The 12th edition introduces ‘At Dawn’ and ‘Into the City’, expanding the five-day festival to 36 hours in the forest and 160+ electronic acts – including DARKSIDE, Helena Hauff, Ricardo Villalobos, DJ Sprinkles, SASS, Skrillex, Underground Resistance, and more.
Full programme & tickets: dekmantelfestival.com.
Dekmantel proudly presents the programme for its 2026 edition, running from July 29 to August 2. While continuing to traverse the full electronic music spectrum, this year’s edition emphasises reimagining the festival experience. At the Amsterdamse Bos, home to the three-day weekend, the action starts earlier than usual, as Dekmantel at Dawn expands the festival into three 12-hour days, totalling 36 hours in the forest. For the first time, Dekmantel goes ‘Into the City’, adding Melkweg and Paradiso to its festival venues. As always, close collaboration with – and between – legacy acts and future-forward artists is central.
Into the City
The 12th edition kicks off on July 29 with the annual opening concert at Oude Kerk. This year, the honour goes to the boundary-pushing UK ambient duo, Space Afrika. From there, the festival moves deeper into its home city, refreshing the Thursday live programme at landmark venues Paradiso and Melkweg. On July 30, Paradiso’s main room will be taken over by Speedy J’s electronic improv project, STOOR, with contributions from Aurora Halal, Barker, Clark and SnPLO. Meanwhile, Melkweg will host the likes of Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington’s DARKSIDE, Headache, NEW YORK and Juan Atkins presents INFINITI.
At Dawn
Dekmantel Festival wouldn’t be Dekmantel Festival without reflection and experimentation. This year, that spirit takes shape in ‘At Dawn’: a new morning programme at Amsterdamse Bos that stages world-class artists in a new light – presented in collaboration with Resident Advisor, exclusively accessible to weekend ticket holders. Unfolding beneath the trees of the RADAR terrain, Jeff Mills debuts ‘STARGATE’, Sampha brings a rare DJ set, DJ Sprinkles presents ‘Deeperama’, and Eris Drew channels ‘Mystery of the Motherbeat’. For the first time ever, the weekend commences with a live-improv opening ceremony by James Holden & Surgeon.
Forest Highlights
Returning to the festival forest after a long absence are Detroit legends Underground Resistance with vocalist/poet Saul Williams, minimal master Ricardo Villalobos and techno heavyweights LSD Live (Luke Slater, Steve Bicknell and Function). Reappearing regulars include Helena Hauff with L.F.T., Jane Fitz, and Job Jobse & Palms Trax. This edition marks the festival debut of Skin On Skin as well as Skrillex, who will perform alongside rising star RHR. Other special link-ups include Actress & Carl Craig, and B4B formations Shanti Celeste, Peach, Saoirse and Moxie (SASS), as well as Ben UFO, Pariah, Objekt and Call Super.
Electronic music pioneers feature prominently in this year’s lineup, with a special emphasis on dub- and bass-rooted acts such as Channel One, The Bug & Warrior Queen, Tikiman & Scion, and Shy FX & Tasha. Standout live performances in the forest come from The Black Dog and Ron Trent, who presents the world premiere of his ‘LA MARR’ live show. Primetime slots are also allocated to Dutch artists whose sound has put the local scene on the global map, from Benny Rodrigues and upsammy to Konduku. On home ground, Dekmantel Records is represented by its multi-dimensional label artists, each debuting new projects: Makam presents ‘The Archive’, Shed presents ‘Rave Echoes’, and CCL presents ‘Invisible Cities’.
Continuing the exploration of custom high-fidelity sound in a festival environment, last year’s collaboration with Sunflower Sound System is followed up by a new partnership. Making its festival debut, the ‘ON2’ soundsystem by NNNN and OJAS, co-created by Devon Turnbull, will be showcased in the renewed Greenhouse area.
Head to dekmantelfestival.com for the core festival program, featuring over 160+ newly announced acts.