3 Reasons Amsterdam Dance Event is Everything for Electronic Music Fans

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Tue October 06, 2015 | 00:00 AM


Whether you're a mover and shaker in the electronic music industry or simply a fiending fanatic for juicy beats, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is absolutely where you need to be. It is your South By Southwest. It is your Mecca. 

Simply put, it is a "beautiful beast" that's not just a music festival where the big, the small, the mainstream and the underground collide, but a place for literally anyone who is important and innovative in the globally exploding dance music genre – all in one of the most historic cities in the world.

Amsterdam Dance Event began in 1996 during EDM's booming early days as a conference attended by 300 delegates and involving 30 DJs over three days. Now, it boasts over 2,000 DJs playing 115 venues, 350,000 total visitors, and 5,000 conference attendees. ADE is composed of three parts: the Festival, the Conference and the Playground, and these are the three very reasons why you should go the soonest chance you get.

The Conference: You'll Get a Glimpse at the Industry's Cutting Edge 

Amsterdam Dance Event Johan Vivie 4
Photo by: Johan Vivie

An incomparable chunk of the worldwide electronic music industry congregates at ADE every year, offering the ultimate combination of business and inspiration. The Conference is quite comprehensive, covering the modern music industry, and featuring dedicated programming for business professionals, startups, aspiring producers and musicians, students, VJs, visual artists and stage designers. About 5,000 people opt into this portion of this festival each year. The programs break down into categories that cover deeper insight into the harder music genres, the relationship between music and technology, and sustainable, ecologically responsible practices for the global dance music industry. The conference is open to anyone with a one-day or five-day pass and spread across nine different themed programs:

ADE Pro (the main conference)
ADE Beats (conference on hip-hop, bass and beats)
ADE Beamlab (an event dedicated to visual technologies and high-end stage design)
ADE Green (a dedicated conference focusing on sustainability) ADE Next (a conference for up-and-coming DJs and producers)
ADE University (a select group of students and young professionals who get to learn from industry professionals)
ADE Sound Lab (a multi-day program covering everything about sound, sound synthesis, audiovisual art and innovative ways to produce sound)
ADE Dance & Brands (an event dedicated to connecting brands with the electronic music scene) Hard Dance Event (ADE's conference focused on the harder styles in dance music)

The Festival: You Will Dance More than You Ever Have in Your Life

Amsterdam Dance Event Willeke Machiels 13
Photo by: Willeke Machiels

Yes people work hard at ADE, but they play even harder. On top of the spread of both new and legendary clubs that fuel Amsterdam’s reputation as a leading force in dance music, various buildings, businesses and unconventional venues are transformed for ADE’s nighttime festivities. The program features the biggest artists on the planet alongside fresh, upcoming talent and everything in between. Every year the ADE Festival attracts 350,000 festival visitors from around the globe and is truly the biggest international club festival covering the whole spectrum of electronic sub-genres.

This year, literally 2,000 artists are slated to perform, which means you could easily dance for 24 hours straight without stopping. Check out the artist list here . Tickets for events are sold individually (usually for about €15) and are separate from the conference ticket packages – so if you're not looking to bump shoulders with industry types, this is your way to go.

The Playground: A Haven for Pop-Up Events Around Amsterdam

Amsterdam Dance Event Johan Vivie 7
Photo by: Johan Vivie

Amsterdam is one giant playground for grown-ups and ADE plays on this aspect of the city to the extreme. ADE Playground lacks distinct boundaries and happens throughout the city center during the festival. It is a unique, dance-related lifestyle program offering five days of film screenings, music hardware presentations, art shows and exhibitions, exclusive fashion offers, interactive talk shows, promotional activities and pop-up musical performances at over 25 creative hotspots around the city, including roof-top terraces, clothing shops, and art galleries, as well as outdoor exhibitions and cinemas.