Rick Takvorian is a singer, songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist and lives just across the Belgian border near Aachen.
Originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, he moved to Paris in the late 1970s and has lived, worked, and made music in Europe ever since. As a cultural manager, festival director, and musician, he is active in the border region of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine – a region that has profoundly shaped his life and work "across borders." Among other things, he is known as the founder of the international dance festival "schrit_tmacher" and the popular concert series "Café Rick."

His music is rhythmic and atmospheric, blending sounds and rhythms from West Africa, Brazil, and far-flung island cultures. These influences have always accompanied him on his musical journey. His percussive, rhythmic acoustic guitar playing and his raw vocals stem from early, unusual influences—such as the great Cameroonian "beat guitarist" Kono, whose music profoundly shaped him from a young age. When a song calls for it, he switches to the piano. A quiet, mischievous playfulness pervades his lyrics and vocals; listeners have heard echoes of Nick Drake, John Martyn, and Cat Stevens.