Rock music in the Netherlands

From the late 1960s the post war generation gained political influence. Many state subsidised rock venues opened all over the country. These clubs, like Amsterdam's Paradiso and Melkweg, were stepping stones for many alternative rock bands on their first European tour and the Dutch crowd stayed well informed about new British and American acts.

In the 1970s some artists stood out.

Dutch bands in the 2000s are Intwine, Kane, The Sheer, Krezip, Di-rect, Heidevolk and Johan.

Current rock acts

Similarly, in the last decade of the previous century a more extreme variety of metal, death metal, have had some success. Bands like Gorefest, Pestilence, Asphyx and Sinister were well-known both in and outside Europe. At the present, bands like Legion of the Damned, Pyaemia, Maaswater Veenlijk and Severe Torture enjoy a similar status.

In the 1980s Vandenberg was internationally successful.

Punk

As a result of U.K. and U.S. bands touring the Netherlands, punk exploded as a cultural phenomenon in 1977. The credit for being the first Dutch punk band is given sometimes to Ivy Green (formed in Hazerswoude-Dorp in 1975), to the Flyin’ Spiderz (formed in Eindhoven in 1976), or to Blitzkrieg (formed in Utrecht in 1976, and who quickly changed their name to The Duds). These bands had already formed at the point that punk "reached" the Netherlands, but they all quickly began performing and producing records in the punk style.

Dutch punk evolved with a combination of U.K., U.S., European, and global punk influences. The early Dutch punk bands wrote songs with English lyrics. Although today some bands use lyrics in Dutch, many Dutch punk bands continue to write English lyrics and tour internationally. The Netherlands has a lively punk scene that includes many different styles including

Boerenrock

Some bands create a kind of rock music sometimes called "

Musically, the music played by such bands can be described as a rowdy, straightforward style of rock music, inspired by bands such as ZZ Top, Motörhead, AC/DC and CCR. At other times, influences from pop music and folk music (for instance the case with Rowwen Hèze) can be heard.

Not rarely, these bands display a lot of humorous elements in their repertoire, lyrics and live performances. An example is the repertoire of the WC Experience, which contains cover songs from bands such as

Boerenrock bands tend to perform at local festivities and concerts in big tents in rural areas, rather than in concert halls in bigger cities. An event where a lot of Boerenrock music can be heard, and a famous event amongst Boerenrock bands and fans, is the yearly Zwarte Cross ('Black Motocross') which is organized by members of 'Jovink en de Voederbietels'. The event is a mixture of several motocross related activities and a rock festival.

Indie rock

The

• Bitterzoet, Studio K
  .
• Eindhoven: Music venue the Effenaar, bands: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard, Beukorkest, Peter Pan Speedrock
• Groningen: Music venues in Groningen are
  Eurosonic takes place in Groningen.^[12][13] Venue Vera has a long tradition as a prominent underground spot and desired place for touring indie bands to play.^[14] Bands: Vox Von Braun
• Haarlem: Bands: the Sheer, Cloudmachine, venue: The Patronaat has two stages and a bar that occasionally also hosts live music.
• The Hague: A yearly festival State-X New Forms happens in Paard van Troje. Bands Fine Chine Superbone, Jobkiss.
• Leeuwarden: Suicidal Birds, Adept, Bonne Aparte and Academy for Pop Culture. Venues: Romeijn and Asteriks
• Valkhof Festival (formerly known as Festival de Affaire) is a yearly festival featuring a line-up filled with international and national indie rock acts. Venues in Nijmegen are Doornroosje, Merleyn, De Onderbroek, and Extrapool
  .
• Rotterdam: Bands like
  Roodkapje both focus on experimental music and related cutting edge
  subcultural music.
• Utrecht: Bands and artists like
  Tivoli De Helling, EKKO, ACU, Kargadoor, DBs. A yearly November festival called Le Guess Who?
  takes place in Utrecht.