About
Also known as: Jannes Wolters, Johannes Jannes Wolters
Growing up in a caravan park in Emmen, Jannes Wolters found his way into music through his musical family, and he has since become one of the most recognizable names in Dutch levenslied. He goes by the single name Jannes and earned the nickname Koning der Piraten, the King of the Pirates, thanks to the devoted following he built through pirate radio stations long before mainstream success came calling. His second album Van Casablanca naar Napoli was the real turning point, selling 30,000 copies and putting him on the national map. From there the momentum kept building: four of his albums reached number one in the Album Top 100, and his 2007 single Laat de zon maar schijnen reached the top spot in the Single Top 100. He has been a fixture at the Mega Piraten Festijn since 2004 and sold out Ahoy Rotterdam more than once, including a 2012 show where he presented the album Op volle kracht. In 2017 he celebrated fifteen years in the business with a stadium concert at GelreDome. More recently, his song Zwevend naar 't Geluk became a popular choice at Dutch funerals in 2023, and on Koningsdag 2024 he performed for the royal family in his hometown of Emmen. In October 2025 he returned to Ahoy for two nights, and during the second show he was named an honorary citizen of Emmen.