Netherlands set for ‘bold and fresh’ hip-hop fest

Dutch promoter Friendly Fire is joining forces with 013 Poppodium to launch a “bold and fresh” indoor hip-hop festival.

The 2,000-cap Headlines, which will debut at the Tilburg venue on Saturday 10 May, will celebrate the “alternative, left-field side of hip-hop”.

Friendly Fire is behind established festivals such as Best Kept Secret, while 013 Poppodium has organised gatherings including Roadburn and Woo Hah! and attracts 350,000 visitors annually to more than 375 shows.

According to Friendly Fire’s Rens Peters and Elvin Usidame, the idea for Headlines arose from the lack of alternatives in the market.

“There are very few festivals in the Netherlands that provide a stage for these artists, even though we see a high demand for it,” explains Peters.

“A festival like this has been missing, not just from our roster, but from the Dutch scene as a whole”

“With Headlines, we not only want to highlight this part of the genre but also bring curious hip-hop fans together and introduce them to new sounds,” adds Usidame.

Ticket costs €43.80, with lineup details to be announced soon. FKP Scorpio-backed Friendly Fire celebrated its 15th anniversary last year.

“Tilburg is the ultimate hip-hop city in the Netherlands, and 013 has been repping the culture for 25 years strong,” says Daan Holthuis, Headlines co-founder and head of programming at 013 Poppodium. “A festival like this has been missing, not just from our roster, but from the Dutch scene as a whole. With Headlines, we’re stepping back into the spotlight. This is the must attend event for all hip-hop lovers.”

The news offers a timely boost to the Netherlands’ festival sector after it was revealed that more than 100 festivals disappeared from the market in 2024 due to being either cancelled or discontinued. Forty-six new events cropped up during the same period.

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