The line-up for the Rotterdam Stukafest was released last weekend. Ticket pre-sales have already begun. So what’s on offer at this year’s edition of Stukafest?
‘We have selected a wide variety of acts, covering all genres,’ said Vivian Kouwenberg, a Stukafest organiser. In other words, you’ll be seeing and hearing all sorts of things at the festival, ranging from filmmakers to poets, and from rap to jazz. All performances will be given in student rooms in the Rotterdam city centre, thus creating an intimate atmosphere. There will be three sessions, so that you’ll be able to check out several performers.
Jazz
Several artists performing this year seem to have been influenced by jazz culture. For instance, you’ll be able to listen to Bruno Ferro Xavier de Silva and Collective Joop, two acts which both combine jazz with other genres. In addition, you’ll be able to attend a charleston dancing workshop taught by Joost and Deirdre of Rotterdam’s Swing in Rhythm dance studio.
Poetry
Poetry is another staple of this year’s festival. Both spoken-word poetry and traditional poems will be presented at the festival. Performing and visual artist Melanin Kris combines poetry, music and freestyle story-telling. As his name suggests, Versjes van Lars (a.k.a. Lars van der Werf, a Rotterdam-based fun poet and writer born in 1987) writes poems for his audience.
Binge-watching
NNTWEE provides tips on ‘binge-watching’, which has become quite the phenomenon in the Netherlands ever since Netflix became available to Dutch viewers. If you really wish to do some binge-watching at Stukafest, consider attending DZIGA, a movie platform where filmmakers show highlights from their oeuvre.
International
Not only Dutch artists will be strutting their stuff at the festival. Foreign artists will be heading to Rotterdam as well to fill up student rooms. Grisly Faye is a Ukrainian act performing ‘urbanistic and sometimes paranoid music’. Nele Needs a Holiday is a Belgian act performing songs on everyday tragedies. Moon Tapes is an internationally known Dutch band providing the festival with some indie sounds. German act Ulas Aksunger plays several types of percussion instruments and incorporates various genres of music into his performances.
