Excite keeps expanding its horizon. This time, we’re heading to the northern shores of the Netherlands to welcome MadNes Festival on the island of Ameland into the Excite network.
To get a better sense of what makes MadNes more than just another festival on the map, we spoke with Steven Leeuwerink, one of the core organizers of the festival. In the conversation below, he shares how MadNes has grown from a passionate idea in 2008 into a tight-knit beach community, and why joining an international network like Excite feels like a natural next step.
– For someone who’s never experienced it, how would you describe MadNes Festival?
I would describe MadNes as your perfect holiday: bare footed on the beach, drinking a nice cold beverage in the sun while listening to some cool summer tunes.
And if you like to discover new things like kite surfing, mountainboarding, slackline, SUP yoga, line dancing or beach meditation, or just wanna dance and discover new bands on one of the five stages, MadNes is the place to be.
– The Netherlands already has ESNS in Groningen and a wide range of festivals and showcase events, what gives MadNes its own identity within that landscape?
The location is a very unique eye catcher, not only in The Netherlands but in Europe, as the entire festival takes place on a beach on an island. But looking at the musical landscape we’re a combination of ‘showcase’, local artists and established names (to a certain degree). Although we won’t promote ourselves as a showcase festival, we just love to give starting or unknown artists a stage and we’ve been doing that since the first edition in 2008. As long as we like the music, feel a connection with the artist and believe our audience also will. As the festival grew, we went from 2 to 5 stages and therefore we’ve got a lot more possibilities to book more ‘upcoming’ artists.
– The festival has clearly grown through the efforts of a tight-knit team and many dedicated people over the years. What do you think has been key to that development?
Over the years, we’ve had some changes in the core of the organization but are now close to 10 years of the same 4 dudes working their asses off to make every edition better and more fun than the last one. But without long-term relationships, especially on the island, and giving people freedom but also responsibility, we wouldn’t be here anymore. Most of our crew has been with us for years and therefore it not only feels like family, it’s very powerful as you can rely on every one of the team.
For example, we ask merch volunteers about new colors, designs or new kinds of accessories for next year. One of our illustrators sends me a playlist with ‘music tips’ each year, and we give our decoration team the freedom to explore what works and what not. So, everybody matters within the ‘MadNes family’.
– By becoming part of a network like Excite, what opportunities are you hoping it might open up for MadNes?
First of all would be honored if more people, organizations and artists outside of The Netherlands will get to know MadNes (better) and therefore also strengthen our position within the Dutch festival landscape. This can help us musically as we try to change the line-up each year for about 90% compared to the previous edition, and with almost 50 spots to fill we are always interested in discovering new (foreign) artists. But making new (international) friends with other organizations or policymakers to exchange ideas and experiences would also be a big plus.
– Taking a step back: in the current climate, what role can cross-border collaboration between festivals really play – and where do you still see music making a real difference?
One of the reasons I wanted to join the Excite Music Network with MadNes is it helps artists not only to get booked on festivals, but on several at once. While they might not get booked on the same festivals if they had sent each of those festivals a separate email. While I’m writing this, I still have about 40 band emails to reply to, so Excite artists don’t have to get in line.
And cross-border collaborationalso works for artists from for instance the States or Australia, who need to have a lot of shows to be financially able to tour.
And from a festival point of view, we can meet new people to share thoughts and ideas on how things work in everyone’s specific region or the problems they run into. Or share materials like stages, decoration or bar equipment.