The sound of hip-hop bass and afrobeat echoes in the Amsterdam Forest as preparations for the Vunzige Deuntjes Festival are in full swing. This summer, the trusted team will now organize the festival independently, after a long collaboration with ID&T. The transition to independence means that Vunzige Deuntjes can continue as an important urban festival, despite the challenges faced by other festivals.
Vunzige Deuntjes originated in 2011 as a small club night and grew into a leading urban festival that attracts around 20,000 visitors annually. Since 2019, the team worked closely with ID&T, which provided the brand under license, but the festival is now organized completely independently by the original team. Arend Wortmann, who was also involved with ID&T, will remain at the helm of the new company organizing the festival.
The festival focuses on various urban music styles such as hip-hop, R&B, dancehall and afrobeat. The programming focuses on a wide range of urban music and culture, celebrating the rich urban event culture and providing a safe, inclusive place for different subcultures. This cultural relevance highlights Vunzige Deuntjes' role within the urban community and continuity in a market where festivals are under pressure from rising costs and declining attendance.
Vunzige Deuntjes operates as one of the few festivals that have kept up the level of the urban scene for years and provide a cultural gathering place.
With its independent continuation, Vunzige Deuntjes remains an established part of the cultural landscape, organized by the people who built it from the beginning. The festival thus emphasizes the importance of urban culture and provides a stage for diverse artists and visitors who support and celebrate the urban scene.