5 Reasons Why You Need to Go to Amsterdam Dance Event
Whether you’re a professional working in the dance music industry or simply on the lookout for some of the world’s best parties, the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) delivers on every level.
Taking place in the Dutch capital over five days every October, ADE remains at its core an industry conference that draws more than 7,000 industry delegates who network, do business, and present on panels and roundtables during daytime presentations.
However, with nearly the entire dance music industry in town for the conference, it makes sense to throw a few parties while they’re at it. This is exactly what places ADE among the world’s most desired events for electronic music fans. With hundreds of different events taking place across more than 140 venues, it draws an estimated 375,000 partygoers to the city. Basically, it’s the ultimate and a must-do for any dance music fan!
Need further convincing? Here are five essential reasons why you need to go to ADE.
1. The networking
While ADE has been around since the mid ’90s and will celebrate its 22nd edition this year, it keeps breaking its own records. While attendance for the combined conference and festival components grows closer to half a million people with each passing year, ADE remains unique in contrast to the likes of the Miami Winter Conference, which has gradually transformed into simply a multi-day party. When it comes to industry grunt, nothing delivers like ADE.
You’ll find all corners of the dance music industry at ADE. Booking agents, promoters, publicists, record label owners, up-and-comers hustling for a record deal…you name it. It remains the industry’s gold standard for networking and draws professionals to Amsterdam from every corner of the globe.
2. The conference
Although the industry professionals that flock to ADE occasionally decide to skip the conference component and organize meetings in cafes, bars and restaurants, the conference itself remains a huge draw. With over 7,000 industry professionals in attendance, it’s your best chance to bump elbows with the big players.
It grows bigger every year, expanding gradually to commandeer a sprawling collection of hotels and venues throughout the city, as well as breaking off into several different strands that complement the main ‘ADE Pro’ conference component, which itself alone is hugely informative.
Some of the different spinoff conference strands now include ‘ADE Green,’ which looks at issues of environmental sustainability, ‘ADE Sound Lab’ that looks specifically at the more technical side of music creation, plus even the ‘Hard Dance Event’ that caters purely to the Netherlands’ world-famous hard dance scene and its associated massive party brands.
3. The talks
If you’re able to drag yourself away from the many meetings that will quickly fill up your calendar at ADE, you’ll find the conference component includes an amazing selection of keynote presentations and talks from some rather compelling dance music luminaries.
How about artists as diverse as Nina Kraviz and Martin Garrix speaking on their personal approach to music production? Or dance culture veterans like Underworld, Irvine Welsh, and Tommie Sunshine talking about their decades spent in and around the dance scene? There’s also hot topics discussed among panels of industry experts like how Brexit will impact touring artists, or how the international market is changing as things further professionalize.
Every year there’s always a certain discussion point that tends to stand out as the hot-button topic. What will it be in 2017?
4. The parties
While there’s little doubt that ADE delivers with precision on the industry and networking side of things, it’s also entirely possible to ignore it altogether and show up for the parties, which is exactly what the lion’s share of ADE attendees are really flocking to the city for. And with 2,000+ artists in attendance for the conference, it makes total sense to throw a party while they’re there. At the end of the day, it’s those amazing Dutch events that make ADE a global draw. And the Dutch sure know how to put on a good party!
Across the five days of the conference, there’s literally hundreds of high-calibre parties to choose from. Starting at the top, the Amsterdam Music Festival on Saturday evening entertains a stadium crowd of 35,000 and features performances from EDM heavies like David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Marshmello who dominate the festival main stages around the world. Fittingly, it also hosts the awards ceremony for DJ Mag’s infamous Top 100 poll.
If your musical tastes lie elsewhere, you’ll have the chance during to enjoy some of techno’s most formidable brands at the height of their powers. The biggest of them all is Awakenings, which hosts an unprecedented five-day run of parties at the spectacular Gashouder refurbished gas refinery with showcases for leading labels like Drumcode and Klockworks. The pyrotechnics they cram into its silver domed ceiling have to be seen to be believed.
Elsewhere, leading party brands like HYTE and DGTL run multiple events, while labels from across the dance music spectrum hold their own intimate showcases throughout the city. Everyone from Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings to Solomun’s Diynamic Music, and countless more. Whoever your favourite DJ happens to be, chances are you’ll find them at ADE.
5. The city
Don’t forget the key ingredient that truly makes ADE what it is: Amsterdam itself. The canal-filled streets are a stunning sight to behold and the fast-paced energy of its bicycle-filled streets match the frenetic pace of the conference perfectly.
Not to mention the fact that dance culture has existed in Amsterdam for more than 25 years, and has been woven into the fabric of the city arguably more than any other place in the world.
With ADE flags proudly displayed throughout the city centre, and the conference embraced with open arms by local businesses and authorities alike, the bustling Amsterdam streets transform into a party utopia during the five days. Are you convinced yet?
Amsterdam Dance Event is held from 18–22 October 2017, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tickets for festival parties or conference passes (starting at 300€) can still be bought online. The ADE card is a great option as well. For more information, check out ADE’s website.
Kat Loughrey is one of our curators at A Song A Day. She’ll be at this year’s Amsterdam Dance Event, be sure to say hello at @katloughrey!
