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Your Dutch Dance Agenda: December
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Featuring 27 Dutch DJ’s this month & and overview of the best New Years Eve events in the USA with Afrojack, Dash Berlin, Hardwell, Kill the Buzz, Sam Feldt, Showtek, Tiesto, W&W & Yellow Claw!
Do you want to know when your favorite DJ will be laying some tracks, or are you curious about new Dutch voices in town? In “Your Dutch Dance Agenda,” we will post monthly updates on who is playing when and where, and 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 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 have been taking the new generation underneath their wings.
From underground talents to household names, the Netherlands’ party scene has built the reputation to harbor “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 Dutch DJs that are performing in the United States.
Don’t worry: we are here to help out!
DECEMBER
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
- December 7: Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ
- December 31: The Dream Hotel Downtown New Years Eve – New York, NY
Bakermat
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 carreer really took off. His track “Vandaag”, a combination of a saxphone 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
- December 2: the MID – Chicago, IL
- December 3: Webster Hall – New York, NY
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
- December 9: Royale Nightclub Boston MA
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.
This year, Bingo Players will do a 10 year anniversary tour in the United States. The proceeds of all tickets go to F Cancer and towards their efforts in fighting cancer.
Events
- December 1: Soundcheck DC – Washington, DC
- December 2: Club Rio – San Antonio, TX
- December 3: Gold Room – Atlanta, GA
Chuckie
Chuckie’s leading mixing skills and distinctive productions not only show an indispensable complement to the Dutch dance industry, the international dance-scene has also been giving him a warm welcome. Driven by ambition, enthusiasm and pure passion for music, his characteristic set makes the crowd go wild and his many productions reflect his true visionary in his craft works. Nowadays, Chuckie still continues to surprise the crowd with his mind-blowing style and his story is yet to continue.
Events
- December 2: Omnia Nightclub – Las Vegas, NV
- December 3: PRYSM – Chicagom, IL
Dash Berlin
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
- December 15: Lavo – New York, NY
- December 16: Story – Miami, FL
- December 17: Label – Charlotte, NC
- December 30: Omnia Nightclub – San Diego, CA
- December 31: Create – Los Angeles, CA
Don Diablo
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.
Performance
- December 1: 1015 Folsom – San Francisco, CA
- December 3: Avalon Hollywood – Los Angeles, CA
- December 5: Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub – Las Vegas, NV
- December 8: The MID – Chicago, IL
- December 9: Webster Hall – New York, NY
- December 10: Echostage – Washington, DC
Eelke Kleijn
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 from electronic producer and in to 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.
Dates
- December 2: House of Yes – Brooklyn, NY
Fedde Le Grand
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
- December 29: Sky SLC – Salt Lake City, UT
Ferry Corsten
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.
Dates
- December 2: Mosaic – Kansas City, MO
- December 8: Sky SLC – Salt Lake City, UT
- December 9: Ruby Skye – San Francisco, CA
Hardwell
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.
Dates
- December 2: Story Nightclub – Miami Beach, FL
- December 3: Omnia Nightclub – Las Vegas, NV
- December 31: Echostage – Washington, DC
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
- December 16: Club Space – Miami, FL
Julian Jordan
When Julian Doppenberg was signed by Spinnin’ Records on the age of 16. In a collaboration with another young Dutch DJ Martin Garrix he released the track “BFAM”, which immediately became a success. Collaborating with other artists such as Sander van Doorn and Firebeatz, Julian Jordan is able to make a name for himself. He brings a fresh spin to the dance scene, fusing some of its trademark sound and bombast with exciting new twists and influences. MTV cites him as “one to watch”, which is definitely possible with his busy tour schedule.
Events
- December 15: Omnia – San Diego, CA
- December 16: E11even – Miami, FL
Kill the Buzz
Kill the Buzz started as a local DJ at well-visited student parties like “Luxaflex” from the same event promoters as Rauw&Lauw.
Within a couple of months, fellow DJs started to recognize his talent for Producing and he already had the opportunity to work with a couple of (upcoming) DJs / Producers in the scene.
Even club owners and promoters / event managers started to recognize this new guy on the block which eventually created opportunities to play at events with DJs like Dyna, Valerio and upcoming events with Franky Rizardo, Roul & Dours and Funkerman.
Dates
- December 3: Omnia – Las Vegas, NV
- December 31: Echostage – Washington, DC
Laidback Luke
Born in 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!
Events
- December 2: Flash Factory – New York, NY
- December 3: Metropolitan Nightclub – New Orleans, LA
- December 15: Sky SLC – Salt Lake City, UT
- December 22: Time – Costa Mesa, CA
- December 23: Pure – Sunnyvale, CA
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
- December 2: Vlive – Miami Beach, FL
- December 13: 103.7 KISSmas Bash 2016 – Milwaukee, WI
- December 14: 98.7 Kringle Jingle’s Electric Wonderland – Detroit, MI
- December 16: Echostage – Washington, DC
- December 17: 93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Bell Ball 2016 – Tampa, FL
Menno de Jong
Menno de Jong is primarily known as a Trance DJ and producer with an international following. Based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, de Jong was born on March 17, 1984 and was interested in music — classical as well as modern — at a young age. Being classically trained on the piano and incredibly passionate about music led to him taking up DJing and producing in his early teenage years. he first established himself as a producer with the release of ‘Guanxi’ on the British label Anjunabeats in 2004. In the years that followed he took the Trance scene by storm with singles such as ‘Tundra.’ He went on to perform at major clubs and festivals worldwide, including EDC.
Dates
- December 10: Unity – Atlanta, GA
- December 16: U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC
R3hab
Performing and recording under the name R3hab, EDM artist Fadil El Ghoul started his career in 2008 producing the track “Mrkrstft” for Hardwell. He teamed up with Hardwell once again in 2009 on the single “Blue Magic,” and worked with Afrojack in 2011 on “Aces High (Prutata).” He subsequently garnered prestigious 2014 slots at Tomorrowland, Future Music, Creamfields, and Summerburst, and that same year he put out the 12″ “Androids,” “Flashlight” with Deorro, and “Ready for the Weekend,” which were among some of his biggest-selling singles. He also landed a featured spot on Calvin Harris’ 2014 album Motion, and a DJ set at the Coachella Music Festival followed in 2015. In 2016, he teamed with the R&B vocalist Ciara for the single “Get Up.”
Events
- December 23: the Metropolitan Nightclub – New Orleans, LA
- December 24: Marquee NYC – 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
- December 30: Decadance Arizona – Phoenix, AZ
- December 31: Buckhead Bali at the Grand Hyatt – Atlanta, GA
Sander Kleinenberg
Whether it’s producing, remixing or dj’ing, SanderKleinenberg has been building credibility in on all fronts for over two decades. With twenty years of experience behind him, he’s established himself as an advocate for progress and most of all, a pivotal player on the frontier of electronic music. Sander’s passion for perfection has kept him away from classification, putting hours upon hours into the enrichment of his dj- and producer-skills. Constantly twisting and shaping sounds, progressing in the studio and experimenting on an unprecedented level have brought Sander to the point where a jaw-dropping remix for Justin Timberlake was soon followed by another one for Daft Punk, Madonna, Janet Jackson, N*E*R*D and so on.
Dates
- December 16: House of Yes – Brooklyn, NY
Sander van Doorn
Sander van Doorn got in touch with the musical scene in the year of 1995 when he was sixteen years old. His brother’s latest gadget, a “Groovebox 303”, caught his attention. He was astounded when he first experienced the amount of creativity that could be put into creating music. Time and time again, Sander would borrow his brother’s Groovebox and his nephew’s vinyl records and he played the life out of those records. Since then, Sander’s heart belonged to music and it still does today.
Today, Sander has performed thousands of shows in every corner of the world and released numerous solo records, yet Sander is still part of a group of innovative and progressive artists. Sander’s creative process exists of re-inventing musical styles, taking risks in regards to the sound he creates and most importantly staying ahead of the masses.
With two full-length albums, numerous hit-singles, remixes of the worlds biggest artists, sold out gigs in all major venues and festivals worldwide, his own successful record label Doorn Records, and a weekly radio show named Identity, Sander van Doorn continues his musical journey into the heart of fans around the world.
Events
- December 2: Create Nightclub – Los Angeles, CA
- December 3: Marquee NYC – New York, NY
- December 17: Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub – Las Vegas, NV
- December 24: Glow at Soundcheck – Washington, DC
- December 24: The MID – Chicago, IL
Showtek
Over the past two 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
- December 30: Decadence Denver CO
- December 31: NOS Event Center San Bernadino CA
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 is 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 clubhit ‘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
- December 2: Marquee NYC New York NY
- December 2: Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub Las Vegas NV
The Prophet
Hardstyle and hardcore pioneer The Prophet has traveled the world for 25 years, performing at parties such as Tomorrowland, Qlimax, EDC Las Vegas, Thunderdome, TomorrowWorld and Defqon.1. He is the founder of leading hardstyle label Scantraxx, which gave rise to the success of many artists, including Headhunterz and Wildstylez. His music is being played and loved by the biggest names both in and outside the hardstyle scene. Unlike his alias suggests, The Prophet doesn’t pass on musical messages; he creates them!
His musical career began in 1982, before the house movement. Throughout the following years he invented, produced, played and remixed hip-hop, hardcore, hardstyle, club, progressive and more. It was important that the music always matched one crucial code word: tough! As long as it sounds tough, his musical heart continues to beat in various rhythms.
Events
- December 2: Exchange LA – Los Angeles, CA
Tiësto
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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
- December 30: Hakkasan Nightclub – Las Vegas, NV
- December 31: Decadence – Denver, CO
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.
Dates
- December 2: Elektricity – Pontiac, MI
- December 3: We Are NRG – San Francisco, CA
- December 31: Countdown – San Bernadino, CA
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 a 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 party at the Jimmy Woo, which quickly gained a reputation as being one of the wildest and most unique parties in the city.
Events
- December 28: Create Nightclub – Los Angeles, CA
- December 31: WAMU Theater – Seattle, WA
NEW YEARS EVE
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In order for you to pick the best New Years Eve party, we made a list with Dutch DJs on December 31. Make sure to check out the following events:
- Afrojack: The Dream Hotel Downtown New Years Eve – New York, NY
- Dash Berlin: Create – Los Angeles, CA
- Hardwell: Echostage – Washington, DC
- Kill the Buzz: Echostage – Washington, DC
- Sam Feldt: Buckhead Bali – the Grand Hyatt Atlanta, GA
- ShowteK: NOS Event Center – San Bernadino, CA
- Tiesto: Decadence – Denver, CO
- W&W: Countdown – San Bernadino, CA
- Yellow Claw: WAMU Theater – Seattle, WA