Best Kept Secret is a three-day music festival held inside the Beekse Bergen, within the village of Hilvarenbeek, in the south of the Netherlands, since 2013.
| Best Kept Secret | |
|---|---|
 The entrance to Best Kept Secret in 2014 | |
| Dates | Early-to-mid June |
| Location(s) | Hilvarenbeek, North Brabant, The Netherlands |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Website | www.bestkeptsecret.nl |
Best Kept Secret is a music festival with a line-up in which big names are alternated with new discoveries from indie, folk, hip-hop, rock, electronics or a mixture of styles. The festival's centerpiece is a lake at the back of Beekse Bergen safari park. The festival's founder described his vision as aiming to create "something that we’d like to go to ourselves".[1]
Best Kept Secret festival has one open air stage (ONE), three tent stages (TWO, FIVE and SEVEN) and two dance floor stages: THREE and FOUR. For the 2017 edition Best Kept Secret added 'The Casbah', a dive bar and hang-out, that hosts performances of hardcore bands. For the 2019 edition Best Kept Secret added SEVEN, a smaller tent stage for experimental performers.
History
editThe festival is organized by Dutch booking agency Friendly Fire.
In June 2013 the first edition was held, and sold out each day with 15,000 visitors.[2]
The festival has been nominated twice at the European Festival Awards:[3]
- Best Festival Line-Up 2014
- Best Medium-Sized Festival 2014
In 2013 the festival won the 'Best Festival Award' at the 'IJzeren Podiumdieren' award show at Eurosonic Noorderslag.[4] The 'IJzeren Podiumdieren' award show is an initiative by the Vereniging Nederlandse Poppodia- en Festivals (Dutch venues and festivals association).[5]
Best Kept Secret festival introduced 'the food line-up' for their first edition. The festival organization strives for diverse and sustainable food options, including vegetarian meals, soup and juices.
After the 2019 edition, Maurits Westerik, who is also the frontman of the Dutch band Bewilder, became the festival's new director. He replaced Robert Swarts.[6]
Festival summary
edit| Edition | Year | Dates | Headliners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th | 2025 | June 13-15 | |
| 10th | 2024 | June 7–9 | Justice · Disclosure · Paolo Nutini · PJ Harvey |
| 9th | 2023 | June 9–11 | Aphex Twin · The Chemical Brothers · Oscar and the Wolf |
| 8th | 2022 | June 10–12 | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds · The Strokes · alt-J · Jamie xx |
| - | 2021 | Scheduled: June 11–13 | Scheduled: The Strokes · Massive Attack · The National (cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| - | 2020 | Scheduled: June 12–14 | Scheduled: The Strokes · Massive Attack · The National (cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 7th | 2019 | May 31–June 2 | Bon Iver · Christine and the Queens · Kraftwerk 3D |
| 6th | 2018 | June 1–5 | Arctic Monkeys · LCD Soundsystem · The National |
| 5th | 2017 | June 16–18 | Radiohead · Arcade Fire · Run the Jewels |
| 4th | 2016 | June 17–19 | Beck · Editors · Jamie xx |
| 3rd | 2015 | June 19–21 | The Libertines · Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds · A$AP Rocky · alt-J |
| 2nd | 2014 | June 20–22 | Elbow · Franz Ferdinand · Interpol · Lykke Li · Pixies |
| 1st | 2013 | June 21–23 | Arctic Monkeys · Damien Rice · Sigur Rós · Portishead |
Editions
edit2025
edit| Best Kept Secret 2025 (11th edition) | ||
| Friday June 13 | Saturday June 14 | Sunday June 15 |
|---|---|---|
2024
edit2023
edit2022
edit| Best Kept Secret 2022 (8th edition) | ||
| Friday June 10 | Saturday June 11 | Sunday June 12 |
|---|---|---|
|
alt-J
|
The Strokes
|
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
|
2019
edit2018
edit| Best Kept Secret 2018 (6th edition) | ||
| Friday June 8 | Saturday June 9 | Sunday June 10 |
|---|---|---|
|
Arctic Monkeys
|
The National
|
LCD Soundsystem
|
2017
edit| Best Kept Secret 2017 (5th edition) | ||
| Friday June 16 | Saturday June 17 | Sunday June 18 |
|---|---|---|
|
Run The Jewels
|
Arcade Fire
|
Radiohead
|
2016
edit| Best Kept Secret 2016 (4th edition) | ||
| Friday June 17 | Saturday June 18 | Sunday June 19 |
|---|---|---|
|
Beck
|
Editors
|
Jamie xx
|
In total, around 100 artists, bands and DJ's performed at Best Kept Secret festival 2016.
2015
edit| Best Kept Secret 2015 (3rd edition) | ||
| Friday June 19 | Saturday June 20 | Sunday June 21 |
|---|---|---|
|
The Libertines
|
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
|
alt-J
|
In total, around 95 artists, bands and DJ's performed at Best Kept Secret festival 2015.
2014
edit| Best Kept Secret 2014 (2nd edition) | ||
| Friday June 20 | Saturday June 21 | Sunday June 22 |
|---|---|---|
|
Pixies
|
Franz Ferdinand
|
Elbow
|
2013
edit| Best Kept Secret 2013 (1st edition) | ||
| Friday June 21 | Saturday June 22 | Sunday June 23 |
|---|---|---|
|
Arctic Monkeys
|
Damien Rice
|
Sigur Ros
|
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Festival Review: Best Kept Secret 2014, The Line of Best Fit, April 17, 2015
- ^ Eerste editie festival Best Kept Secret uitverkocht
- ^ Nominees European Festival Awards 2014 Archived February 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nieuwkomer Best Kept Secret beste festival". NU (in Dutch). Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- ^ Nieuwkomer Best Kept Secret beste festival, de Volkskrant, 18 January 2014
- ^ Wierikx, Job (2019-06-02). "Maurits Westerik nieuwe directeur Best Kept Secret". Festileaks.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Alle Best Kept Secret line-up posters sinds 2013, Festileaks.com (in Dutch), February 19, 2024
Sources
editThis article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2015) |
