Four guys from the Dutch coastal village Hook of Holland decided to found a country band in 1973. They chose the name Calyx (pronounce kelliks, the Latin name for the envelope-shaped part of a flower that protects the developing flower bud) because they wanted something different and because this name reflected the colorful variety of their music.

Right from the start, the repertoire of Calyx contained a mix of the band’s own songs and material of well-known American artists. In the 1970s, Calyx became one of the most popular bands in the Dutch country scene. Twice they won the Silver Guitar, the prize for the best modern country band at the then famous International Country Music Festival in Uden, and they did numerous radio appearances. Calyx made four albums until the mid-1980s when the band members decide to stop the band and pursue their own musical activities.

In 1998, singer and acoustic guitar player Wim Pols, who had since become a national radio personality, asked the original band members to join him on a Christmas album he made to mark his silver anniversary as an artist.
The renewed cooperation felt so good that the band decided to continue playing for pleasure time to time. The appearances at festivals were appreciated and more invitations followed.

In 2000, Calyx recorded the album ‘Fly back home to you’. The title song was nominated for Dutch country song of the year. In 2002, the band released another album, ‘Two doors down’. Both albums contain almost exclusively original songs by Wim Pols. Wim, who also writers for other artists, has won two Song of the Year awards in Holland and in 2002 he was inducted into the Dutch Country Music Hall of Fame because of his merits for country music in the Netherlands.

Wim is one of the three remaining founding members of the band. Bass player Paul van Dongen and acoustic guitarist Ralph Vinjé are the other two. Drummer Ruud van de Meeberg, lead guitarist Leo van Reeven and pedal steel guitar player Cor Verhaegh, who won two awards as Holland best country musician, have also been with the band for many years. Thecla Rutting, an acclaimed christian country singer, joined the band in 2000. Ton van Leeuwen frequently adds his keyboard sounds to the band on recordings and for festivals and club performances.

Calyx also features as the regular back-up band of Frank Jansen, one of Holland’s most popular country singers, who won several Dutch and European awards with the three albums he made.

On stage, Calyx mixes its own songs with material by well-known American artists, both from today and from the early 1970s when the band’s founders set out on the country music trail. Thirty years later, they have gained some grey hairs and extensive musical experience. But their juvenile enthusiasm and their passion for the music they play have remained.