Easter Weekend 2025: A Stellar Kickoff to the Dutch Festival Season

Ph: Bradamedia

Easter Weekend in the Netherlands is synonymous with the launch of festival season, and this year, the weather seemed to get the memo. With clear skies and warm vibes, the weekend was a triumphant celebration of music, community, and the unbeatable energy of Dutch dance culture. From intimate sessions at The Loft to the sprawling stages of DGTL Festival, here’s how Easter Weekend 2025 set the tone for the season ahead.

Ph: Bram van den Berg

The weekend began with a double dose of Audio Obscura at The Loft. Audio Obscura has been redefining the global dance scene since its inception, known for staging cutting-edge events in jaw-dropping, often off-limits locations like the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Central Station, and the UNESCO-listed Van Nelle Fabriek. With a decade of boundary-pushing under their belt, they’ve shown that the right setting can elevate a set into a moment that lingers long after the last track.

Audio Obscura pioneered electronic events at The Loft, transforming the A’DAM Tower’s top floor into a legendary destination for underground music lovers. The venue’s panoramic views and intimate scale perfectly match Audio Obscura’s distinctive lineups. Friday morning saw Trikk and Âme go back-to-back in a spellbinding session—exactly what you'd expect from two Innervisions heavyweights. Their seamless blend of emotive, hypnotic music was a masterclass in storytelling through sound. The vibe felt intimate yet electric; the kind of crowd that arrives early because they know it’ll be worth it.

Ph: Iris Zebli

The evening session brought fresh energy, with Lammer headlining after a vibrant b2b with Amsterdam-based duo Newtone, known for their infectious energy and slick selections. Their remix of Gotu Jim’s Spookstad became an instant highlight, lighting up the dancefloor with playful familiarity. As the sun dipped below the skyline, Newtone’s groove-driven sound flowed effortlessly into Lammer’s more pulsating solo set. Fresh off a sold-out show the night before, Lammer dialed into a deeper, bass-heavy energy that resonated with a younger, Gen Z-heavy crowd, cementing his rising-star status.

Ph: Brian Lubking

Saturday morning brought another Audio Obscura gem, with Locklead setting the tone and Josh Baker serving up a groove-heavy house set that lifted spirits and kept the dancefloor in constant motion. Sunlight streamed through The Loft’s iconic windows, elevating the vibe to near-euphoric levels. It’s hard to overstate how special this venue feels when the elements align. Baker closing with the iconic So Many Times by DJ Gadjo was the perfect sendoff, triggering a full-throttle emotional release on the dancefloor and capping the morning with an electryifing high.

Ph: Kirsten van Santen

By the afternoon, it was time to trade rooftop views for industrial grit at DGTL Festival, a cornerstone of the Dutch scene. Since its 2013 debut, DGTL has redefined what large-scale festivals can look like, not just musically but environmentally. Their radical sustainability blueprint—covering resources, energy, mobility, sanitation, and food—transforms festivals into platforms for urban innovation. From eliminating single-use plastics and achieving a 100% waste separation rate to powering stages with renewable energy and implementing a fully plant-based menu, DGTL proves that eco-conscious design and flawless experience can coexist. Their initiatives extend to innovative practices like on-site composting of food waste and utilizing hydrogen generators, setting a new standard for sustainable festivals worldwide.

Ph: Stef van Oosterhout

The afternoon kicked off at the AMP stage, easily one of DGTL’s most striking settings. A transparent, greenhouse-like structure with an arched ceiling, it felt both industrial and organic—sunlight pouring through the glass while a massive circular rig of lights and LED panels hovered overhead like a UFO, reacting to every shift in the music. Each artist brought something different to the space, and as the day progressed, the stage morphed with them.

Curol was the first to set the tone, and she did so with fire. Her set moved with purpose, rooted in Afro-Latin percussion and thick, rolling basslines that felt both grounded and celebratory. She played with tension and release in a way that kept the crowd guessing, dropping in vocal samples and rhythmic switch-ups that landed with force. There was a physicality to her set—one that matched the growing energy in the crowd as people filed in, eyes up, limbs loose, ready for the day.

The Blaze delivered a DJ set that leaned into their cinematic DNA. Known for their emotionally charged productions, they translated that same mood into a more club-oriented format, blending deep techno textures with soaring synth work. Each transition added depth, creating a cohesive musical journey. The LED circle above pulsed with abstract visuals that mirrored the dreamy, almost otherworldly atmosphere

they created. It was a shift in pace but not in momentum—the dancefloor leaned into it, fully absorbed.

Ph: Jaap Beyleveld

Mano Le Tough took the reins just as golden hour hit, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. His sound—deep, groovy, hypnotic—was in complete harmony with the shifting light. You could see people closing their eyes, swaying, smiling to themselves. His transitions were long and patient, letting each track breathe and build. It felt like a set that encouraged presence, one where you could lose yourself without feeling lost. The AMP stage transformed into something softer, warmer, but still very much alive.

Then came Joris Voorn to close things down. A homegrown hero with a global sound, he brought a kind of precision and intensity that snapped the crowd back into focus. His melodic techno cuts hit hard but still carried emotional weight—big builds, euphoric drops, and moments that felt like pure release. The visuals above ramped up in full force, strobing in sync with every drop, casting beams of light across the packed crowd. It was dramatic, unapologetic, and completely fitting for the final set of the day.

Ph: Kirsten van Santen

Sunday was all about DGTL, and the festival continued to shine through delivering a thrilling journey across its iconic stages. The day opened at the Submarine stage with Beswerda, whose house-driven set reverberated inside the curved yellow hull of a decommissioned submarine. Docked at the NDSM waterfront, the venue’s industrial-meets-nautical charm offered an underground vibe both literal and figurative.

Ph: Stef van Oosterhout

Fafi Abdel Nour and Paramida’s b2b on the Frequency stage was the kind of set that made you lose all sense of time. Housed inside a stunning transparent structure that felt half greenhouse, half spaceship, the space felt like a temple for dance. It was the perfect setting for their fluid, genre-hopping selections, with the crowd locked into every transition. There was something deeply playful and intuitive in their dynamic, a back-and-forth that kept building without ever overreaching.

Ph: Kirsten van Santen

During Franky Rizardo’s set at the AMP stage, the sunset cast a warm, golden hue through the transparent walls, illuminating the packed crowd in a dreamy glow as vibrant pink lights from the overhead array pulsed in rhythm with his beats. The dancefloor buzzed with energy, ravers shoulder-to-shoulder, their hands raised in celebration, a clear sign of Rizardo’s magnetic pull as he dropped groovy house anthems that kept the momentum soaring, perfectly capturing the euphoric spirit of the festival.

Ph: Jaap Beyleveld

At the Current stage, an open-air setup perched on the NDSM waterfront, the industrial scaffolding and towering canopy framed a pulsating scene under the twilight sky, with beams of white light cutting through swirling smoke and reflecting off the dark waters below. DJ Heartstring’s set brought the night to a euphoric peak, their nostalgic, trance-infused beats electrifying the crowd of younger ravers, who danced wildly on the elevated platform as the raw, gritty surroundings amplified the high-energy finale. The distant city skyline and cranes looming in the background added a stark, urban edge, making the closing moments of DGTL a fittingly intense celebration of festival culture.

Ph: Bradamedia

Easter Weekend 2025 marked a thrilling start to the Dutch festival season, with Audio Obscura and DGTL setting a high bar for what’s to come. What truly elevated it into a flawless experience was the incredible staff at both Audio Obscura and DGTL. From The Loft’s intimate setting to DGTL’s massive scale, the staff’s dedication shaped an atmosphere of care and community that made every moment special. These aren’t the faces you see on flyers, but without them, weekends like this wouldn’t exist. With perfect weather, iconic venues, and a renewed sense of unity, Easter Weekend was a reminder of why the Netherlands remains the beating heart of electronic music culture—and why the best is still to come.