Dutch Dance Agenda: August 2019

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 #DutchDanceAgenda, we post monthly updates on who is playing when and where, and we highlight 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 dominated the international dance scene for years. Many Dutch DJs have gathered a worldwide following and fly all around the globe to entertain one energetic crowd after 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 coming from such a small dot on the map, it is almost impossible to keep track of all their performance in the United States. Luckily, we did exactly that, so for the latest updates tune in on our Twitter and Facebook page! Also, be sure to check out our Soundcloud to hear all the latest, Dutch-produced tracks and live-sets.

August brings New York’s Electronic Music Festival ‘Electric Zoo‘ with the following Dutch lineup:

Friday, August 30: Oliver Heldens

Saturday, August 31: Afrojack, Joris Voorn

Sunday, September 1: Armin van Buuren, R3HAB, Droeloe

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.

Events:

August 30 | Story Nightclub | Miami, FL

August 31 | Randall’s Island Park | New York, NY

Armin van Buuren

For more than 15 years, the Grammy-nominated Dutchman Armin van Buuren 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:

August 30 | Kaos Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

Bassjackers

Best friends since high school, DJ, Marlon Flohr, and producer, Ralph van Hilst came together in 2007 to create the Dutch duo known as Bassjackers. The duo exploded onto the scene and in 2011 their dancefloor bomb “Mush Mush” was picked up by Tiësto and released on his label Musical Freedom. Since then, Bassjackers have reached massive new heights in their career with numerous chart-topping bangers and hit-collaborations with the likes of Martin Garrix, Afrojack, KSHMR, and Showtek, to name a few, as well as remixes for A-list artists including Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, and Ne-Yo.

Events:

August 3 | DAYLIGHT Beach Club | Las Vegas, NV

August 4 | Maya Day & Nightclub | Scottsdale, AZ

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. Maarten remembered: “I think we started to become better producers once we started to DJ,” 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:

August 16 | Mosaic Ultra Lounge | Kansas City, MO

August 17 | Das Energi Festival | Salt Lake City, UT

August 18 | Oasis Pool and Day Club | Neptune City, NJ

August 23 | Omnia San Diego | San Diego, CA

Droeloe

This duo’s emphasis on their artistic strengths has seen them weave sonically and visually intricate stories through their music. Droeloe‘s signature skull has quickly become synonymous with progressive music and breathtaking art highlighted by their impeccable percussion-heavy sound infused with the catchiest melodies and stunning use of visuals.

They hit the electronic music scene in 2016 when San Holo brought them aboard bitbird where the duo released a string of singles through the rest of the year including “zZz” and “Wake the Warrior” establishing themselves as a new force to be reckoned with. The duo’s songwriting and producing continued to mature giving way to another string of hits across different labels such as Lowly Palace and Monstercat.

The duo returned to bitbird for their biggest piece of work to date – their debut EP A Moment In Time. Featuring five unique cover pieces and a beautiful visual storyboard, the EP was a hit amassing close to 25 million streams in less than a year and launching them on tour with San Holo on over forty-dates across four continents.

Events:

August 10 & 11 | Moonrise Festival | Baltimore, MD

August 23 | Breakaway Music Festival Columbus | Columbus, OH

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 for the third year in a row.

He was recently injured from jumping off the stage, so hopefully, he will have fully recuperated and is able to DJ at these events.

Events:

August 17 | Omnia Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 18 | Wet Republic Ultra Pool | Las Vegas, NV

August 30 | Omnia Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 31 | Wet Republic Ultra Pool | Las Vegas, NV

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.

Events:

August 16 | Lavo | New York, NY

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:

August 16 | Exchange LA | Los Angeles, CA

August 31 | Shephards Beach | Largo, FL

San Holo

Sander van Dijck commonly known by his stage name San Holo is not just a DJ: As DJ, Singer, Guitar Player and Lyricist, San taught himself to play the guitar at an early age. 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 toured the world and has gained a credible reputation in the EDM world. In this next phase of his development, San Holo is taking the inspiration he gathers from bands like Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Ros and very ethereal soundscapes, beautiful melancholic music as he takes a leap with new sounds and music.  He is motivated by the fact that he’s never found a way to get that kind of vibe into the EDM music he was producing until half a year ago when he realized that he could use guitars instead of synth and still make it into a drop and a buildup.

San has released music on several record labels including Spinnin’ Records, OWSLA, Barong Family, and Monstercat. He is also no stranger to the Billboard Dance Charts, as his single “Light” soared to #13 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Chart.

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.

Events:

August 2 | Marquee Dayclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 4 | Concord Music Hall| Chicago, IL

August 4 | Lollapalooza | Chicago, IL

August 5 | Marquee Dayclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 9 | Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival | San Francisco, CA

August 10 | Marquee Dayclub | New York, NY

August 11 | Moonrise Festival | Baltimore, MD

August 16 | Marquee Dayclub | Las Vegas, NV

Showtek

Over the past years, Showtek has become more than an act; it’s a movement, a tribe formed by the producer duo and its fans that is united in its love for music, excitement, artistic freedom and adventure. Wouter and Sjoerd Janssen, aka Showtek, two brothers from Eindhoven have been making music for over a decade.

Two rebels kicking against the shins of the establishment, speaking a language the party crowd could believe in. It was in 2012 when they truly exploded onto the global dance scene with the release of ‘Cannonball’. Countless new fans joined, new productions got recognized and reached all corners of the planet.

Events:

August 30 | Stereo Live | Dallas, TX

Spag Heddy

Straight from the kitchens of Pastanistan, Spag Heddy delivers your daily need for tomato bass. Releases like Oh My! [Never Say Die], OG Meatball EP [Buygore] and the official remix for platinum hit Don’t Let Me Down (The Chainsmokers ft. Daya) made waves in the world of bass music, and have secured him a spot amongst the bass lords.

Spag gained fame in the bass market giant USA with several headlined tours, from festival main stages to intimate and raw spots, leaving every witness destroyed with a snapped neck. Don’t miss out and be embraced by his noodly appendage.

Events:

August 10 | Aura Nightclub | Tempe, AZ

Tiësto

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:

August 1 & 3 | Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 9 | OMNIA Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 10 | Moonrise Festival | Baltimore, MD

August 10 | Wet Republic Ultra Pool | Las Vegas, NV

August 16 | OMNIA Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 17 | Wet Republic Ultra Pool | Las Vegas, NV

August 23 | OMNIA Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

August 24 | Wet Republic Ultra Pool | Las Vegas, NV

August 31 | Hakkasan Las Vegas Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV

W&W

After meeting up back in 2007 Willem van Hanegem & Ward van der Harst came together to form W&W and they haven’t looked back since. The past years this Dutch production and DJ duo have transcended the boundaries of genre and traverse the globe with their music and performances. Fusing styles and mixing influences, W&W combine the uplifting and melodic elements of trance with the raw intensity of electro and progressiveness of house to create a sound that is uniquely their own. Infectious, rebellious and highly energetic, their list of productions is championed by the likes of Hardwell, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, David Guetta and more for its breadth, diversity and massive appeal to multiple audiences.

Events:

August 24 | Marquee Nightclub | Las Vegas, NV