10 Dutch Festivals in August & September 2026

Ten Dutch festivals are still ahead between now and the end of September 2026, running from Groningen to a Wadden Sea island to the Noord-Brabant woods. Between them they cover performing arts, hardstyle, techno, metal and one free city weekend with no ticket at all. Below is what is confirmed for each: dates, location and one detail worth knowing, all linked to the organiser's own site.

Noorderzon, Groningen: 20 to 30 August

Noorderzon turns Groningen's Noorderplantsoen park and venues across the city into an eleven-day performing arts festival: theatre, dance, talks and installations rather than one fenced site. It is the 36th edition and ticketed, and because it runs the longest of the ten, it is worth checking even if you only have a weekend spare before it closes.

Lowlands, Biddinghuizen: 21 to 23 August

Lowlands is the largest of the ten, drawing around 55,000 festival goers to Evenemententerrein Walibi in Biddinghuizen for three days across more than ten stages of music, comedy, theatre and film. Dates are confirmed on lowlands.nl, with camping open from Thursday 20 August and included in every weekend ticket. Volt runs the Volt Charging Service on site for 2026: the full Lowlands 2026 guide covers the bag rule, the nearest station and how the swap works.

Into The Great Wide Open, Vlieland: 27 to 30 August

Vlieland, one of the Dutch Wadden Islands, hosts Into The Great Wide Open from 27 to 30 August, a self-described pop culture festival that pairs a music line-up with art installations and a food programme built with guest chefs. It is the most logistically distinct event on this list: everything happens on an island reachable only by ferry, so travel plans need to build in the crossing.

Decibel Outdoor, Hilvarenbeek: 28 to 30 August

Decibel Outdoor takes over Safaripark Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek from 28 to 30 August for three days of hardstyle, hardcore and rawstyle across roughly 40 hectares of grounds. The festival's own site confirms entry is 18 and over with valid photo ID checked at the gate, and camping opens Friday across several accommodation tiers.

Draaimolen, Tilburg: 4 to 5 September

DJ Mag reports that Draaimolen returns to the MOB Complex in Tilburg on 4 and 5 September, with organisers confirming the venue will stay its home after uncertainty over the site's future. It is a techno and electronic line-up built around the surrounding woodland, with tickets through the festival's own site.

Kattegat Festival, Zwolle: 4 to 6 September

Kattegat Festival takes over Spoorzone in Zwolle from 4 to 6 September with free admission, confirmed on its own site, mixing live music, theatre, workshops and food trucks. It grew out of Kattegat, a local creative living community, and stays true to that community-first, no-ticket-required model.

Baroeg Open Air, Rotterdam: 11 to 12 September

Baroeg Open Air brings metal, punk, hardcore and related heavier genres to Zuiderpark in Rotterdam on 11 and 12 September. Doors open Friday at 16:30 and Saturday at noon, and the festival's own site confirms children up to 12 get in free.

Appelpop, Tiel: 11 to 12 September

On the same weekend, Appelpop fills the Waalkade in Tiel with a multi-genre line-up across several stages along the river. The festival's own site describes itself as an affordable, volunteer-driven event that has been one of the Netherlands' more iconic festivals for decades, a deliberately different pitch to the bigger-ticket weekends on this list.

Into the Woods, Amersfoort: 18 to 19 September

Into the Woods closes out the techno leg of the season at Openluchttheater Amersfoort, in the Birkhoven woodland, on 18 and 19 September. It runs 12:00 to midnight both days, is 18 and over, and pairs house, techno and disco with art installations and lighting spread through the trees, deliberately without signposts so people wander into things.

Supremacy, 's-Hertogenbosch: 26 September

The odd one out is Supremacy, a one-day raw hardstyle festival inside the Brabanthallen exhibition halls in 's-Hertogenbosch on 26 September, running 13:00 to 23:00 per the festival's own FAQ. It is the only event on this list held indoors, so it is also the only one immune to a rained-out weekend.

Whichever one you're headed to

Bag rules, phone charging and locker policies differ festival to festival, so the practical details always live on the organiser's own site first, linked above for each one. If the event runs Volt on site, you will see it at the gate: Volt operates Volt Charging Service and Volt Self-Service Charging plus Event Lockers at over 120 festivals & events, Lowlands among them this year. For the rest, pack a charged powerbank, know the bag limit before you reach the gate, and check the official page for anything that changes closer to the date.

Frequently asked questions

Which Dutch festivals are still ahead in August and September 2026?

Ten confirmed events run from 20 August through 26 September 2026: Noorderzon, Lowlands, Into The Great Wide Open, Decibel Outdoor, Draaimolen, Kattegat Festival, Baroeg Open Air, Appelpop, Into the Woods and Supremacy, spanning performing arts to hardstyle.

Which of these is the biggest?

Lowlands holds the most people on site at once, around 55,000 for the full weekend. Decibel Outdoor at Beekse Bergen, run across three separate days, is described by its own organisers as historically drawing the highest total attendance of the ten.

Is Kattegat Festival really free?

Yes. Kattegat Festival in Zwolle confirms free admission on its own site. It is the only fully free event on this list; the other nine are ticketed.

Do any of these run into October?

No, all ten fall between 20 August and 26 September 2026. Amsterdam Dance Event, the Netherlands' biggest electronic music week, follows in October and is worth its own separate list.