There are a ton af great music festivals in Amsterdam and The Netherlands.  Check out our comprehensive list:

Pinkpop

A a three-day pop festival held in Landgraaf, Limburg which is located some 134 miles from Amsterdam. The festival – running since 1972 – will be held between July 14-16, 2013. Approximately 60,000 people attend the festival on each of it’s three days. Tickets will probably cost around €160 for the full 3 days and around €60 for one day. For more information please visit the festival’s official page.

A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise (or simply ‘Lowlands’)

Not just an annual music festival, this huge festival also includes experimental theatre, comedy, and cinema. The festival is held in Biddinghuizen, Flevoland and features 10 stages and over 200 acts. The majority of stages are inside huge tents to protect against unexpected weather and at least 55,000 people visit each year. For more information please visit the festival’s official page.

Summer Carnaval (Zomercarnaval)

Running now since 1984 in Rotterdam, the Zomercarnaval is a huge street parade through the centre of Rotterdam. From 2004 to 2007, 900.000 people attended the event, making it one of the most popular carnivals in the world.

The carnaval is held over a number of days. A week before the parade, a Queen is elected followed by a beach party on the Thursday after held on an artificial beach in the centre of Rotterdam, the Staan de Maas.

Battle of Drums is held on the Friday, where brass bands vie to become the official Zomercarnaval brass band. The street parade on Saturday includes dancers, bands and two concert stages.

For more information please visit the offical site.

Northsea Jazz Festival

One of the biggest jazz festivals around. The Northsea Jazz Festival is held every year in July in the Ahoy stadium in Rotterdam. The festival’s been running since 2006 at it’s current venue. Expect to see up to 2000 acts in 3 days. Music styles at the festival include Jazz, Blues, R&B, Funk, Soul, Latin and more.

For more information please visit the official site.

Vierdaagsefeesten

Always held during the third full week of July, Vierdaagsefeesten attracts over a million visitors each year. A huge number of top alternative and rock bands play at the festival and The Matrixx club serves as an electronic music venue during the festival.

The official website is only available in Dutch.

Sensation

A world-famous, worldwide dance party. It takes place at the beginning of July in Amsterdam. Music includes Dance, Trance, Techno etc.

Visit the official site to book tickets and view the program.

Dance Valley

The largest dance festival in The Netherlands attracting over 40,000 visitors annually. Held in mid-July in Spaarnwoude park, near Schiphol Airport. A massive celebration of Summer, the festival contains a number of circus tents, all of which play their own genre of music.

See the official site for more information.

Mystery Land

Perhaps the most eclectic dance festival of all, here you’ll find almost every genre of music under the sun, alongside workshops and theatre shows, cool stands selling trinkets and creative sets and props. A definite throwback to the hippy glory days of the 60′s.

Visit the official website.

Defqon.1

Another Summer dance festival but more focussed on hardcore styles of music. The event dates change from year to year and it’s held in Biddinghuizen with a sister Defqon.1 festival in Australia. 40,000 people attended in 2012 making it as big as Dance Festival.

Visit the official website.

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