The annual Noorderzon performing arts festival will be kicking off its 34th edition in Groningen’s Noorderplantsoen from the 22nd of August until the 1st of September. The festival features theatre, art, and musical performances from all parts of the world.
The festival programme is pretty extensive but we’ve rounded up 10 different performances that promise to be fun, exciting, and different.
Music: Florence Adooni
Florence Adooni from Kumasi in Ghana is considered the leading musician of highlife music and the vibrant gospel of the local ethnic subgroup Frafra. Highlife music is a genre that developed in Ghana in the 19th century where African music is combined with Western jazz melodies. Her eye for talent, charm, and soul with some percussion, synthesisers and a psychedelic funk guitar are guaranteed to make you dance.
The show will take place at the Apollo stage in the Noorderplantsoen on Thursday the 22nd of August at 22:30. Entrance is free. Details here.
Music: ELMER
ELMER is a rapper from Amsterdam with nerve, self-deprecating humour, and a vivid imagination who is impossible to put in a box. With colourful decor, a dog as a DJ and some electronic beats she will put on a show you’ll never forget. ELMER touches on topics like self-hate and the hypocrisy of the left in combination with humour, self-deprecation, and dirty lyrics. The show at Noorderzon is completely new and based on her love for comic books.
The show will take place at the Apollo stage in the Noorderplantsoen on Saturday the 24th of August, at 22:30. Entrance is free. More info here.
Music: Cindy
This new band with seasoned musicians Valentijn Bannier, Xander Vrienten, and Martijn Bosman will give you your daily dose of groove pop and psych funk, the perfect music for a summer night at the Noorderplantsoen . Perfect for music lovers or if you just like to dance to energetic, colourful, and groovy music.
The show will take place at the Apollo stage in the Noorderplantsoen at 22:30 on Monday the 26 August. Entrance is free. More here.
Music: Pachyman
When he moved from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles, multi-instrumentalist Pachy Garcia (Pachyman) found his love for early Jamaican music again. He taught himself the drums and looked in thrift stores for cheap recording equipment. After that 333 House was born, where he (while livestreaming on Instagram) brought old dub reggae and ska back to life. Besides this Pachy is also a singer and musician with the LA-based noise-rock band Prettiest Eyes.
The show will take place at the Apollo stage in the Noorderplantsoen at 20:30 on Thursday the 29th of August. Entrance is free. You can find the programme here.
Music: TAXI TAXI
If you want to brush up on your Dutch, the Punk boyband TAXITAXI might be perfect for you. The Dutch spoken act contains 3 characters of musicians who play songs that are no longer than 4 sentences and the whole crowd has to join in. For fans of Hang Youth and the Hives, with B-52’s vibes and the sex appeal of the backstreet boys (according to some) they’re the perfect mix.
The show will take place at the Callisto stage in the Noorderplantsoen at 22:30 on Saturday the 31st of August. Entrance is free. Info here.
Hit the North presents: Helen Jewett, Velocity Made Good, Nina Wood, Maartje, Ambu Bambu, Djoeke
Hit the North is a talent development project by ESNS (Eurosonic) that gives the stage to multiple up-and-coming artists and musicians. This Noorderzon these will be Helen Jewett, raw post-punk combined with catchy shoegaze, Velocity Made Good, synth, guitar and live drums, Nina Wood, storytellers who heal broken hearts with their mix of sounds and deep lyrics, Maartje, sharp Dutch pop that sounds like a combination of Troye Sivan and Eefje de Visser, Ambu Bambu, breakbeat, electro and experimental percussion, and Djoeke, female perspective sung in noir English chansons.
All shows will take place from the 22nd of August until the 1st of September at the Callisto stage and De Raaf in the Noorderplantsoen. You can find all the times and dates by searching ‘Hit the North’ here. Entrance is free.
Theatre: Peter and Julia – While you were partying
The American duo Julia Mounsey and Peter Mills Weiss focus on dark humour and uncomfortable truths in their show with themes like violence, aggression, sexual impotence, and the problematic ‘thinking you are entitled to something’ in male online communities. The show is a mix of autobiographical fiction, minimalistic design, and smart new media to answer the question “How do we deal with the ugliest part of ourselves?”
The performance will take place at UsvA and will be every night at 18:00 from the 25th until the 29th of August. Tickets are €16 and can be bought here.
Alternative Groningen tour – Queer history by bike
Fiona from Alternative Groningen Tours compiled stories from Groningen’s past, from late medieval times until the 90s, focusing the LGBTQI+ history in Groningen. Some of the stories are painful detailing the persecution many people suffered while others are more inspiring and highlight activism and major milestones. The tour will be donje by bike. If you don’t have one, send an email to info@noorderzon.nl to explore potential options.
The start will be at the Goudkantoor at Waagplein 1 and the ride will take around 150 minutes ending at the Reitemakersrijge. The tour will be on Sunday the 25th of August at 14:00 and Wednesday the 28th of August at 14:00. The tour costs €7 and tickets can be bought here.
Lecture: The Brain – UMCG, RUG, Hanze
This lecture consists of three short sessions where the different aspects of the brain are discussed. Three researchers from the UMCG will tell you about the relationship between the brain and mental health, especially depression, between the brain and the gut, and between language and speech. The whole lecture will be in English and will be an hour long.
Besides this collaboration lecture from the UMCG, Hanze and RUG there is also a lecture about the power of live music in healthcare, and the emotions of children and parents in early modern Europe.
The lecture will take place at the Novastage in the Noorderplantsoen on Saturday 24 August at 19:00. Entrance is €7 and tickets can be bought here.
Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen – speech lab
At the speech lab of Groningen University’s Faculty of Arts, you can learn about speech, see how your tongue moves while speaking, and have an app guess where you’re from based on your speech. You can also learn a bit of Gronings and help the researchers with a cool speech experiment. Language is of course not an issue.
The lab will be next to the Pollux stage in the Noorderplantsoen every day. Details here.
Featured photo: Niels Knelis
