Monthly festival discussion | JULY
After one of the hottest weekends in recent memory, festival wise July starts on a bittersweet note.
The extreme weather forced the last-minute cancellation of several festivals, including Defqon, Nous'Klaer Festival and others. Nobody wanted to see months of preparation disappear overnight, but it was ultimately the right call. Safety always comes first, even when it hurts.
A small reminder from us: be kind to the organisers, crews, artists, volunteers and everyone behind the scenes. Festivals don't simply happen. Thousands of people spend months building these temporary worlds, often working around the clock in the final week. Sometimes Mother Nature wins. Lago Lago fortunately got greenlit and going by comments from friends and videos online, it looked like a deliciously sunny weekend filled with people dancing their hearts out. Maybe next year…
Thankfully, July gives us plenty of chances to party outside some more. Whether you're camping in a Dutch forest, dancing underneath industrial steelworks in Germany or making the trip into the Slovenian/Spanish/French countryside, this month offers something for almost every flavour of electronic music..
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Wildeburg
July 9 - 12 | Kraggenburg
If there is one Dutch festival that has steadily grown into a cult favourite over the last decade, it's Wildeburg. It is my personal favourite festival in The Netherlands, nine years since my first visit and not planning on missing an edition anytime soon.
Unlike many camping festivals that primarily sell big names and focus on music only, Wildeburg has always focused on creating a world of its own. The site is packed with hidden stages, art installations, a bamboo forest that somehow seems to keep expanding at night, and enough unexpected moments to make planning almost pointless. Wander first, schedule later. Also, if you’re ever near Radio De Koperen Hond, eavesdrop for a minute because that place can create your weirdest and best memories of the weekend. They are simply very unpredictable in what is on offer. Beer estafette hour? Christmas celebration? Happy hardcore power hour 5-6 am? Don’t underestimate this stage.
The lineup once again reflects that philosophy. Wildeburg mixes adventurous selectors, live acts and crowd favourites across house, techno, breaks, bass, minimal, dancehall and everything in between. An overview of some of the stages:
Helling (‘mainstage’) is mostly euphoric house, eurotrancy, UKG. Think ATRIP & LAMMER, Million, X Club, Newtone. And VTSS hopefully bringing a bit more power and speed to the Friday night. Job Jobse has been flying high with sunny daytime sets (Selectors, Lentekabinet, Lago Lago) and on Saturday Wildeburg can also expect lots of cheesy, poppy and sometimes even slutty happiness. Crowds will be wild, Moxes & PHIA will take over after with warm house. In the evening a personal favourite and, by the Berghain subreddit dubbed ‘queen of Pano’ Avalon Emerson will take us all over the place musically, honestly can’t wait. The track she closed her Dekmantel ‘25 Loop set with, a more powerful edit of this song, insanely beautiful closing song. I have a love-hate relationship with this stage. It can be the most chatty and mainstream with more phones on the dancefloor than on other stages, but when the music (and perhaps other things…) hit right, you’ll be gliding on bubbles and rainbows. Keep your phones and digital world in your tent or pocket and stay in the moment <3
Duinpan offers a different variety of techno and is where I usually metaphorically pitch my tent. British freak techno producer Blawan returning for the ?’th time, ostensibly and deservedly a Kultlab favourite , Berghain’s new age favourites Ogazon and Rene Wise going b2b, a sluttier and more vocal start on Saturday with DJ Fuckof into MCR-T and later on steadily transitioning towards more ‘serious’ techno with Rodhad, after Delano Legito delivers us there with his amazing and varied track selection. (DL please play Marionette again? <3). On Sunday we’re treated by a 4.5 hours Altinbas set, expect a more dubtechno version than the peaktime that you might be used to.
Bamboebos has a more minimalistic and dubby approach. Ogazon has been on such a hot streak that she gets a timeslot here as well, most likely vinyl only and very excited to witness a stage I don’t often end up at. Priori has been everywhere, but you won’t hear too many people complain about it. Getting a 3-6AM closing slot sounds like perfection, give me this. The next day two favourite Waking Life acts Mountain People and PLO Man, will play before Raresh and the Sunday closes of with the one label to rule them all, LotR.
Bud X Lodge will make you explore more alternative sounds and musically wildly differs per day. Live acts like Gioray, Alberta Balsam and Mammo are worth looking into. Saturday you’ll have two Draaimolen highlights going b2b with Herve & Xioalin, nthng and their impressive amount of amazing productions with low pace, deep bass and atmospheric sounds, then it goes off the rails with Torus (old skool trance?) into Hysteria DJ’s into Promo (please, please, please tell me it is DJ Promo, if so catch me front row) and end it off with HyperLili (think Jeans/Spekki/Woody92 style). .
Don’t sleep on the Wildlive stage! Daytime often offers slower paced live performances from all across the globe and closer to the night it becomes more raw and energetic. Still need to research the artists I do not know, but might take a look at S10 and Hang Youth. Any recommendations??
For many people on this subreddit, Wildeburg has quietly become their favourite camping festival in the Netherlands. If you embrace getting lost instead of chasing the timetable, you'll probably understand why. Still need structure and guidance in getting lost? Every year Wildeburg has a treasure hunt, starting point camping spot, that will take you around the entire property. Showing you places you normally wouldn’t end up at.
Don’t want to jinx it, but the weather is looking like absolute perfection…
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Awakenings Festival
July 10 – 12 | Hilvarenbeek
The biggest techno festival in the country returns to Beekse Bergen. Awakenings hardly needs an introduction anymore. It's massive, polished and unapologetically focused on showcasing every corner of modern techno. It is consistent in quality and lineup, not too many surprises and many recurring names. Whether you're after industrial, groove, melodic or the faster end of the spectrum, chances are you'll find an area dedicated to it.
It isn't necessarily the festival for spontaneous discoveries anymore, but if you're looking for production on a grand scale and one of the strongest pure techno bills of the summer, Awakenings continues to deliver. Besides booking the biggest and the ‘best’ of techno, Awakenings has also been giving platforms to homegrown talent. Lobster has earned a beautiful slot by closing off stage H on Friday after none other than Philippa Pacho. Julia Maria, Valody and rising stars Grace Dahl, Ignez and Stranger x Talismann should be fun as well. An infinite amount of nameworthy artists, a few I would check out if were there: DJ Rush because of the Awakefest 2013(2014?) memories where he closed off X or Y while singing over this own techno tracks, MCR-T x Partiboi69 for more mad ghetto tech & ket sing along vibes, Vladimir Dubyshkin’s ticket to childhood is beautiful to hear live, Akua x Henning Baer, Stranger x Talismann and Chlar x Yanamaste are all interesting back2backs. Stay hydrated and don’t forget to sleep xx
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Landjuweel
July 31 – August 2 | Ruigoord, Amsterdam
No Dutch festival quite captures the free spirited mindset like Landjuweel at Ruigoord. Prefer visuals over words to be convinced? Check out Het Landjuweel’s own 2024 aftermovie and/or 3voor12’s version for the 2025 edition.
It's part arts festival, part village gathering and part weekend-long celebration of everything that makes this tiny cultural enclave so special. Don't expect pristine production or perfectly timed schedules, often even testing your patience with long queues for drinks and food... Do expect theatre, performances, live music, electronic stages, spontaneous encounters and plenty of wonderfully strange moments and even more wonderfully strange people. Colours and entertainment all over the place. Overstimulated? Hide out in the butterfly forest, in the pyramid or the kabouter’s home. Music wise there are a variety of options, mostly live but when it gets darker they definitely change up the place and space into a proper party. Dutch Acid Foundation will pop up somewhere sometime and steadily increase from 80-180 bpm in a few hours.
Electronic music is only one part of the experience here, but it's exactly that blend of creativity that keeps people returning every year. Very age friendly festival, children (especially on Sunday and in general during daytime) will be running around and there is no other festival that will have more 60+ year olds ‘running’ around than Landjuweel. Gives me faith that I will still be going out when I reach the next chapters of my life… On Saturday night the ‘Beeldenroute’ will take place. A parade where everyone is advised to join. Together you walk through Ruigoord and around its border, with art performances and installations along the way. A ritual walk that means a lot to the inhabitants of Ruigoord, if you want to understand the magic of this sanctuary and give some respect, join in!
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Dekmantel Festival
July 29 - August 2 | Amsterdam
Our beloved moderator and fellow Dekmantel fanatic u/FutureVanilla4129 and I wanted to collaborate on writing about this iconic festival in Amsterdam forest. Turned out her enthusiasm had her write more than this entire July festival preview. And the read was too enjoyable to shorten it, so we decided that we’ll either give a separate Dekmantel preview or incorporate it into the August one. A short Dekmantel fest shoutout from my side: definitely going to Melkweg on Thursday’s for musical inspiration by Darkside (Nicolaas Jaar & Dave Harrington), Piezo & Upsammy presenting eerie enterprise - sounds spaceshippy, Headache (triphop meets ambient meets kinda depressing poetic spoken word voiced by ai…?) and for me finally… Sepehr live! The actual festival recs will follow later this month...
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Orbit Festival
July 25 | Utrecht
WAS.' outdoor showcase has quietly become one of the strongest one-day festivals in the Netherlands and perhaps the only one around Utrecht of this size and quality that leans a bit more underground. The historic fort provides tunnels, hidden courtyards and intimate stages, while partners like IsBurning, United Identities, La Cassette and Uncloud each bring their own musical identity. This year's lineup includes Ryan Elliott, Young Marco, Carista b2b Jyoty, BASHKKA b2b OK Williams, Fafi Abdel Nour b2b tINI, Orbit favourite Jensen Interceptor, Zenker Brothers (live), Salome (the Salome Wildeburg memories…<3) and plenty more.
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Festivals outside NL
The Netherlands has a lot of great day festivals to offer, but is still lacking in multi-day camping festivals with electronic music that take you into another dimension or your version of paradise. Please please please put some effort into visiting festivals abroad. The Netherlands has its own version of beauty, but scenery and landscape wise we can be a bit boring, weather is often better and sometimes it's simply nice to dive deep into a territory unknown. Go and explore!
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Stone Techno Festival
July 10 – 12 | Essen, Germany
One of the most unique venues in Europe returns.
Stone Techno takes place inside the UNESCO-listed Zollverein industrial complex, where towering steel structures, old mines and concrete landscapes create an atmosphere that few festivals can match.
Musically, Stone Techno continues to lean towards the deeper and more timeless side of techno. This year seems the most creative so far and I see loads more live artists on the lineup compared to previous years. Live queen Dasha Rush, Benjamin Damage, Anthony Linell, Scion Versions, Lady Starlight, Yanamaste x Alarico, Toru Ikemoto, Barker (personal most listened to set of the last year+), Legowelt, D-Leria, Satoshi Tomiie, Luigi Tozzi, Convextion (dubby, spooky electro/techno: 10/10 Saule memory), Carrier, Out of Place Artefacts (.VRIL x Rodhad). Looking for alternative electronic sounds? Many options with Upsammy, Verraco x Skee Mask, Martinou, Call Super x Gabrielle Kwarteng, Vladimir Ivkovich, Rotterdam's close record founder and resident Serge & Afra opening on Sunday must be sexy, same time as Sunju Hargun x DJ Maria got you. And newest talent on the block Decoder is doing a b2b Andy Martin, don’t miss it!
If you're making the trip from the Netherlands, expect long sets, excellent sound systems and one of the strongest festival locations anywhere in Europe. Very music oriented, no random poespas like at Wildeburg or Landjuweel. Some have issues with the streamed sets, but those can easily be avoided if you look at the starred* sets at the timetable.
There is also some parties at night, with of course stellar techno lineups as well. And for the globetrotters among us it might be a good time to afterparty at Open Ground, not too far from the festival.
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Butik Festival
July 16 – 19 | Tolmin, Slovenia
A familiar recommendation for anyone looking beyond the Netherlands.
Set between mountains and rivers in Slovenia, Butik has built a reputation as one of Europe's most intimate boutique electronic festivals. Capacity stays deliberately small, the crowd is international without feeling overwhelming, and the programming consistently favours tasteful selectors over obvious headliners and lots of regional artists given good timeslots to showcase their talent.
The 2026 edition once again leans heavily into deep house, minimal, dubby sounds and leftfield electronics. Expect extended sets, relaxed afternoons by the river and dancing that naturally continues until sunrise.
If you're looking for a festival where the setting is every bit as memorable as the music, Butik remains one of the easiest recommendations of the summer. Sold out and usually sells out within a day. But you never know with last minute cancellations for festivals abroad…
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Feel Festival
July 23–26 | Bergheider See, Germany
Fusion's more intimate cousin might be a fair comparison. Feel is less about chasing DJs and more about creating a temporary community around music, art, workshops and lakeside living. Electronic programming spans house, techno, downtempo, ambient and live acts across beautifully designed stages, making it an excellent choice if you're after a slower-paced camping festival with plenty to discover. Check out their aftermovie on their website to get a feel of the festival 😉 Also quite unknown by Dutchies so it might be a good escape from your own reality!
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Now onto a duo of festivals in France and Spain that feel similar in its intimate size, mature crowd, stunning setting in nature, variety of up- and downtempo music, more psychedelic/hypnotic focused techno and crazy visuals. Memori (FR) and Parallel (SP) are two that fit this bill perfectly and one (La Nature in France) just finished and was supposedly magical as well.
Memori Festival
July 2-5 | France
A new boutique festival with a medieval looking artstyle meant for lovers of deep, hypnotic electronic music. Expect an intimate setting, carefully curated production and lineups centred around triphop, dub techno, hypnotic techno, live music and even an ambient stage. Check out the timetable. If your ideal weekend is quality over quantity, Memori deserves a look. A swimming pool, camping in the woods, vegetarian food and
Parallel Festival
July 24-27 | Port del Comte, Spanish Pyrenees
If your festival wishlist includes mountain air, Funktion-One sound systems and hypnotic techno, Parallel remains one of Europe's standout destinations. Hidden high in the Catalan Pyrenees, the festival focuses almost exclusively on deep, hypnotic and experimental techno, with extended sets from artists at the deeper end of the spectrum. The location alone makes the journey worthwhile, but the consistently excellent curation is what keeps people returning year after year. With Shed live, Xiaolin, Sandwell District, Reeko, Marie Pravda, Marco Shuttle and Dasha Rush on the lineup you’re in for a treat. Aftermovie impressions 2024 and 2025
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Where are you going?
As always:
- Which festivals are you attending this month?
- Any hidden gems we missed?
- Looking for travel buddies, campsite neighbours or rideshares?
- Curious about a festival? Ask away, there's a good chance someone here has been before.
I am very much looking forward to this month with weekend tickets for Wildeburg, Landjuweel and 2.5 days Dekmantel.
Have a great July, stay hydrated when the heat returns next weekend, look after one another, and hopefully this month brings more dancing than weather warnings.
x Motionez