Dekmantel Festival is a progressive, state-of-the-art electronic music affair held annually in Amsterdam. The event is hosted by 

, a pioneering Amsterdam-based event company and record label at the forefront of underground dance music. Known for its exceptional curation of influential house and techno acts, the festival encourages experimentation and straying from mainstream trends. The consistently exceptional lineup year-after-year, in addition to the superior production and audio-visual equipment, has earned Dekmantel a reputation as one of the most esteemed electronic festivals in the country and globally.

Taking place at Amsterdamse Bos, a vast park almost three times the size of New York‘s Central Park, and in various locations across the city, Dekmantel Festival has been held every summer since 2013 (excluding 2020). The five-day festival is split into two separate affairs, the main festival is at Amsterdam Bos on Friday through Sunday, while the Wednesday and Thursday happenings are held across five venues along the Het Ij River: 

. The Wednesday and Thursday programming requires separate tickets and serves as a precursor to the weekend ahead.

Celebrating its ninth event, this year's edition will take place on August 2-6, 2023, and will feature performances from hundreds of electronic artists and live acts across eight stages. The music zones of the main festival include the Main Stage, Green House, Selectors, Connects, The Nest, Boiler Room, UFO I, and UFO II. In addition to the music programming, Dekmantel will host a range of interviews, workshops, performances, art installations, film screenings, radio broadcasts, and vendors.

Involving concerts, talks, and performances, the pre-main event festivities feature performances from William Basinski, Lucrecia Dalt, Hudson Mohawke, and dozens more. The weekend programming features numerous legendary DJs, such as 

, as well as other exciting performers, including Freddy K, D.Dan, Salamanda, Nick León, and SHYGIRL. 

 for this year's Dekmantel Festival are sold out, 4-day tickets (Thursday-Sunday) and single day tickets, excluding Wednesday and Saturday, are still available.

Dekmantel

Netherlands

Amsterdamse Bos

Dekmantel Festival 2023

Every October, the city of Amsterdam transforms. Its canals and historic streets become the backdrop for the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), the world's most significant and comprehensive gathering for electronic music culture and its industry. For five days, the Dutch capital pulses with the energy of hundreds of thousands of international visitors – a mix of artists, industry professionals, and passionate fans. ADE is a unique hybrid: simultaneously the planet's largest club-based festival, featuring over 2,500 artists across 1,000+ events in around 200 venues, and the leading conference for the electronic music business. It's the essential meeting point where creativity, culture, and commerce converge.

The journey of ADE mirrors the evolution of electronic music itself. It began modestly in 1996 as a three-day conference focused primarily on the business side of a rapidly growing scene. Conceived by industry figures and the Dutch music rights organization Buma/Stemra, the initial event hosted around 300 delegates and featured about 30 DJs in a few key Amsterdam clubs like 

. From these humble origins, ADE experienced exponential growth, expanding its duration to five days and nights and seeing attendance figures soar past 400,000, even reaching 500,000 in recent years. This remarkable expansion earned it recognition as one of the world's fastest-growing festivals based on attendance increase since its inception.

This growth wasn't just in numbers; ADE's scope broadened significantly. While the ADE Pro conference remains its vital professional core, the event evolved to embrace music lovers and the wider public. It added components like ADE Lab (formerly part of ADE Playground), offering workshops, masterclasses, and tech showcases for aspiring creators, and the Arts & Culture program, featuring film screenings, art installations, and unique performances in unconventional spaces like the Rijksmuseum. Specialized tracks like ADE Green (focusing on sustainability) and ADE Tech further deepened its relevance.

The ADE experience is built on distinct yet interconnected pillars. ADE Pro is the definitive global business platform, where industry leaders from labels, agencies, tech companies (like Spotify, TikTok, Google), and more gather for networking, deal-making, and discussions shaping the future. Keynotes, panels, and workshops cover everything from market trends and technology to sustainability and mental health.

Running parallel is the ADE Festival, a city-wide musical marathon showcasing the entire spectrum of electronic music - from house and techno to EDM, trance, drum & bass, and beyond. Legendary clubs, massive arenas like the Johan Cruijff Arena (home to the Amsterdam Music Festival - AMF), and intimate, unique venues host performances by global superstars (like 

ADE Lab and the Arts & Culture program serve as the creative incubator, connecting aspiring artists with established professionals through masterclasses (featuring artists like 

), demo drops, gear showcases, and cultural events. This focus on talent development ensures a pipeline for the industry's future.

Ultimately, ADE functions as the indispensable global nexus for the electronic music world. It's where the industry sets its agenda, where trends are born, where deals are struck, and where the global community connects. Its influence extends beyond business, enabling cultural exchange and providing a platform to address critical issues like diversity, inclusion, and climate justice within the scene. By transforming Amsterdam into the world's electronic music capital for five days each year, ADE not only reflects the state of the genre but actively shapes its future, maintaining its status as the heartbeat of the international electronic music community.

Dekmantel Festival 2023

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