surprise me + live music + listening sessions + at night + only ambient
ADE picks
Sofia's Trip
Wed 21 · 18:00 · Uilenburgersjoel · Splendor · Amsterdam
This is not a regular concert. Come trip on the avant-garde sound world of Sofia Gubaidulina - the composer the Soviets tried to ban for being too radical - and the trance-ambient music of Soheil Shayesteh , live in one of Amsterdam's most beautiful hidden gems: the Uilenburgersjoel. Lay down. Let the sound move through the space and through you. There's no stage to face, no seat you're expected to sit still in - just a shifting, physical body of sound built to take you somewhere else, inside a 17th-century synagogue most of Amsterdam has never set foot in. The music itself moves in two directions at once. Gubaidulina's world is raw, confrontational, rooted in the physical - it pulls you down into the earth. Shayesteh's music reaches the other way, up toward something hypnotic and transcendent, closer to the heavens. Together they take you the whole way: from the earthly to the heavenly and back again, one continuous trip. Sofia's Trip is made by Lonelinoise , a platform for contemporary classical music that exists to break the genre out of its own habits - out of the concert hall, out of the silence-and-applause ritual, and into spaces and formats where the music can actually be felt. This is that idea taken all the way. Sofia's Trip. One night only at the Uilenburgersjoel. Thomas Dulfer | bassoon & duduk Soheil Shayesteh | kamancheh & live-electronics Sebastiaan Kemner | Conductor Lola Descours | bassoon Lidy Blijdorp | cello Ketevan Roinishvili | cello Emma Warmelink | cello Renée Timmer | cello Louis van der Mespel | double bass Jennifer Blom | double bass Dominique Chabot | double bass Francesca WIersma | viola Tobias Borsboom | piano
Crawler Presents: Your Death Is a Lullaby
Wed 21 · 19:30 · Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ · Amsterdam
Nothing Here Now and The Rest Is Noise present the live premiere of Crawler: Your Death Is a Lullaby at Muziekgebouw. This night will open with the performance of Coil in the foyer of the Muziekgebouw. Coil experiences itself as an amplification of an audio tactile sensation. With a speaker embedded in the hips and a microphone positioned at the top of the spine, Ciro and Koiri move a giant spring reverb through the room. Continuing with the night we open the Grote Zaal with the new collaborative project from 2K88 , Rainy Miller , and Bianca Scout , developed during an Unsound residency and released as Everything Always Changes, For We're Truly Here, which features Lauren Duffus, weaving hypnagogic R&B through half-remembered histories. The evening continues with Crawler , founded by Rachella Groen (Zohar) and Harry Castle, joined by writer Gervaise Alexis Savvias. The project asks who gets to be legible, and what it costs to insist on being otherwise, treating instability, fragility, and refusal as a queer politics rather than as failures of communication. Grief, desire, Blackness, and hauntology run throughout Gervaise's writing, positioning the body on stage as a site of contest rather than display. For this premiere, cellist Malou van der Veld and guitarist Rob Toal-Lennon join the core group, while Studio Basse Stitgen's live installation and Clint Soren's visuals extend Crawler's collective language into the spatial and visual dimensions of the performance. Closing the night is Nkisi , an electronic musician and composer rooted in the Congolese diaspora and African cosmologies. Co-founder of NON Worldwide, her research project The Anomaly Index explores rhythm and vibration as counter-epistemologies, while her live performance extends the ongoing Black Spells Series: sonic rituals of remembrance in which rhythm carries stories rather than merely decorating them. The project is part of Muziekgebouw Productiehuis and the ADE Arts & Culture. Explore more ADE Arts & Culture events at Muziekgebouw here .
Sonic Journey: The History of Electronic Dance Music
Wed 21 · 19:30 · Concertgebouw · Main Hall · Amsterdam
On ADE Wednesday - whether lying down or sitting up - embark on a musical journey through time. A musical story that begins in Jamaica, with music by artists such as Donna Summer, Grandmaster Flash, and Kraftwerk, and - via Frankie Knuckles and Juan Atkins - passes through Chicago and Detroit before finally ending in Europe, and thus also in Amsterdam. The evening will feature hosts and DJs Nathan Kofi and Derk Louwes . The event will be conducted in English. For this unique event, only the seats next to the stage and a limited number of spots to lie down on the stage itself will be sold. This means the stage is rotated 180 degrees compared to the normal setup at The Concertgebouw's Main Hall. Listening without distractions Through carefully selected tracks, sound fragments, and stories, Nathan Kofi and Derk Louwes make audible musical connections that you might not have noticed before: between styles and pioneers, from the roots of a genre to its influences on other music and cultures. Alongside the music and the story, you experience what it feels like to listen without distraction. This is becoming less and less commonplace, even though listening to music consciously can help you relax and be in the here and now, something many of us could use. Please bring your own mat if you wish to lie down. Important for ADE Pro Pass holders: A limited number of tickets for this concert have been reserved for ADE Pro Pass holders. The tickets will remain reserved until 15 minutes before the start of the concert (19:00 - 19:15). After that, the tickets will be released at the box office for other visitors. Please make sure you pick up your ticket on time by showing your ADE wristband at the ADE-desk in the entrance hall (address: Concertgebouwplein 10). First come, first serve; full = full.
The Listening Room ADE
Wed 21 · 20:00 · The Stargate · Amsterdam
For a special ADE edition, The Stargate becomes a listening room inspired by the analogue spirit of 90s rave culture and the intimate chill-out rooms that existed alongside it - spaces to come down, connect, discover music and simply be, away from the distractions of the outside world. Throughout the session, vinyl selectors will guide the room through a carefully curated selection of ambient, electronic and experimental music, inviting a slower, more immersive way of listening. Immersive lighting, atmospheric design and the Stargate environment create the setting, while unlimited high-quality tea is served throughout, bringing together music, sensory experience and social connection. Vinyl selector: TBA Tea ceremonialists: Anya & Hongyue Explore more ADE Arts & Culture events at The Stargate here .
Kara-Lis Coverdale & Lia Kohl
Wed 21 · 20:15 · Concertgebouw · Recital Hall (small hall · Amsterdam
The Concertgebouw kicks off the Amsterdam Dance Event with Kara-Lis Coverdale and Lia Kohl. These two artists and sound artists explore the intersections between electronic, classical, and human creativity in the intimate setting of the Recital Hall. Between and after the concerts, DJ Fenna Fiction will provide music in the foyer. Timeline: 7:35 PM - doors open 8:15 PM - Lia Kohl (live) 9:00 PM - DJ Fenna Fiction (foyer) 9:30 PM - Kara-Lis Coverdale (live) 22.15 - DJ Fenna Fiction (foyer) Important for ADE Pro Pass holders: A limited number of tickets for this concert have been reserved for ADE Pro Pass holders. The tickets will remain reserved until 15 minutes before the start of the concert, between 08:15 pm and 08:45 pm. After that, the tickets will be released at the box office for other visitors. So make sure you pick up your ticket on time by showing your ADE wristband at the desk in the entrance hall (entrance: Concertgebouwplein 10, not at the desk in the lobby). Full = full Explore more ADE Arts & Culture events at Concertgebouw here .
Interactive Workshop with Giulio Beja & Veronica Motta and Listening Session with Mark Knekelhuis
Thu 22 · 18:00 · café40 · Amsterdam
“What if creating a more accessible, safer, and inclusive nightlife isn’t about adding more rules — but about changing how we show up in the space?" Giulio Beja and Veronica Motta are ’Spazi Sensibili’ , a project that explores accessibility, safety, and inclusivity within club and night culture as practices of collective care. Together, we will question who gets to feel safe, visible, heard, and free on the dancefloor — and who is still being excluded. Through hands-on exercises, collective mapping, real-life nightlife scenarios, and open discussion, we will explore how discrimination and exclusion can show up in night spaces, while reflecting on our own experiences, perspectives, and capacity to intervene. Rather than offering fixed solutions or more rules, we focus on building awareness, confidence, and practical tools for collective responsibility and action: How do we notice? How do we respond? How do we look after each other? An invitation to move beyond awareness — to unlearn, challenge, experiment, and co-create nightlife where difference is actively welcomed, protected, and celebrated.” The session will be accompanied by a listening session with Mark Knekelhuis, creating space to connect the themes explored with music, sound, and collective experience. Entry is free until full capacity. For this edition of ADE, café40 welcomes (dis)comfort : a three-day programme rooted in the belief that music can, and should, create collective spaces for awareness, dialogue, and reflection. Born from a desire to reconnect with ourselves and those around us, the programme invites audiences to slow down, listen deeply, and make space for meaningful exchange. Throughout the programme, Sasha Todorovska and Virginia Gianni will present their artworks in the space. Discover the full programme at Café40 here .
Dome Concerts presents: CATCHING FLIES - visuals Julius Horsthuis
Thu 22 · 19:00 · ARTIS Planetarium · Amsterdam
A soulful fusion of electronic music and immersive visual art Following a completely sold-out programme during ADE 2025, this year Dome Concerts proudly returns to the iconic ARTIS Planetarium . On ADE Thursday, multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ CATCHING FLIES (George King) has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary electronic music. Blending soulful melodies, deep basslines and intricate rhythms, his music effortlessly draws inspiration from hip-hop, house, jazz and ambient influences. With releases on Ninja Tune, Anjunadeep, Cercle and his own label Indigo Soul, Catching Flies has built an international reputation for emotionally rich productions that balance technical precision with warmth and intimacy. His work has earned support from artists including Bonobo, Diplo, Keinemusik, Jungle, Nils Frahm and Loyle Carner, while collaborations with Sofia Kourtesis, Actress and Hot Chip further underline his versatility as a producer. For this special performance beneath the dome of the ARTIS Planetarium, Catching Flies is joined by the visuals internationally acclaimed fractal artist J ULIUS HORSTHUIS . Together they create an immersive audiovisual experience where soulful electronic music and breathtaking visual worlds merge beneath the stars. Dome Concerts is an immersive 360° live audiovisual series taking place throughout ADE at ARTIS Planetarium and Fabrique des Lumières .
Motie - Thursday (Opening Night)
Thu 22 · 19:00 · STOPERA · Amstel 1 · Amsterdam