surprise me + live music + listening sessions + at night + only thursday
ADE picks
FULL CYCLE | Giorgia Angiuli + Natascha Polké [Spatial Audio Live Concert]
Thu 22 · 18:00 · THE OTHER SIDE · Amsterdam
The future of sound is not a line, but a circle Born in the vibrant heart of Amsterdam at The Other Side, Full Cycle is a movement redefining how we experience music. This ADE, step inside a sanctuary where sound doesn’t just play—it breathes, moves, and envelops you. Through a world-first partnership with L-Acoustics, we harness cutting-edge L-ISA 360 technology to weave a 3D tapestry of audio. We dismantle the traditional wall of sound, placing you at the center of the sonic universe.The Intersection of Eras: Where heritage meets the future. We are a collaborative ecosystem of artists, architects, and dreamers sharing wisdom and pushing creative boundaries.A Legacy of Regeneration: In a fast-paced industry, we choose to glow. Full Cycle is a dedicated safe space designed for restoration, prioritizing sustainability, mental well-being, and the health of our community. Step inside . Be Surrounded. This is F U L L C Y C L E
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
For three days, Amsterdam City Hall becomes a home for the people, sounds and ideas that shape Amsterdam after dark. Music, light, food and art come together in a setting that belongs to the city as much as it belongs to the people who inhabit it. A temporary and custom-built world where familiar faces meet new perspectives and where Amsterdam's creative night culture is celebrated without translation. Rooted in Amsterdam yet open to the world, Motie celebrates the city's creative spirit during its most international week. Curious by nature, uncompromising in taste, and welcoming to everyone willing to discover something new. Initial program release: Helios by Heleen Blanken (AV Installation) Young Marco (live) ft. Jonny Nash Oceanic (live) Gizem Öz (live) Presented by Nxt Museum Sophia Bulgakova (installation) Arno Schuitemaker (choreo) L'atelier du Champagne (wine) Living Room Session w/ Shaquille Joy, Tamara Shogaolu (Nationale Opera & Ballet) PEEL (music) Pintai (music) Sprezzatura (Wine) File #002 and program per day coming soon. About Motie ADE: The former municipal service desks of Amsterdam City Hall becomes a meeting place for Amsterdam’s creative ecosystem. Music, food and art come together in a custom-built world. From Amsterdam, for Amsterdam. At the centre of the stage sits Helios, a kinetic audiovisual installation by Heleen Blanken. Each evening, Helios takes on a different musical interpretation. Young Marco ft. Jonny Nash, Oceanic and Gizem - artists known for moving dance floors - step into slower, more atmospheric territory for a series of one-off performances. As an official part of ADE Arts & Culture, the program extends beyond music, featuring newly commissioned and previous work by interdisciplinary Ukrainian artist Sophia Bulgakova , curated by Nxt Museum. Bulgakova’s practice connects personal experience with wider political realities, exploring how art and activism can exist side by side. Her works Spomyny (2024) and Sensitive Guidelines (2026) will pull the audience into the passage. As the hours pass, the former bureaucratic hallway starts to shift. What was once a place for forms and numbers becomes a place to wander into and experience the full width of Amsterdam night culture.
THE FUTURE IS SOUND at ADE
Thu 22 · 19:00 · The Stargate · Amsterdam
THE FUTURE IS SOUND, London's leading future-facing music and cultural event series, comes to Amsterdam for a special one-night experience as part of ADE 2026. Bringing together a carefully curated line-up of forward-thinking artists, the night moves through live electronic music, immersive sound and audiovisual performance - creating a journey through new forms of listening, performance and shared experience. The line-up features Ruthlss , a London-based artist, composer and producer blending electronic, classical and cinematic sound with club culture and emotive storytelling, alongside Portrait XO , an award-winning trans-disciplinary artist and musician exploring the boundaries of AI, sound and human creativity. Blurring the boundaries between concert, installation and immersive experience, THE FUTURE IS SOUND AT ADE explores how artists are reshaping the way electronic music is created, performed and experienced — and what the future of live music might feel like. Explore more ADE Arts & Culture events at The Stargate here .
Thessa Carina - Listening Session
Thu 22 · 19:00 · NYX Hotel · Amsterdam
This session will focus on Thessa Carina's upcoming album “The Weight of Faith” and the creative process behind it. She will share the story and inspiration behind the project, followed by a short listening preview and live performance combining hope and emotional depth. The session will also include a small interactive element where attendees can try playing a harp themselves and experience one of the key instruments featured throughout the album.
Dome Concerts presents: GIDGE - visuals by Julius Horshuis
Thu 22 · 19:30 · Fabrique des Lumières · Amsterdam
Where nature becomes sound, and sound becomes space. This ADE, Dome Concerts opens a new chapter at FABRIQUE DES LUMIERES — one of Amsterdam's most extraordinary cultural venues. Across four days, internationally acclaimed artists transform this monumental space through sound, light and architecture. Swedish duo GIDGE have established a unique voice in contemporary electronic music, blending organic electronics, field recordings and cinematic ambience into deeply atmospheric compositions. Inspired by the forests of northern Sweden, their music captures the quiet beauty of nature through warm synthesisers, delicate melodies and subtle rhythms. Presented inside Fabrique des Lumières , their immersive sound is accompanied by the extraordinary fractal visual worlds of JULIUS HORSTHUIS . Inspired by the hidden geometry of nature, his visuals transform the monumental architecture into an ever-evolving landscape of light, pattern and atmosphere. Together they create an immersive experience where forests become constellations, mathematics feels organic, and silence remains part of the composition. Dome Concerts is an immersive 360° live audiovisual series taking place throughout ADE at ARTIS Planetarium and Fabrique des Lumières .
Futures of Listening presents: Currents | Configuration I
Thu 22 · 19:30 · Loods6 · Amsterdam