Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE)

What better way to know a city than through music?  Each October, Amsterdam fully embraces electronic music in a city wide hoot called the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). Electronica’s biggest festival reins in the global support of performers and enthusiasts during five days, presenting new and integral vibes. Align an early autumn visit to see the Dutch capital in unified artistic jubilation!

Pop electronic musicians compose one ultimate dance wave, something like an auditory spasm, adding and subtracting energetic phrasings and relays until a lively balance occurs.  A piece then slowly disintegrates to a grinding finish. The art form continues to mature, elaborating experimental approaches as technology improves. All in all, ADE celebrates electronic dance music in one rollicking, Amsterdam party.

Lifting off in 1996, this sonic merry-go-round consistently lines up the best talent alongside a diverse group of young innovators. About 200,000 total attendees dance and cheer for 2,000 artists, covering all the popular styles and emerging sub-styles across 450 events, throughout 100 locations. This gathering offers enough content to satisfy every appreciator’s inner ear. Even if none of the performers’ names are at first familiar, by the end of the festival this field of music will be well known.  Alternatively, there are many attendee ticket options to match all degrees of interest.

In complement to this sonic feast is the co-joined Amsterdam Dance Event Conference (ADEC), a catch-all assembly for discussing current trends and future developments, as well as a deep inlet to the electronic music scene. Each day the festival runs through a robust schedule of conferences, such as the Hard Dance Event, ADE Pro, ADE Next and ADE University. These focus on benefiting those wishing to glean expert advice and observations while simultaneously networking, discovering talent, and learning about electronic music production.

Furthermore, ADE has the Playground, expanding ADE to impromptu city stages. These pop-up performances are special events organized all over Amsterdam: on roof-top terraces, in shops and in cinemas, temporarily hosting one-off electronic sets and after parties. While wandering the city center, the music inlays to memories of the canals and architectural feats.  One option is to design day routes that mix the foods and fancies of Amsterdam with the city’s heady social life. There will be film screenings, gear workshops, goodie-bags, in-store promotions and discount vouchers available through the ADE Playground – as well as free events.

October is one of the best months to visit Amsterdam. The amber foliage and cooling temperatures add to the festival’s welcome mat enhancing the effect of getting to know Amsterdam through its love of electronica. Five days or less is perfect for a short stay at one of our many apartment listings in the city center. ADE also offers a smooth way to meet people who share in the festival’s exuberance.

As a comprehensive live anthology of current electronic music across Amsterdam, ADE provides a launch pad for newcomers to the genre and to the city. The festival’s October timing also optimizes the year’s last stretch of milder weather there. With all this fun to be had among the canals and in the clubs, it’s no wonder why ADE has been on a growth spurt the previous decade and is continuing to expand its reputation above and beyond the world’s other electronic music festivals.

Admission: tickets are usually around € 15 per venue. Conferences are also ticketed. The Playground is accessible with the purchase of an ADE card for € 10.  The sale of all tickets begins in February.  Complete one day or five day tickets are purchasable from the festival’s website: www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl