Next Summer’s Hangover part 2: Outdoor festivals in June, getting used to the summer

Apr 13, 2012 | by Ridz | Event, Music

About the author

Ridz, advertises, produces indie/electronic music, performs throughout the Netherlands but ultimately always ends up at an Amsterdam based ensemble... then he blogs about all these things.

Too many plans for the summer? Let me narrow your options down by suggesting our cities best festivals where you can meet, dance and drink with Amsterdam’s finest crowds. After all, ‘a hangover ain’t worth the pain if the party is lame’. So here’s our advice for where you festival warriors should go to in June, to get used to the festival season. May edition here.

Saturday June 2nd: Lente Kabinet @ Noorderpark

On Saturday June the 2nd, our friends of Dekmantel are throwing the first edition of this spring based Kabinet festival. After throwing two successful editions in Studio/K they decided to move towards the new ‘Noorderpark’ for an outdoor edition to pay tribute to spring. Of course, this event will include your much needed dose of art and culture and a wide variety of music programme containing everything from funk, soul, disco, UK bass, experimental house and beyond. Names that will probably catch your attention: Joy Orbison, Kyle Hall, Space Dimension Controller, Ben UFO, Norman Nodge, Vakula, Ryan Elliott, San Proper (live), Dekmantel Soundsystem, Cinnaman and Mark du Mosch. Tickets have gone fast, but that hasn’t stopped you before from getting your way into such an event, right?

Saturday June 16th: Zomerpark 2012 @ Arenapark

According to a lot of people, this is supposed to be GZG’s best yearly event. Last few fears took place at the almighty NDSM docks in an arena-ish looking setup. This might well be the party that put one of last year’s most important rave anthems on the map. With this said, they decided to move elsewhere this year; they’re moving from north to south. The 1 day, 1 stage, 1 festival minded feast will take you into a new arena with the roof covered this time, featuring artists like De Man Zonder Schaduw, Nhar, Nic Fanciulli, My Favorite Robot, Martin Landsky, Julien Chaptal and Marcus Gehring. Wonder if they’ll manage to keep the same atmosphere as the last years.

Saturday June 16th: 909 @ Amsterdamse Bos

The second edition of the intimate techno festival “909” will take place on Saturday the 16th of June 2012. The nice thing about this festival is the setting next to the water in the Amsterdamse Bos. Just like the first edition of the festival in 2011 this will be a small and intimate festival with a maximum of 5.000 visitors and a varied line-up featuring classic house and contemporary techno names such as Carl Craig (USA), Derrick May (USA), Josh Wink (USA), Gregor Tresher (GER), Funk D’Void (UK), Dusty Kid (IT), DJ Remy and Sandrien. Go pay tribute to the most important Japanese drum computer ever made.

Saturday June 30th: Awakenings Festival 2012 – Jabbalympics @ Spaarnwoude

I don’t think there are many dance festivals bigger than this one around the globe. With at least 8 areas filled with mostly the best of techno (and some house), this festival has proven to be a worldwide attraction. I’m not gonna start naming any of the headliners, ’cause they’re all on the bill. Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain like it did last year. That actually counts for all of last year’s festival in the summer eh?

That was it for May, Amsterdam. Next week we do July!