It’s Tuesday October 25th and the 21st edition of Amsterdam Dance Event ended less than 48 hours ago.
The whirlwind five-day conference and club festival was a marathon to say the least and for me, as a first time attendee of the conference itself (rather than just club events), a lesson on the power, scope and influence of ADE in today’s music industry. From Wednesday October 19th onwards until the early hours of Monday morning, the city of Amsterdam was entirely dedicated to the iteration of ADE, selling out the conference for the tenth consecutive year and breaking all sorts of records, totaling 550 speakers, over 2,200 artists in more than 140 venues, 1,000 events and approximately 375,000 visitors.
Life & Death at Thuishaven. Photo courtesy of Joris Bisschops
After attending several conferences and workshops, interviewing artists and networking with agents and publicists as well as attending nine different parties, I flew away from Amsterdam with absolutely no doubt of my intention to return in 2017, and with a few important lessons learned along the way:
ADE is what Winter Music Conference was 10-15 years ago but on steroids: Did I just make a comparison between the two? Yes, although in all honesty WMC never even came close to reaching the size and influence of ADE both within the city hosting the event and in the international dance music community. Walking around Amsterdam last week you gained a sense that ADE isn’t some side event backed up by the city but rather one organized, hosted and wanted by the entire local community. You could walk into any of the major hotels and run into some of the most influential artists, agents, label-owners and publicists of our scene — everyone at ADE is there to connect and to continue to build on the foundation blocks for the future of dance music.
Photo courtesy of coohn.nl
ADE is much more than a club festival: Sure, you go to ADE to party but you shouldn’t limit yourself to just that. While it may be hard to leave some free time to explore the city and dive into the various activities the conference provides, ADE does an excellent job in incorporating a series of exciting options into your schedule that include technology workshops, museum visits and more. ADE’s official opening ceremony took place on Wednesday, under the canopy of the Stedelijk Museum. The Museum Quarter also served as the location to host the first concert ever in the underpass of the Rijskmuseum where Maceo Plex treated 2,000 lucky visitors to a special set at no cost. Checking out the Van Gogh Museum is also a must when in Amsterdam, and this year Armin van Buuren presented a special audio tour there highlighting some of his favorite works. Also each year at ADE the most culinary-inclined artists face off in the kitchen in an official ADE DJ Cook-off where they share their signature dishes with an expert panel of judges – an event that promises a lot of fun and a unique experience alongside some of the best and most down-to-earth DJs in circulation.