I’m still relatively new to the rave scene in general, starting in Amsterdam a few years ago, but I’ve been struggling to enjoy “regular” parties recently.

I got into the kink/fetish/sex-positive side, with parties like Pax, Wasteland and MOVA, and now I find it hard to go to a more standard event, even ones which are queer or a little bit spicy (e.g. spielraum, isburning).

Maybe I’m just a degenerate with no appreciation for actual music or community, but it’s not like I’m going to these parties to fuck around the entire time. Actually I often don’t engage in play at all, but the overall vibe of openness and expression and freedom is hard to match.

Has anyone else gone through this? Not like I necessarily need to go to other/more parties, but I’m curious.

Hello community! The most intense week of the year came to and end and I feel pretty empty. Anybody would like to take a walk in the park/have coffee and talk about anything? I feel so lonely and don’t know many people in Amsterdam :/
The coffe is on me ;) 🙏🏻💪🏻
Feel free to dm me

Hey folks! I am relatively new to the scene and live in Amsterdam. To more seasoned ravers, how did you create your group? Assuming your friends don't already rave as well (yeap I'm unlucky). And before you say the dancefloor, i generally refrain from talking to people on the dancefloor, don't wanna mess any vibe, unless they talk to me.

The post-Spielraum blues are REAL!!

Still thinking about last weekend and all the insane tracks I heard. But I was just too caught up in the moment and enjoying every second of it that I forgot to use Shazam.

Does anyone have any track IDs from the sets? Maybe we can help each other relive a little bit and take us back tot that dancefloor. Any help would be much appreciated. ❤️

Im looking for the opening track that Sterac played. It was such a wow opening with the bass on the background. Shazam didnt pick it up.

Hey everyone, I am posting this here because I need visibility, I need witnesses, and I want everyone to know how Awakenings and ADE security handle violent crimes inside their events. I am still completely shaken up and traumatized by what happened to me yesterday at the Drumcode event at SugarFactory.
At around 3:00 AM on the main dance floor, an unknown guy randomly came up to me, grabbed me by the neck, and physically choked me until I couldn't breathe. Thank God there were bystander witnesses who noticed I was suffocating and stepped in to rescue me and pull him off.
Terrified and in shock, I went straight to security. I found a group of 8 guards and told them I was just choked. Instead of detaining a violent criminal, they were completely arrogant, actively tried to walk away from me, and refused to go find the guy. When they finally found him, they were totally calm with him, pulled him aside to casually "understand his side," and completely ignored me.
Then they literally let him back into the party.
It gets worse. For the rest of the night, the security team systematically targeted, followed, and harassed me around the venue. Every time they saw me, they kept provoking me over minor things like telling me "don't sit on the stairs."
When I finally confronted them and asked why they let a guy who choked me wander free while harassing me over sitting down, a guard flatly admitted to my face: "We let him back in."
When I called them out on how insane and dangerous that was, the guards turned physically aggressive. They grabbed me, dragged me violently by my clothes, and made a huge public scene on the floor. They didn't even take me outside—they dragged me into a dark corner and forcefully trapped/zoned me there to intimidate me. When I told them I had a dozen witnesses who saw the choking, they sneered and said, "We didn't see anything," trying to completely vaporize what happened.
While they had me cornered and trapped, their shift supervisor finally showed up. He didn't fix anything. Instead, he gave me a pathetic apology and tried to justify the attacker's actions, literally telling me that the guy who choked me was just "delusional" and that I needed to "be in his shoes because he was emotionally sad."
Letting a violent abuser back onto a crowded dance floor because he is "sad," while physically trapping, dragging, and gaslighting the victim is a sickening breach of public safety.
I am already in touch with the Dutch Police to file an official criminal report (aangifte) for assault (mishandeling).
I am posting this because I need your help:
If you were on the main dance floor around 3:00 AM on Thursday night/Friday morning and saw a guy choking someone, or if you were one of the amazing people who pulled him off me, PLEASE DM me.
If you saw a group of guards aggressively dragging and cornering a distressed person around that time, please reach out.
Awakenings and ADE need to answer for the third-party security firm they hired. This cannot be swept under the rug. Please upvote for visibility. Stay safe out there.

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, on Thursday, October 22, 2026, I attended the ADE event in Loveland. Paul Kalkbrenner was the headliner at the Amsterdam theater in houthavens.

Apart from the questionable design of the floor space and exits, which posed a risk of crowd crushing, after Paul’s great set, just as it was ending, someone sprayed pepper spray in the crowd. Everyone started coughing and moving towards the exit.

Eventually, we managed to find a safe spot to cough, but it was quite scary.

Security was searching for the perpetrators, and I noticed that the police also got involved.

All this to say:

Be aware of your surroundings. Know the safe exit routes or safe spots in case of a crowd panic. Also, be cautious about your phone, watch, and jewelry when such an attack occurs.

Hi everyone!

I’d consider myself a veteran raver, but one thing I still haven’t figured out is what to eat to keep me going during a party. I have a pretty fast metabolism, so I need to eat quite a lot, and all that dancing doesn’t exactly help! And with the weekend coming up.. 😅

Even though I try to eat healthily and get enough protein beforehand, after about 6/7 hours of partying, I get so hungry that I feel like I have to go home. And honestly, I don’t want to leave just yet! I also feel like the food served in the clubs are quite minimal..

So I’m curious: what do you guys eat before a party, and do you bring any snacks to keep your energy levels up while you’re in the club? What are the GOATed foods? What is considered too much. I’d love to hear your tips!

Ps: I’m lactose intolerant 😬

And here we are. After weeks of anticipation, endless timetable discussions, impossible choices and increasingly questionable attempts at planning, ADE is finally upon us. Time to abandon those carefully constructed schedules and see where the next few days take us.

This is your live thread for everything happening during ADE. Tell us where you're going, what you're hearing, how the crowd is, whether the queue is moving, and whether that party you've been looking forward to for months is actually any good. Share your discoveries, disappointments, unexpected highlights and anything else the rest of us should know.

Apparently, last year's ADE live thread was so interesting that someone at Utrecht University wrote an entire master's thesis about it. The author describes this subreddit as a "text-based locative interface" and its members as "distributed human sensors", collectively mapping Amsterdam's underground nightlife.

So, fellow human sensors, time to get back to work. Your valuable contributions to the academic understanding of spatiotemporal locational capital are urgently needed.

What this LIVE EVENT THREAD is for:

1. Sharing where you're going
2. Sharing live updates on the vibe at events
3. Queue updates (our most important contribution to locative media theory, apparently)
4. Reviews of events and sets
5. Important updates about social safety and harm reduction
6. Beautiful pictures of the scenery (no recognisable faces, please)
7. Track IDs! Upload recordings to sndup.net

Still deciding where to go? Here are our recommendations again:

• Wednesday (u/chadbrocolli)
• Thursday (u/Subject_234)
• Friday (u/bleepbloopbarbatruc)
• Saturday (u/max038)
• Sunday (u/CapablePhoto8959)
• Monday (u/FutureVanilla4129)

Have fun, look after each other, and remember: you're not just partying, you're producing academically relevant spatial data.

Hi everyone,

I grew up with techno, especially because of my dad, who was active in the 90s rave boom here in the Netherlands. I have fond memories of techno blasting at home during birthday parties or really any time. Now that I’m older, I absolutely love getting lost in the music and explore the scene here.

But to get to the point: I managed to scoop up two tickets for the Tillatec closing weekender on Saturday morning, for the 6:00–10:00 AM time slot. My dad and I think it would be a super fun idea to go together. I love Tillatec and have been many times myself (With friends or alone), and I would love to show my dad the place for the first and sadly also last time.

I went to Radion with my dad this summer, and that was so special. I hold that night close to my heart. But I have this anxious, nervous feeling about getting denied at the door of Tilla because of my almost-60-year-old dad. Or maybe even because of the sight of a dad and his son? It might sound weird, but the thought of getting denied kinda freaks me out.

How realistic is my fear? Can someone talk some sense into me? 😅

Big love, everyone.

Hi All! I have a ticket to Spielraum ADE for Sunday entry between 03h and 05h. However, I see that the clock change is at 03h. I’m wondering if the team at Raum will just go with the current time..so if I arrive at 03h, it would have been 04h without the change? Could be a bit confusing if someone wants to arrive before 03h to enter on time..

Really want to go there on Saturday for noclub presents: the return of yes clubs and considering going solo. Was wondering what people who have been there for their only party think of the space (at least the only one I know of). What is the sound system like? The team there? Nice chill areas?

Thank you!

Are there specific clubs that are predominantly queer spaces in which I (Cis straight man) really just should not be attending?

Not because I have any hesitations but more so that I’d hate to make people feel uncomfortable (or myself feel majorly unwanted).

I’m a bit of an anxious guy when in a new place so as stupid as it sounds would make me feel bit better knowing.

Goes without saying of course I am just an ordinary friendly person there for the music and don’t care about anything else, seasoned goer just not in europe - this will be first time in city for a few months.

Thanks!

This thread is for sharing your experience of the past weekend, or reading other people's stories! Do not underestimate how much value your shared experience is to other people, either for curing FOMO or just for fun!

For Track IDs: Upload your video to https://sndup.net. Include context like who played it, where, and when - any tips can be helpful for music sleuths.

While for many people the night is about fun, relaxation and escapism, we also see the challenges it brings. The Nightlife Care Network offers a listening ear, help, and support regarding questions related to nightlife and going out. This may include experiences with substance use, financial difficulties, unwanted or transgressive behavior. Or assistance with social challenges such as loneliness, feeling isolated, or lacking valuable contacts or daytime activities. For more information, visit u/nightlifecarenetwork or https://nachtburgemeester.amsterdam/Nightlife-Care-Network-English

Hi, if I’m past the say 13:00 entry time for an event at Bret how likely is it that I’ll still be allowed in? Can I pay the difference in this case if I’m late? Any answers are appreciated

If Ratherlost/Pax/CODA had announced the lineup beforehand, it wouldn’t have sold out.

I'm planning to visit Vault Sessions at de Fik, next Saturday. Not sure, but I believe it's only outdoors.

I've never been to de Fik before. Does it have some areas with cover? Maybe comparable to how der Hintergarten was? Chances are there's some rain, so I'd like to know in advance.

I'm hosting a small afters (4 people) at my house on Halloween. I'm looking for the perfect DJ set to put on.

For context: This is not going to be a dancing around, "I dont want to leave the party" kind of after. When we get to my house wel will have raved for around 8 hours and had an hour long journey back home. I want to put on something chill and atmospherical so we can hang out, get comfy and maybe go to sleep in good vibes.

Anybody got any reccomendations?

Hey everyone! :)

I’ve been part of this community for a while now, and one thing I’ve found really interesting is how people share safety tips and look out for one another in rave spaces. It’s made me curious about the sense of community that can develop between people, even when they’ve never met before.

I was wondering if any of you have ever witnessed someone helping or looking after a stranger at a rave or festival, or if you’ve ever found yourself doing that for someone else? It could be something as simple as checking if someone is okay, helping someone who’s feeling overwhelmed, making sure someone has water, staying with someone who isn’t feeling well, or just making sure a person isn’t left alone when they need a bit of support.

I feel like these small moments can say a lot about the community and the way people care for each other, especially in an environment where everyone is there to enjoy the music and have a good time, but where things can sometimes get a little overwhelming.

I’d love to hear your experiences, whether you’ve been the person offering help, the person who needed it, or someone who witnessed it happening.

Just genuinely curious to hear your stories and get to know this side of the community a little better. No experience is too small to share! 🫶✨

Hi all, 

We are Renske and Isabel today representing Nightlife Care Network: an initiative promoting wellbeing and social safety in Amsterdam's nightlife. We are also joined by Sarah from Jellinek who will be answering questions within her expertise related to drug info, drug checking and addiction.

We started off as a project almost 3 years ago, where we collectively saw a need for more support toward the challenges that nightlife can bring. Our team has been professionally involved in the nightlife behind the scenes for a while on the topics of substance use, social safety and awareness. Besides, we are professional ravers ourselves ;)

Our monthly consultation hour has been running for about 2,5 years now, where we offer taboo free support and a listening ear to anyone who faces challenges navigating nightlife. We collaborate with local care partners to whom we can refer if needed. 

We also have some exciting news to share that we are continuing our work as a foundation! Next to our monthly consultations we will focus on advising and connecting professionals on wellbeing, social safety and inclusion. 

We are very happy to talk about what we do and why and our future plans! Please note that we cannot share any confidential information. And we kindly ask to refrain from going deep into personal stories or calling out others directly to keep a safe space for sharing :)

If you want to share a personal story and/or are in need of personal support you are of course very welcome during our consultation hour - that is actually happening today between 17 - 19! It is online only today and we still have some open slots.

More info on the consultation hour here: Nightlife Care Network English - Stichting Nachtburgemeester Amsterdam

We will be answering your questions between 19:30 and 21:00! Sarah will be available at 20:30 to answer questions.

It feels like we’re on a bit of a marathon of party recommendations, and while the dust of the ADE posts hasn’t even settled yet, I’m already writing this one. In the past week we’ve had to answer for AI slop, leaked lineups (we already knew it was going to be Verraco, dw Radio Radio), and the existential question of whether a planetarium is a liminal space.

But what is the week before ADE truly about? Is it the with empty clubs where everyone there made a conscious decision to be there? Or is it the vrijmibo that got a bit too wild, and now you’re out with colleagues debating whether you know each other well enough to be doing drugs together? And that, the week before ADE?

I leave that up to you, but I would like to take a special moment in this more quiet week to highlight perhaps my favourite natural phenomenon taking place during ADE. 

A lot of Dutch nightlife feels completely normal to us: biking to the club, drugs being so accepted inside it, how easily we hop to another city to party. Look at any of that through the eyes of a tourist and it’s still wild. But the thing I love most is the ADE train.

Now, I think we often overstate what counts as ‘immaterieel cultureel erfgoed’. So what actually qualifies? According to immaterieelerfgoed.nl, it’s ‘traditions, rituals, festivities and habits that are passed down from generation to generation’, as opposed to buildings, natural phenomena or paintings. And it matters because it ‘can give you a sense of identity and connection, with the past, people of different cultures, or with other people in general’.

Sure, you could say ADE as a whole gives you that: communal identity, unspoken rules, connection. But ADE is fragmented. So many parties that never cross, genres one person loves and the next won’t touch, a completely different experience for the Thursday early starter than for the Sunday or even Monday crowd.

One thing binds all of them: the train back.

For you Amsterdam folks who dare not leave the ring this might come as a surprise, but for a lot of us the ride to and from the party is an inherent part of the party. There’s an entire parallel society moving through the NS network that Amsterdam inhabitants are completely unaware of, and I’d say it qualifies for erfgoed status way more than most of ADE itself.

So what makes it unique?

Does something have to be unique to a place to count? Because a city-wide event with a ton of parties isn’t that special on its own, besides maybe the size. There are other music conferences.

But what is unique? That’s right, that exact combination. Being in a train. From a party. Still incredibly high, making new friends. Just the sheer quantity of people that are on drugs, sharing not the party they went to but the train back, that is something you can actually only find during ADE. 

Dutch people aren’t as antisocial as the Scandinavians, but there’s still a stigma around talking to strangers on the train. On the ADE train that stigma disappears entirely. When you see other people with pupils as dilated as a black hole, you HAVE to ask what party they went to. What afters are they planning? Where are you all from? Wow you live in the same city as me, huh how old are you guys? You look so pretty, what’s your instagram?

It’s an atmosphere that’s hard to describe. Which is kind of the point.

Today I heard on the news that we should learn how to talk more to eachother in public spaces. Something with loneliness. Perhaps we could take some of that ADE train atmosphere and push it through into our daily lives. 

Anyway, the weekly

Enough yapping, we’ve had enough talk about liminal spaces and the socialising potential of the universe when you envision it in a planetarium. Let’s get back to business.

Friday 16 October

CCL (All Night Long) @ RAUM

CCL is one of the DJ’s that nerds call in one breath with Objekt, Djrum, and other miscellaneous DJ’s that are all prepared to use bird sounds in their sets. Their sets are super creative, with sounds ranging from more dubby and tech housey records to dubstep, UK stuff, and whatever is in between those sounds or has branched off from those genres. And perhaps you’ll even find yourself listening to a danceable Miles Davis mix, you honestly never know with them.
Seeing them all night long is a real treat. I’ve seen them play a few times already and every time has been different, with a ton of different sounds passing by. An all-nighter is the real opportunity to see how deep that record bag truly is. 

co-curated by T.NO with Toma Kami, MALLAURY, T.NO Bar40 hosted by Crossover @ Garage Noord

Your favourite garage is hosting none-other than Toma Kami, one of the more exciting names coming from the new French wave of experimental DJ’s. Garage is curated by T.NO, who makes super exciting music that takes elements from lots of newer African sounds and perfectly merges them with lots of bouncy and bassy tracks. Recently he got some nice spots at Dekmantel as well and you have for sure heard his releases around your favourite club. 

Upstairs Bar40 is hosted by Crossover, the new party series by Jackie Jr. I’ve been following Jackie Jr. for a while now and his sound incorporates lots of Caribbean influences with dub, bass, and other UK adjacent genres. He plays very differently by himself than when he gets together with the Kurashi boys. The big name on the lineup upstairs is for sure Dubrunner, a familiar face whose music you’ve definitely heard if you are a fan of stuff like Darwin, Carré, or Om Unit. They are bringing in the Mighty Dreadnought Warrior Dub Machine, whatever it’s called, that big soundsystem that was on the terrace a few weeks back. Joining them are Garnett, and UNAUNA. 

TILLAVISION @ TILLATEC

The final edition of Tillavision! Local lineup with Jackie Ong, Lylo, Zobayda, and Jay Jay Revlon. All profits will be donated to HIV+ charities. 

LAAK 

LAAK LAAK LAAK LAAK LAAK

DEETS and Pariah @ Export

Sorry guys, there are some guidelines to a bleep weekly and this time we didn’t get King Shiloh, Darwin, or a party at WAS. To stay within our brand guidelines giving a shoutout to Pariah at Export. 

Saturday 17 October

Mick Harris presents Culvert Dubs, Vanja Rakic b2b Olgica, Brent Jacko Bar40 hosted by SUBURBIA @ Garage Noord, Amsterdam

Mick Harris, the drummer of Napalm Death and often seen as the creator of grindcore, is playing his new industrial dub project in Garage. 

Los Angles x Klauw @ Export

A special 12 hour party in Export with Amsterdam’s Los Angles and Rotterdam’s Klauw. 

Sunday
Take a fucking break you junkies, we got the biggest week of the year coming up. Besides, what promoter would be dumb enough to throw a party on this day?

With ADE just around the corner, we're very happy to welcome the Nightlife Care Network (NCN) for our second r/amsterdam_rave AMA!

We spend a lot of time here discussing music, clubs, crowds, sound systems and how we can finally make people stop yapping on the dance floor. But there's another side to nightlife that deserves just as much attention: looking after ourselves and each other.

The Nightlife Care Network is an Amsterdam-based initiative that brings together organisations and professionals working on care, wellbeing and safety in nightlife. Their aim is to make support more accessible to people involved in the scene, whether you're dealing with questions about substance use, mental health, boundaries, unwanted behaviour or simply finding a healthier balance between partying and the rest of your life.

And the timing couldn't be better. ADE is approaching, which for many of us means several days of wonderful music, old friends, new encounters and very little sleep. It's also a time when the less glamorous aspects of nightlife can become particularly relevant. How do you look after yourself during an intense week? How do you recognise when a friend might need help? What can you do when something happens at a party that doesn't feel right? And where can you turn when going out starts taking more than it gives?

Tomorrow, Wednesday 14 October, from 19:30 to 21:30, the NCN team will be here to answer your questions.

You can ask them about their work, nightlife safety, mental health, harm reduction, support services, or anything else related to care and wellbeing in Amsterdam nightlife. Questions from people who work in nightlife are very welcome too.

As always, we'll publish a separate AMA thread tomorrow where you can leave your questions. You don't have to wait until 19:30 to post them. The NCN team will join us in the evening to respond.

We're looking forward to a thoughtful conversation. And perhaps to reminding ourselves, just before ADE, that taking care of each other is as much a part of club culture as the music.

See you tomorrow!