Music festivals in the Netherlands: Winter 2020

Winter is for both hibernation and celebration. While it's a great time to relax and take it easy, it's also a busy time of year for shopping and visiting friends and relatives, making winter trips to other countries (especially if you're an expat) and attending parties, ice rinks and cosy winter markets. It's also an ideal time to go to a concert or a music festival!

Once Christmas is over, it's business as usual - holidays come to an abrupt end, workers go back to work, students return to their studies and kids go back to school. But it's not all doom and gloom - in the Netherlands, there is a seriously great selection of festivals to go to, in order to quell those post-Christmas blues!

Winter music festivals in the Netherlands

Here are some of the festivals to brighten up the rest of your winter days:

Eurosonic Noorderslag

The Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival is a key platform for European music, helping new acts break into the international live music scene. Aside from being an exciting event for visitors, Eurosonic also hosts Europe’s most important live music industry conference with panels, keynote speeches and award shows.

• Date: January 15-18, 2020
• Where: Various venues in Groningen
• Tickets: From 32,50 euros | Purchase your Eurosonic Noorderslag tickets
• Featured artists: Amy Root, Annna, Black Country, Charlotte Adigéry, Jesse Markin, My Ugly Clementine, Rayden, Ricky Dietz, Seed To Tree, Sensible Soccers, StarWound, Tanaë,  Yasmyn and zalagasper.

Anarchy Art Fest

Anarchy Art Fest is, as the name suggests, an anarchistic, unorthodox, offbeat festival of art and music, featuring “expressions that are rough around the edges, do not care for aesthetics and prefer depth”.

• Date: January 18, 2020
• Where: Roodkapje, Delftseplein 39, 3013 AA Rotterdam
• Tickets: 5 euros | Purchase your Anarchy Art Fest tickets
• Featured artists: Punk bands Waardeloos, De Tegenpartij, Die Nakse Bananen and more bands which will be announced soon. Also, enjoy visual art in various media, including metal sculpture, silk screen printing, installations and performance art.

Black Denim Festival | A day of punk music in Rotterdam

Black Denim Festival in the Netherlands is a day-long celebration of all kinds of punk and rock music at the renowned music venue Baroeg in Rotterdam. Whether it's D-beat, hardcore, gravel or crust, Black Denim Festival believes that punk is timeless and this is evident from the festival line-up.

• Date: January 19, 2020
• Where: Baroeg, Spinozaweg 300, 3076 ET Rotterdam
• Tickets: 14 euros | Purchase your Black Denim Festival tickets
• Featured artists: Discharge, Skitsystem, Martyrdöd, SEEIN RED, Fleas and Lice, Reproach, SFD and ThroatStabber.

Snowball Winter Festival

The Snowball Festival returns to Utrecht with a day full of techno tunes, winter drinks and real snow during this "apres-ski-themed party in the park"! There's even a specific dress code at Snowball festival: put on your ski suit and get ready for the event of the season!

• Date: January 25, 2020
• Where: Park Transwijk, Koeriersterlaan 101, 3526ZC Utrecht
• Tickets: 40,35 euros | Purchase your Snowball Winter Festival tickets
• Featured artists: Anfisa Letyago, Jayzo, Secret Cinema, Jesse Maas, Deepend, Kim Kaos, La Fuente, Joyhauser, Luuk van Dijk, Pablo Discobar Sound System, Trobi, Relativ and Steff Da Campo.

Overwinteren Festival

The holidays may be over and the Dutch weather still grim and cold, but that doesn't mean that it's not the ideal time to have some fun and dance the day away! Get a load of the mulled wine, stalls selling Dutch snacks and decorated stages and tents where musical gatherings sweep you off your feet at Overwinteren Festival!

• Date: February 22, 2020
• Where: NDSM-Plein 28, 1033 WB Amsterdam
• Tickets: 22,50 euros | Purchase your Overwinteren Festival tickets
• Featured artists: Kris Kross Amsterdam & Friends, Michel de Hey & Friends, Chin Chin Club x Gossip, Jan van Kampen & Friends, Disco Dolly x Flu Flu, Deep House Amsterdam and Super Social x Tom Tom Club.

Get ready for winter festival season

It’s as though the Netherlands were ready for the yearly festival season to start – many music fans feel nostalgic, reminiscing about music festival season last summer. But why not get into festival mode in January and February? Why should we wait for another season? Get your festival tickets and have a great winter!  

Thumb photo: Bart Heemskerk, courtesy of Eurosonic Noorderslag