Few festivals can say they were at the forefront of an entire music scene. Multigroove can. The collective began in the city's squatted warehouses and abandoned industrial buildings, and is doing its 35th year this year. The Gaasperplas is no random spot for that: this is where it all began for Multigroove. The water, the sky over your head, and ten hours of hard beats. It's really that simple.
This year's program is impressively broad. The big names that have written the history of Dutch hardcore rave are all there. The Darkraver is there, as are Ruffneck, DJ Isaac and Donkey Rollers. Catscan is on the schedule, as well as Painbringer and Tommyknocker. Deepack is on hand, and Outsiders will provide a retro set that seems straight out of the early nineties. Then there are the b2b sets that add weight to the program: Arjuna b2b Hellcreator, Baba b2b Pim Bosman, and DJ Thera b2b XRTN. Pavo b2b Zany joins that lineup. These are not random combinations, these are people who have built a scene together.
The setup reinforces that feeling. Three stages, each representing a different part of the spectrum. On one stage the oldschool gabber and early hardcore, on the other hardstyle and hard techno, and somewhere in between the newer sounds. You can literally use the day as a time travel: start in the past, end in the present. The Gaasperplas has the space for that. The recreational area in Bijlmer offers enough air to separate the different worlds from each other without making a mess.
Thirty-five years of rave history, played out in the place where it once began. That deserves a second chance.
After the 2025 edition was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, 2026 is doubly important for Multigroove. Earlier this year there was already an anniversary event at WestWeelde and the Transformatorhuis, but the Gaasperplas is the real home base. Thirty-five years of rave history, played out on the spot where it once began. That deserves a second chance.