ON THE EVE OF PRINSJESDAG, MUSIC TAKES OVER THE HAGUE CITY CENTRE
On the evening before Prinsjesdag, the political capital transforms into a free music festival that ends with a late-night ode to democracy. On Monday evening, 14 September, The Hague will once again be all about PrinsjesNach for the fourth year in a row, a free musical pub crawl. With more than 35 acts across 30 locations, the full line-up has now been announced.
Indie pop in a traditional brown café, classical music in a bicycle parking facility and jazz from under an awning: during PrinsjesNach, musical The Hague comes to life. In addition to intimate concerts at some of the city’s best hospitality venues, this year there will also be talent workshops, themed routes, a NachMis and an extensive children’s programme one day later.
Sarah de Bruijn, co-organiser of PrinsjesNach, says: “With more acts than ever, PrinsjesNach remains an intimate and surprising festival with an overwhelmingly broad programme. On dozens of small stages from Noordeinde to Bierkade, both established names and emerging talent will make their music heard.”
New this year
For the first time this year, PrinsjesNach will end with a late-night ‘ode to democracy’: the NachMis.
Henk & Melle, normally a duo and known from Hallo Venray and Smutfish, will perform with a full band especially for the occasion, accompanied by spoken word from Scott Beekhuizen (Prins S en de Geit) and Laurin Nargy (Poezieboys).
Also new are talent workshops for young brass musicians and singer-songwriters. The young brass band The Legendairs and seasoned musician Arno Bakker, percussion specialist Miguel Varela (La Máquina) and renowned trumpeter Michael Varekamp will work together on a presentation in which jazz, brass band and Caribbean music spectacularly come together.
In addition, in collaboration with Songwriter Sunday, a special open mic programme will take place for emerging singer-songwriters. Guus van der Steen (Kern Koppen) and Ferdinand van Duuren (French Kiss) will prepare eight new singer-songwriters from The Hague for their debut performances at Kunstbar during PrinsjesNach.
Bicycle parking concert
PrinsjesNach starts as soon as you park your bicycle. For one evening, the bicycle parking facility in Nobelstraat will become an unexpected stage, with several performances taking place at the beginning and end of the evening.
If you are already in the city earlier, join the Haagse Beat Tour at 16:00 and discover The Hague as the city where legendary bands such as Golden Earring and Goldband have their musical roots. Or get into the mood at Den Haag Centraal station, where the first sounds of PrinsjesNach will already be heard from 17:00.
Themed routes
Also new this year are several themed routes, allowing visitors to explore their favourite styles of music.
Sarah de Bruijn: “With such a full line-up, it is of course difficult to choose between all the acts. That is why we have created themed routes such as Female Voices, World Sounds, Jazz and New Talent. This makes it easy to go on a musical journey of discovery throughout the evening.”
Children’s programme
PrinsjesNach continues for the youngest visitors one day later at Zuiderparktheater, in collaboration with PrinsjesNach, Zuiderparktheater and De Betovering.
From 10:00 on Prinsjesdag, a special children’s programme will take place there. The programme includes Kleine Louis, a swinging musical story about the origins of jazz, jazz legend Louis Armstrong and, above all, finding the inspiration to choose your own path.
The Hague band Meyendel will also perform their tender songs for the youngest audience, interspersed with some of the most beautiful stories by Toon Tellegen.
Practical information
PrinsjesNach takes place on Monday 14 September from 19:00 and is free to attend at 30 locations across The Hague city centre. The festival concludes at 23:30 with the NachMis.
Anyone who wants to get into the mood in advance can listen to the PrinsjesNach playlist on Spotify, featuring music from part of this year’s line-up. Or install the Jamr app, where the full line-up and timetable will appear in the coming days.
Full line-up
Amber Rosa Lynn, Benito, De Kraaien, Duo Durville, French Kiss, Gerardo Rosales, Gillespiana, Goodnight Irene, Haagse Beat Tour, Hero’s Journey: Oudyssey, Isabella Lavanga, Jabuticaba, Jam de La Creme PrinsjesNach Jamsessie, Lidy Blijdorp & Ketevan Roinishvili, Lily Clarissa, LUYI & Imanol Emede, Mamey, Mandalamarra, Manja, Miles O’Brien, Mulatu Listening Bar, NachMis, NANO, Notes, Beats & Bars met BF, Open mic-programma Songwriter Sunday, Roos van Herrewegen, Satyakam Mokhamsing, Sealovers, Tante Koor, The COOPER & FOREST POOKY Experience, The Kiffs, Brassband The Legendairs, The Velcro, Tobias, Tripkip, VOS, Writers Unlimited, Yaëll Campbell, Zippora.
Themed routes
Female Voices: Discover Amber Rosa Lynn, Zippora, Isabella Lavanga, Tante Koor and Lily Clarissa, and attend the Writers Unlimited talk Women (Re)write History, with musical accompaniment.
World Sounds: Travel around the world with the Eastern sounds of Satyakam Mohkamsing, be carried away by Hero’s Journey: Oudyssey by Iranian multi-instrumentalist Sepand Dadbeh, the distinctive Italian folk rock of Mandalamarra and Brazilian sounds from Gerardo Rosales and Jabuticaba.
Jazz: For true jazz lovers, the programme features LUYI & Imanol Emede, Isabella Lavanga and Gillespiana by The Hague jazz icons Michael Varekamp and Ben van den Dungen.
New Talent: Want to discover new talent from The Hague? Listen to The Kiffs, The Velcro, Yaëll Campbell, Mamey and NANO. Or immerse yourself in Dutch-language songs by VOS, Manja, Benito and others.