclid=IwY2xjawPHOyVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFBcUdXTEZaOVowZXphcmlDc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpdhFi4-Vz-XilxxPlYULg6KUcLX1cr2B3OApr8xmX5COUEubR-xOQ3rUFER_aem_fl1PCCMP1MdjJQoXNemHdw