Back | Articles

Dutch Dance Agenda: May

Your monthly update on who is spinning when and where in the US!

Do you want to know when your favorite DJ will be playing some tracks, or are you curious about new Dutch voices in town? In our “Dutch Dance Agenda,” we will post monthly updates on who is playing when and where, highlighting different Dutch DJs that are spinning their decks in the US at the moment.

Let’s face it: the best party is a Dutch party. As a brand, a passion, and a movement, “Dutch Dance” has been dominating the international dance scene for years. Many Dutch DJs have gathered a worldwide following, and fly all around the globe to move from one enthusiastic crowd to the other. Proving that established dance icons and fresh talent do not need to stand in each other’s way, Dutch legends like Tiësto and Hardwell have been taking the new generation underneath their wings.

From underground talent to household names, the Netherlands’ party scene has built the reputation for harboring everyone’s kind of DJ. However, with so many successful and famous DJs from such a small dot on the map, it is almost impossible to keep track of all the Dutch DJs that are performing in the United States. So for the latest updates tune in on our Twitter page!

May

As spring is finally kicking in Dutch DJs are kicking it throughout the US. This month, there will be a stunning amount of 87 (!) Dutch DJ-sets in the country, by 35 different DJs. The climax of this Dutch takeover will be at Electric Daisy Carnival, May 18 to 20, where there will be 26 Dutch DJs on a single festival! Find out about your favorites below.

 

Afrojack

Afrojack

Nick van de Wall, better known as Afrojack, started his career at the age of 14, as he performed at local pubs and clubs, and earning additional income with designing websites for fellow musicians. In 2007 he released “In Your Face”, the first recording under the Afrojack name. He received international success with the song “Take Over Control” featuring Eva Simons, which charted in 10 different countries. He took part in Episode 2 of ‘Behind The Speedo’, which is a comedy series by Redfoo. Currently, Afrojack is listed as number ten in the DJ Mag Top 100.

Events

 

Angerfist

Angerfist - Courtesy of the artist

Danny Masseling started making music at the age of 16. Beginning with 4-beat programmed loops and breakbeats, his interest in producing music started to grow.He began his career in 2001 after sending a demo to Mark Vos, also known as DJ Buzz Fuzz, director of BZRK Records. Vos liked the tape and signed Masseling, who then released his first EPs under the names “Menace II Society” and “Angerfist”. Masseling soon gained popularity in the “gabber scene” because of the aggressive style sound he made. His style is characterized by hard bass drums and vocals sampled from various media, especially films. During live acts with his MC, they almost always perform wearing specially designed ice hockey masks and black or white hoodies.

Events

 

Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren, Courtesy of the artist.

For more than 15 years, the Grammy-nominated Dutchman has been living to the rhythm of his own, international success. Armin van Buuren‘s 5 times number one position in the critically acclaimed DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll has been the result of his loyalty to fans, his creativity in the studio, the perseverance with which he hosts his weekly radio show “A State of Trance” and the energy he transcends to the crowds in front of him. Despite the heavy pressure that comes along with being one of the world’s most popular DJ, Armin has always kept his focus on the music. And that’s exactly what keeps him going.

Events

 

Artefakt

Artefakt © Nick Lapien

Music for the mind, waves for the dancefloor, Artefakt is a collaboration between Dutch producers Robin Koek and Nick Lapien that share a love for melancholic, hypnotic voodoo music.
 
Joining their perspectives in a meticulous, hands-on working method, the two bring a balanced and hypnotizing sound to the club. Be it in the form of a DJ-set or their full-fledged hardware live set crystallizing in the mind and oscillating the body. What sets Artefakt apart is a combination of musical material, atmosphere, and groove, captivating your spirit, whether you are listening quietly on headphones, or you hear the music pounding from a 10 foot tall PA at a rave.

Events

  • May 5 | TBA | Los Angeles, CA
  • May 11 | TBA | Chicago, IL
  • May 12 | Output | Brooklyn, NY

 

Bakermat

Bakermat, Courtesy of the Artist

Uplifting music with samples from genres such as soul and gospel is Bakermat’s specialty. While studying Psychology in Utrecht at the age of 18, Lodewijk Fluttert produced music and played at student parties. When the internet picked up his tracks “Black Cat John Brown” and “Zomer”, his career really took off. His track “Vandaag”, a combination of a saxophone sample and the famous Martin Luther King speech “I Have A Dream”, became a great hit all over Europe when B1 recordings released it with an English title, “One Day.” Bakermat melodic sample based music brought him to festivals such as Tomorrowland.

Events

 

Bingo Players

Maarten Hoogstraten wasn’t like other kids his age. When he was 10, his friends were buying toys to play with, but Maarten was already spending his cash on vinyl and CDs.“You know how it starts,” he said with a chuckle. “I was the one who bought records when I was young, I bought lots of vinyl, seven-inches, twelve inches, and when CDs came about I bought a lot of CDs, growing up, I spent all my money on music.”

When he was a teenager, two events would change his life. An early music software program called ProTracker was released, and he would meet Paul Baümer, who would become his musical partner for the better part of the next 15 years until he suddenly passed away from cancer in 2013.  Though they didn’t start out as DJs, once the demand grew for them to play out live, they learned how to mix on CDJs. Soon, they became regulars on the EDM circuit, playing massive festivals, like Electric Daily Carnival, Tomorrowland, and Coachella.“I think we started to become better producers once we started to DJ,” he said, noting that they would bring new tunes on the road and play for a crowd to gauge their reaction.

But in June 2013, at the height of their success, Paul suddenly fell ill. Maarten was stunned and didn’t know what to do. But Paul’s last wishes were for his best friend and his musical partner to keep making music. “He always said to me, ‘If you can find solace and continue what we started, please do so. Please continue the music. Carry on the Bingo Players flag,’” said Maarten. 

Events

 

Dannic

Dannic, the highly prodigious DJ and producer from Breda in the Netherlands, is one of the hottest acts to have emerged from the new generation of Dutch artists breaking through in recent years. His phenomenal rise to take the #26 spot in the 2015 DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll confirms to tastemakers that he is set to remain a driving force within the scene. This talented selector drew the attention of the spotlight early in his career thanks to a series of amazing mash-ups. He has since gone on to demonstrate a natural understanding of audio arrangement and structure, alongside possessing an impressive prowess as a peak-time performer, whose technical ability leaves club and festival audiences wowed each and every week. 

Events

 

Dash Berlin

Dash Berlin, Courtesy of the Artist.

Dutch DJ and producer Dash Berlin is recognized as one of the leading names in Trance music. As a true icon of the electronic world, Dash Berlin is no stranger to the DJ Mag Top 100 poll and was able to secure a place in the Top 10 for three consecutive years. He is well known for his breakthrough track “Till the Sky Falls Down” and has received several International Dance Music Awards. Dashers! Get ready to dance until the sky falls down with Dash Berlin.

Events

 

Don Diablo

Don Diablo. Courtesy of the artist.

Dutch DJ / producer Don Diablo was born and raised in Holland and is currently working on rapidly expanding his discography in between his global touring schedule. After scoring multiple number one hits on Beatport he became the third bestselling artist of the year in 2015 and also managed to rack up over a hundred million views on Youtube in the same year. In the meanwhile the Dutchman also became an in-demand remixer, adding names like Madonna, Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Birdy and many others to his portfolio.

 

Eelke Kleijn

Eelke Kleijn. Courtesy of the artist.

Eelke Kleijn is a rare talent. With work stretching across movie trailer scores, deep live shows, and incredibly well-formed production, he crosses a boundary between electronic producer and into a true modern-day composer. With peers and tastemakers standing up for this unmistakable imagination, the Rotterdam-based music maker’s potential has no bounds. With 2 artist albums delivered, an array of originals and first class remixes what he has achieved thus far would be any DJ’s reverie. Ultra to EMI, Global Underground to Eskimo Recordings and Spinnin’ to Suara have seen the young Dutchman’s vision in productions become world heard. 

Events

  • May 21 | Trade | Miami, FL

 

Fedde Le Grand

Fedde le Grand. Courtesy of the artist.

Fedde Le Grand is considered to be one of the most defining figures in the fast-evolving genre of House music. His influence is felt continually throughout the electronic landscape; Fedde’s beats, grooves, melodies, and rhythms surround us all and have done for many years. He belonged for nearly a decade as one of the top 30 most influential DJ’s according to the prestigious DJ Mag Top 100, has been credited countless awards and remixed the biggest artists around – from Coldplay, Madonna, will.i.am, Robbie Williams, Everything But The Girl, Fatboy Slim, to more.

Events

  • May 11 | Rumor | Philadelphia, PA

 

Ferry Corsten

Ferry Corsten. Courtesy of the artist.

Hailing from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Ferry Corsten’s lustrous career is exemplified by a passion for music that began as a hobby and spiraled into a full-blown profession. Today, as it was in the beginning, Corsten’s skills lie in his ability to coax the maximum emotional impact from electronic dance music of all genres, not just trance, but also progressive house and electro. He remains and has always been ahead-of-his-time, making music that becomes a template for others to follow.

 

Hardwell 

Hardwell. Courtesy of the artist.

At the age of 25, Robbert van de Corput, better known as Hardwell, capped off a 10 year journey when he was crowned World’s #1 DJ in the 2013 Top 100 DJs Poll cementing his position as the electronic scenes newest superstar DJ and becoming the youngest ever winner of the coveted Top 100 DJs award. In 2014 the Dutch megastar was crowned World’s #1 DJ for a second consecutive year. Having conquered almost every global territory from Asia to Africa, South America, Australia and Europe, the remarkable story behind this archetypal international DJ is one of devotion and relentless hard work. Currently, Hardwell ranks number three on DJ Mag Top 100. 

Events

 

Headhunterz

Dutch DJ & producer Willem Rebergen, better known as Headhunterz, pulls off an admirable balancing act between his own creative freedom and the high expectations of success. He’s blazed his own trail, making music his very own, open-minded playground. In the past 15 years, Headhunterz has shown to be following his inner flow, with a unique sound that’s ever genre-bending, yet truly his. Outstanding performances at festivals like Tomorrowland, Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival, as well as more intimate venues like Ruby Skye, LA Exchange, ZOUK and Ushuaia, have wowed fans all across the globe.

Events

 

Laidback Luke 

Laid Back Luke. Courtesy of the artist.

Born in the Philippines, raised in Holland, Luke van Scheppingen, known as Laidback Luke with no exaggeration is the reference point of the dance scene for the thousands of clubbers these days. His unlimited energy brightly results in both stunning live sets and ongoing anticipated studio hits.

The Dutch heavy weight house master is loved all over the globe: they worship him in Amnesia on Ibiza, they sell out his Super You&Me event wherever it goes to, and they put him on the 20th place on By-All-Means-Wanted TOP 100 DJs list. With the crazy energy that Luke conveys and the martial arts that he practices, rest assured his future will be out of this world!

 

Martin Garrix 

Courtesy of Martin Garrix

Part of the explosion of Dutch EDM DJs who emerged during the 2012-2013 season, Martin Garrix kicked off his career in a high-profile way, first landing on the dance charts with his 2012 remix of Christina Aguilera’s “Your Body.” Born Martijn Garritsen, the then-16-year-old DJ spent 2012 remixing Aguilera, signing with Spinnin’ Records, and releasing the “BFAM” single in collaboration with Julian Jordan.

In 2013 he released his solo single “Animals,” which hit number one in the U.K. and reached the Top Ten in eight other countries. His Gold Skies EP rounded up those tracks, adding two more charting songs: “Tremor” and the title track. Garrix also found time to perform and mix the world over, resulting in being the number 1 DJ in the world today.

 

Nicky Romero

Strike up a conversation about the current state of electronic music and it won’t be long before Nicky Romero gets an emphatic mention. And quite rightly so—because at the age of just twenty-six and in the space of only a few prolific years, the Amsterdam-based superstar has managed to build nothing short of a remarkable musical empire.

Celebrated the world over for countless chart-topping records and his electrifying energy in front of hundreds of thousands on the world’s most distinguished stages, the loveable Dutch performer, producer, Protocol Recordings chief and global brand ambassador has already carved an international reputation for himself as one of the most exciting and industrious artists of his generation.

Perpetually dedicated to growing and maturing the Nicky Romero brand at every turn the Protocol don continues to vindicate his position as one in just a handful of the most influential and venerated forces in the international music arena today.

 

nthng

nthng ©

nthng is one of the hottest techno-sensation in the Netherlands right now. His style ranges from more minimal beats to the heavier stuff, which he typically combines in a single track. His latest album, It Never Ends (2017), was an absolute masterpiece that can be considered a continuation of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series from a quarter century ago. At times the ambient vibe makes the music very soothing, while tracks like “Unity” and “Eternal” will get your feet off the floor.

The young Dutchman excels at flying high under the radar, but is certainly one to keep an eye on!

Events

 

Oliver Heldens

Oliver Heldens, Courtesy of the artist.

Oliver Heldens caught the attention of Tiësto, when he released his single ‘Gecko’.  Tiesto immediately signed him to his label; Musical Freedom and released the track with vocals from British singer Becky Hill on June 23, 2014. Heldens also has a weekly podcast titled Heldeep Radio. His songs “Gecko”, “Last All Night” and his remix of Dr Kucho!’s “Can’t Stop Playing” charted as top 5 singles in the UK, reaching 1st, 5th and 4th position respectively. Since 2015, Heldens has been performing under the alias HiLo as well. 

Events

 

San Holo

San Holo

Sander van Dijck commonly known by his stage name San Holo, is a Dutch DJ, musician, record producer, and composer. He gained international recognition for his remix of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode”, which currently has over 150 million views on YouTube. He has released music on several record labels including Spinnin’ Records, OWSLA, Barong Family, and Monstercat.

He also founded bitbird, a label which has released several of his singles including “Still Looking” and “Light”. San Holo’s first EP, Cosmos, was released via Heroic on 18 September 2014 and was in the Top 100 Electronic category of iTunes.

This year he will be the only Dutch artist at Coachella festival, but luckily he pays two sets.

 

Sam Feldt

Sam Feldt

While only in his early twenties, Dutchman Sam Feldt has become quite the deep house tastemaker of his day. With amazing remix work as well as solid hits like the early 2015 release ‘Show Me Love’, which proved to be his definite claim to fame, he’s one of the DJs to watch when it comes to a new sound flooding the scene. Sam Feldt is definitely not a stranger to the house music scene. After working behind the scenes as a producer for a long time, perfecting his musical talents, he decides to show the world what he’s capable of by uploading his first tunes by the end of summer ‘13. Within a year Sam signs with Spinnin’ Records and releases his first track on the label.

It doesn’t take long for the young producer to get sensed by international dance media as part of a new exciting wave of melodic deep house. With almost two million plays on SoundCloud and 250.000 plays in one week as well as a #1 Hypem spot for his remix of the Sander van Doorn & Firebeatz release ‘Guitar Track’, Sam established himself in the scene.

Events

 

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano

Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano, two notable personalities with a single goal: to entertain as many people as possible with their deep and funky house sound. As a DJ duo, they are irresistible. Put them in a DJ booth together and instant interaction and chemistry are there, with an eye for the audience and an ear for each other. Effortlessly adapting to one another seems to be no problem for these two best friends and partners in crime.

Besides performing, they are very busy with producing. Even that is something they do together. As if they don’t see enough of one another during gigs and their private lives, they’re also studio buddies. In May 2008 they released their first track ‘PINA’. One month later, Sunnery and Ryan released the club hit ‘Lift U Up’, featuring Melvin Reese and Chappell. After these successful productions, Sunnery & Ryan continued with tracks such as ‘The Desert’, which has been released on D.O.N.S.’s Kingdome Cuts, and several remixes such as Sander Kleinenberg’s ‘This Is Our Night’ and Kaskade’s ‘Dynasty’.

Events

  • May 11 | Lavo | New York, NY

 

Tiësto

Tiësto. Courtesy of the artist.

Highly regarded by both DJ Magazine and fans of electronic dance music, Tiësto launched his career as one of the world’s foremost trance DJs, due in part to his legendary six-hour live sets, and went on to embrace a more pop-oriented EDM approach. The fifth Tiësto studio album, A Town Called Paradise, appeared in 2014 on Casablanca. It featured the most pop-oriented productions of his career and a slew of guest vocalists who included Ladyhawke and Icona Pop. Tiësto appeared on DJ Mag Top 100 2016 as number 5.

Events

 

Tom Trago

Tom Trago’s relationship with music has always been particularly intense. “I couldn’t imagine life without music,” he says. “I feel this physical need to make music everyday. It’s like my body needs it as much as it needs food, water or sunshine.” Right now, Trago’s immersion in music is almost total. An internationally renowned DJ, producer, live performer and label owner with three critically acclaimed albums to his name, the Dutchman divides his time between all-day studio sessions, DJ gigs and live shows all over the world, and a steady stream of musical collaborations. You sometimes wonder how he finds time to sleep.

Events

  • May 31 | Floyd | Miami, FL

 

Yellow Claw

Yellow Claw may not be a household name outside of the Netherlands but have a look at their YouTube channel and you’ll be hard-pressed to find one of their singles with less than 2,000,000 views. They take the newest sounds from the club and drive them off a cliff.

Hailing from Amsterdam, the trio first exploded into the scene after founding the Yellow Claw Thursday night party at the Jimmy Woo, which quickly gained a reputation as being one of the wildest and most unique parties in the city.

Events

 

DutchCulture USA
 

Questions? – Get in touch with us

Back | To top

Your shortcut to
Dutch arts and culture
in the U.S.

Read more
sign up for our newsletter