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Forbes
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Amsterdam Marks 750th Anniversary With Epic Car-Free Highway Festival
Amsterdam750 on the Ring highway June 21, 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Amsterdam has been celebrating 750 years of officially being a city since October 2024. In 1275, the city began its transformation from a small fishing village to a major trading destination. The birthday festivities include a wide range of events, from neighborhood festivals, the closure of the A10 ring road and a grand parade of tall ships culminating in a big party on the actual anniversary date of October 27, 2025. The highway festival already happened on summer solstace but there's plenty more happening between now and October. Here are a few suggestions of activities, places to stay and where to eat and drink, including some lesser known gems during Amsterdam750. Wedding on the Ring Paul Allen/Andfotography2 June 21, 2025 was a major highlight of Amsterdam's year-long 750th birthday celebrations. In an historical one-off event, the city closed 15 kilometers of the Ring highway (the A10) to cars. Brotherhood brass band, on the Ring, Amsterdam750 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 The pedestrian-only extravaganza featured music, sports, theater, dance and games (including an impressive number of tables with speed chess), spread over three zones on and around the Ring. Twenty couples even got married on the Ring, with one ceremony officiated by the Mayor of Amsterdam. Amsterdam-based singer songwriter Lorren Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Musical highlights along the highway included the soulful songs of Amsterdam-based singer songwriter Lorren, Brotherhood a brass band bursting with vibrant energy and the brass ensemble from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, founded in 1888. DJ Mas Amor at Amsterdam750 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 And, under the bridge, non-stop, back-to-back DJ sets from the top names in Dutch electronic music like Mas Amor, created an all-day rave. Right beside the rave, women were competitive weightlifting and further up the highway, was a forest of 750 large trees and 7500 small ones: replanted in and around the city after the Ring event. Holland Festival Holland Festival Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Running alongside the Ring festival was the 78th Holland Festival, an annual three weeks of performing arts from all over the world including music, dance, theatre, opera, visual arts and film. One of the highlights was performances by Trajal Harrell, a well-known American choreographer who combines elements from various dance traditions, fashion, music and visual arts. His beautiful meditative modern dance meets Japanese butoh piece, Welcome to Asbestos Hall, was inspired by Tatsumi Hijikata's original Asbestos Studio, a 1960s Tokyo experimental arts space. See Amsterdam from a Rooftop View from the rooftop of new Church, Amsterdam Paul Allen/Andfotography2 The spire on the roof of De Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in central Amsterdam is being restored so to offset the cost, a large platform has been placed on the roof and as part of 750 years of Amsterdam, the public can pay for the unique opportunity to climb up 216 stairs and enjoy panoramic views of the city. The climb upwards starts in the 17th century stairwell of De Nieuwe Kerk and continues up the temporary scaffolding. The 'Roof of the City' is open daily until November 2, 2025 at a cost of €15.00 or free to visit with a Museum Pass. Science and Technology Museum NEMO on Oosterdok, Amsterdam getty For another brilliant terrace experience, the Renzo Piano designed Nemo Science Museum has a new open green, sustainable rooftop open to the public that doesn't require entrance to the museum. Of course the museum is worth a visit too for its fun and engaging, interactive science and technology exhibits. Where to Stay, Eat and Drink Flagship Amsterdam saloon boat Paul Allen/Andfotography2 For a great overview of the city, have lunch on a canal boat. A private charter of a historic saloon boat with Flagship Amsterdam will take you down some of the smaller, pretty canals as well as past major sights like the Maritime Museum, the Anne Frank House and the Golden Bend. Board from Oosterdokskade 8, near the Central Station. Volkshotel rooftop, Amsterdam Volkshotel Volkshotel Amsterdam, in the eastern part of the city right beside Wibautstraat metro, is a fun place to stay, with Canvas restaurant and terrace on the 7th floor for breakfast and lively DJ sessions in the evenings. And on the 8th floor roof, guests can enjoy a sauna and hottubs. Once the headquarters for De Volkskrant newspaper, it now now has 216 modern hotel rooms, ranging from cozy hideouts to larger spaces. A Beautiful Mess, overlooking the IJ River serving tasty Middle Eastern cuisine, is a wonderful hospitality concept. It's staffed entirely by refugees from everywhere, under the management of Refugee Company who offer paid jobs and volunteer work in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Arnhem. Bunk Hotel, in the former Saint Rita church in Amsterdam north, offers an economical accommodation option with single and double sleeping pods and shared bathrooms. The convivial restaurant has a menu featuring local, seasonal ingredients prepared traditionally: smoked, cured, pickled, marinated and stewed. Hotel Casa, Amsterdam Paul Allen/Andfotography2 The rooftop terrace, GAPP, on the 8th floor at Hotel Casa is a lovely rooftop garden with great cocktails, cold beer (choose from over 30 local craft beers) and some proper Amsterdam-style snacks. Cafe Hesp, a canal-side restaurant, with an outdoor terrace on the Amstel river is great for lunch on a sunny day, small plates, salads, sandwiches. You can even go for a swim right in front of the terrace. Welcoming the herring party at Cafe Flamingo, Amsterdam Jessica Hartley Cafe Flamingo on Albert Cuyp market is in the trendy De Pijp neighborhood, located in the south part of the city, right below the city center. If you're there in June, be sure to go to a unique Dutch party that celebrates the new Herring with plenty of fish samples and a lethal Dutch liqueur. Vergulden Eenhoorn, a restaurant in a beautiful, hidden garden with a lovely outdoor terrace, an ideal spot for drinks. This old city farm from 1702 is located in the middle of the greenery at Ringdijk 58 and includes a café, restaurant and hotel.
Forbes
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Tremor 2025: The Ultimate Insider Music Festival
Asmâa Hamzaoui and Bnat Timbouktou, Tremor Festival 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Taking place every April on the Azores island of São Miguel, Tremor, a five-day experimental music festival, is an extraordinary, magical event, full of surprises. Situated in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, the Azores are an autonomous Portuguese archipelago located about 1,400 kilometers from Lisbon and nearly 1,900 kilometers from North America. These isolated, volcanic islands, spread across the ocean, provide a breathtaking and secluded backdrop for an unforgettable musical experience. Why the Eye, Tremor Festival 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 April 2025 was the eleventh year of a festival that features a range of music by Portuguese and international artists, in wonderful indoor settings and spectacular outdoor venues. Each gig is around 45 minutes long and some overlap in different locations so choices have to be made. But that's part of the fun and adds to the sense of discovery and adventure. And another feature of the clever programming that makes this festival really special are hikes in gorgeous natural settings that involve performances en route and daily 'secret gigs' in surprising locations. Audiences don't know where the gigs are until two hours beforehand and the actual gigs are a complete surprise as well. These mysterious gigs are just one reason this festival always sells out months in advance. Fulu Miziki at Tremor 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Tickets for Tremor 2026 have just been released (booking details below). While the festival has expanded considerably since the first one-day event with 300 tickets sold, current festival ticket sales remain capped at 2,000 attendees. This is a deliberate choice of the four festival directors as they are keen to keep the festival intimate and also to not overwhelm the island's infrastructure and local population. Joseph Keckler at Tremor 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Among the many highlights this year were gigs featuring women musicians, including a Moroccan band in a botanical garden with hot springs, a Portuguese female guitar virtuoso and a flute solo by a very young member of a youth orchestra, mentored by a famous French jazz saxophonist. There were many more wonderful moments in a festival that fuses sounds and artistic expressions from across the globe, coming together in one of the most stunning and secluded places on Earth. Perhaps the most magical moment of Tremor 2025 was during a walk through a beautiful wood when we encountered Asmâa Hamzaoui and her group Bnat Timbouktou seated beside a tree, performing Gnawa spiritual songs. The group brings a refreshing energy to this ancient art form originating from Morocco. Though women are essential to Gnawa rituals, there have been very few female Gnawa musicians, something Asmâa Hamzaoui aims to change. The guembri, a lute played in a percussive style, the rhythmic percussion of qraqeb (iron castanets) and Asmâa Hamzaoui's expressive voice created a mesmerising soundscape that floated around the idyllic outdoor setting. The Zenmenn, Tremor Festival 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Held in the mountainous, serene surroundings of the Reserva Florestal, a protected forest area in the hills of the Azores, this intimate show's unconventional location added an air of mystique and exclusivity to the event. A forest trail opened up to a large field with a small stage in the center. Using a synthesizer and blending the old with the new, the organic with the electric, and the harmonic with the rhythmic, the trio created a chilled mix of both traditional Western and Eastern sounds. The Swedish experimental supergroup Fire came together in 2009, led by a core trio of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin. Merging elements of free jazz, psychedelic rock, and noise, the group creates a distinctive and adventurous sound. Known for their fearless improvisation and genre-defying performances, the trio's performance in a hall, on the grounds of a former convent, was a 45-minute, intense, non-stop wall of sound. Gustafsson's explosive saxophone lines, Berthling's deep, rhythmic bass and Werliin's commanding percussion blew the crowd away. One of the most fantastical (and entertaining) concerts of the festival was from Why the Eye, a Belgian experimental masked quartet playing on DIY instruments at a remote lakeside location. The group describes their music as "Prehistoric Techno" probably because they perform with homemade instruments and laptops while wearing bizarre furry masks. Their noisy and experimental sound ecouraged listeners to join the lead singer in a wild, energetic dance. Another thrilling surprise for festival goers was Joseph Keckler who, using a laptop, piano and a projector, gave one of the most electrifying performances at Tremor. Celebrated for his operatic vocals and dark humor, the American artist took to the stage where he transformed mundane tales into surreal, poignant experiences. It's no surprise he's received rave reviews including from The New York Times who described him as a "major talent who shatters conventional boundaries." Mr Keckler's theatrical performance included haunting ballads, mesmerising storytelling, eerie grooves and comic autobiographical arias on sex with a ghost and buying too much vinyl clothing. Ranging from baritone to falsetto, Keckler captivated the audience with his powerful voice and unique artistry. The main concert venue at Tremor is on the seafront in a cavernous warehouse space, ideal for the exuberant Afrofuturist Congolese group, Fulu Miziki (music from garbage in Lingala). And in fact, the music ensemble make all their own instruments, costumes and masks from recycled materials. Their music combines raw, percussive energy with elements of traditional Congolese rhythms, noise and avant-garde experimentation. Each performance is a visual spectacle, with members wearing elaborate costumes inspired by African culture and futuristic visions. Their upcycled instruments — fashioned from items like PVC pipes, discarded metal, and plastic — created a distinct, infectious sound that had the entire crowd joyously dancing. In a fishing village once described as the poorest in Portugal traditional Azorean music met contemporary rap. Filmmaker Diogo Lima became DJ Gaivota for the evening. Also on stage was the crew that Resident Advisor dubbed the "Azorean DJ collective Convidados." And on the docks, Som Sim Zero, a group made up of deaf performers and art collective Ondamarela, regaled the crowd with choral singing, psychedelica, traditional songs and spoken word. Their energy was contagious and you didn't have to understand Portuguese to revel in the joyful experience. Eugénia, Auditório Luís de Camões, Tremor Festival 2025 Vera Marmelo Eugénia Contente, a guitarist from Ponta Delgada, wove her Azorean roots with jazz-fusion in a dynamic performance. Born in 1992 in Ponta Delgada, Ms Contente discovered her passion for the guitar at the age of nine and honed her skills at the famous Lisbon jazz venue, Hot Clube de Portugal. Her trio played from her debut album, Duckontente. to an adoring crowd. Fidju Kitxora, Portas do Ma Vera Marmelo The main Tremor dockside hub hosted an artist who divides his time between Lisbon and Cape Verde. Blending field recordings, atmospheric synthesisers, and vocal samples, Fidju Kitxora created a distinctive, memorable soundscape. In a lively collaboration with French saxophonist, Guillaume Perret, the Rabo de Peixe Music School performed a winning combination of jazz, electronic music, rock and funk to an appreciative crowd. A surprise was a beautiful solo by young flautist, Maia. And treating the audience to his own solo at the end, Guillaume Perret showed off his creative use of pedals and effects to expand the saxophone's sonic capabilities. Oko Ebombo at Tremor Festival 2025 Paul Allen/Andfotography2 Parisian multidisciplinary artist Oko Ebombo mixes poetry, hip hop, soul and dance, inspired by his own life and urban experiences. His charismatic movements, combined with hip hop and soul, greatly appealed to an admiring audience at the dockside main venue. Portuguese-born, Cape Verde based Ari experiments with beatbox and percussion. He was accompanied by dynamic French dancer Débora N'Jiokou who specialises in hip hop and house. Tremor was the first time they'd performed together and what a gorgeous, captivating debut it was. Azores Sao Miguel, Miradouro da Vista do Rei, Sete Cidades,, aerial drone view getty São Miguel is a two-hour flight from Lisbon and Oporto and a six-hour flight from Boston or New York. TAP Air Portugal offers daily flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick to Ponta Delgada, via Lisbon. An optional free stopover in Lisbon on the way there or back is a great way to extend your trip and see more of Portugal. If traveling from North America, TAP flies from Boston, Chicago, Miami, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington to the Azores, via Lisbon and offers the same free stopovers. Tremor 2026 will run 24–28 March. Ticket sales, are to be released in tiers at different prices as follows: From Friday, 18 April 2025, the first 400 tickets were released at the €80 early bird rate. Once those are gone, the next 400 tickets will be priced at €90. All remaining tickets will be available at the standard price of €100.
