From Uncertain Future to Sold-Out Edition: Draaimolen Unveils 2026 Line-up

A Line-up as a Token of Gratitude

Draaimolen Festival returns to the forest of the MOB complex in Tilburg, on Friday, September 4 and Saturday, September 5. Last year, the festival's existence hung by a thread. Thanks to worldwide support for the petition, a line-up with an unprecedented number of talented artists is ready this year. The sold-out 2026 edition is dedicated to gratitude.

Purely Independent

Draaimolen remains true to itself: completely independent and non-profit. While the festival world is becoming increasingly commercial, Draaimolen holds onto space for experimentation and boundless creativity. This is precisely what attracts music lovers from all over the world, people looking for something they don't yet know. This uncompromising attitude makes room for a series of world premieres and shows created specifically for Draaimolen this year. Groundbreaking artist Shygirl brings a brand-new, energetic live show to Strobe, Draaimolen's largest stage, blurring the line between avant-garde pop and raw club culture. Anthony Rother steps back into his alias DATAPUNK after a long time, on Moon, while Kangding Ray and Lumus Instruments premiere Snelweg, a live audiovisual work specially created for The Tunnel.

Live Shows and DJs

Live performances are central on all six forest stages. Moon, brought to life for the first time last year, returns for a second chapter full of intensity and hypnotic sounds. On Friday, the stage opens with a minimalist improvisation set by the legendary Australian jazz trio The Necks, alongside live sets from COLA REN & K-LONE and OK EG. Further on at Aura (hosted by Bristol label Timedance), Batu presents his new alt-pop band Dials, followed by dub-dance experiments from Devon Rexi meets John T. Gast. Later, groundbreaking DJs will put the mighty Sinai Sound System to the test. DJ Firmeza, DJ Lycox, and DJ Narciso bring the sound they invented themselves: a mix of batida, kizomba, kuduro, and tarraxinha, originating in the Afro-Portuguese communities of Lisbon. Forest Rave (hosted by Eris Drew and Octo Octa) welcomes club legend Dimitri, with a vinyl set that ties together decades of Dutch house, and New York legend Fred P, who plays a commissioned live show.

TraTraTrax: Latin American Craftsmanship

This year, The Pit welcomes Colombian label TraTraTrax, which connects Latin American heritage with progressive electronic music. Highlights include Los Thuthanaka, which brings huayño, caporal, and kullawada into dialogue with distortion, tape rewinds, and avant-garde club sounds, and reggaeton pioneer DJ Playero. The Latin American theme continues with Kelman Duran's groundbreaking dembow and the Brazilian Weird Baile, making its European debut.

Art as Second Nature

What Draaimolen unique is its close collaboration with world-class visual artists. This creates a strong symbiosis of art, music, and nature. On Thursday, September 3, this connection between image and sound moves to Poppodium 013 in Tilburg, where Efdemin & Giorgi Zatisshvili, GiGi FM & Vincent Rang, and Legowelt as Zorlok Compressor bring specially created audiovisual shows to the Opening Concert.

Draaimolen Festival is completely sold out. Tickets for the Opening Concert are still available via www.draaimolen.nu.