The iconic Dutch venue is expanding beyond its role as an event space with HEMKADE Presents, a new event series bringing international concepts including ANTS and BRESH to Zaandam.
After more than three decades at the heart of Dutch nightlife, HEMKADE 48 is entering a new era with the launch of HEMKADE Presents, its own curated event series.
The move marks an important evolution for the family-run venue. Rather than solely providing a home for outside promoters and event brands, HEMKADE will now take a more active role as a programmer and curator, bringing international concepts to the Netherlands while developing events that reflect the venue’s own identity.
With ANTS, BRESH and Davyboi among the first names announced, HEMKADE Presents combines the venue’s industrial heritage with a new generation determined to establish it as an international nightlife destination.
From Industrial Site to Dutch Dance Music Institution
Located along the North Sea Canal in Zaandam, just outside Amsterdam, HEMKADE’s history stretches much further back than electronic music.
The building was originally connected to the Bruynzeel industrial complex, with the site serving different purposes before eventually becoming an event space.
Its modern nightlife story began in 1994, when the Moens family established an entertainment venue at the location. Over the following three decades, the space evolved into what is now known as HEMKADE 48.
Along the way, the venue became intertwined with the development of Dutch dance culture.
During the early 2000s, the location hosted events connected to some of the movements that would help shape the Netherlands’ international reputation for electronic music. The venue has continued evolving alongside the scene ever since, moving between harder styles, techno, house and contemporary rave culture.
More recently, internationally recognized event brands including Boiler Room, Music On, Verknipt, Teletech and Intercell have taken over HEMKADE.
Artists including Marco Carola, Michael Bibi, KI/KI, Sara Landry, ANOTR and Job Jobse have also performed within its industrial surroundings, further establishing HEMKADE as a destination for electronic music fans.
Now, the venue wants to build something under its own name.
HEMKADE Presents Takes the Venue Beyond Hosting
The introduction of HEMKADE Presents represents a shift in how the venue approaches its place within the nightlife industry.
Instead of only facilitating events created by other promoters, HEMKADE will begin developing its own programming while continuing to welcome established external concepts.
The goal is to create a high-end industrial event experience where music, production, community and the history of the building become interconnected.
It is also an opportunity for HEMKADE to strengthen its position within the wider Amsterdam nightlife landscape.
Despite being located in Zaandam rather than Amsterdam itself, HEMKADE’s proximity to the Dutch capital allows it to operate as an extension of one of Europe’s most important electronic music destinations.
Following a major renovation in 2023, the venue now offers more than 5,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor space, including four event areas under one roof and additional possibilities along the waterfront.
That scale gives promoters and artists an alternative to traditional city-center clubs while preserving the raw industrial atmosphere that has become part of HEMKADE’s identity.
ANTS, BRESH and Davyboi Join the First HEMKADE Presents Events
HEMKADE isn’t restricting its new series to a single corner of electronic music.
Instead, the first announcements demonstrate a deliberately broad approach to nightlife.
Among the most recognizable additions is ANTS, the Ibiza-born event concept known for its house and tech-house sound.
ANTS has developed into one of Ibiza’s prominent club brands, and its arrival at HEMKADE connects the industrial Dutch venue with a concept typically associated with the Mediterranean island’s summer club culture.
BRESH brings an entirely different experience.
The internationally touring Latin party concept has expanded across cities around the world through its colorful, energetic approach to nightlife. Bringing BRESH to HEMKADE demonstrates that HEMKADE Presents is intended to stretch beyond the traditional boundaries of techno and underground electronic music.
German DJ and producer Davyboi adds another dimension to the programming, bringing his high-energy blend of hard dance and trance into the series.
Together, the bookings provide an early indication of what HEMKADE wants its new identity to represent: different scenes and communities brought together within the same industrial setting.
A New Generation Takes Control of HEMKADE
Behind the transition is the third generation of the Moens family, which has operated the venue since 1994.
For the family, HEMKADE Presents isn’t intended to erase what came before it. Instead, the concept is designed to build upon more than three decades of history while allowing a new generation to leave its own mark.
The Moens family explained:
“We’re incredibly proud of our family business, founded by our grandfather in 1994. As the third generation, we feel a responsibility to build on that strong foundation, but with ‘HEMKADE Presents,’ we want to take it further.”
That family connection also plays into how HEMKADE describes the experience it wants to create.
Rather than viewing attendees simply as customers entering and leaving individual events, the venue wants to cultivate a community that repeatedly returns to the space.
“What sets HEMKADE apart isn’t just its scale or production, but the feeling of coming home. As a family business, connection is at the heart of what we do.”
For a venue that has survived multiple generations of dance music, that sense of continuity could become one of HEMKADE Presents’ defining characteristics.
HEMKADE Looks Toward an International Future
The launch arrives as HEMKADE continues attracting prominent artists, promoters and international audiences.
Its recent programming has stretched across house, techno and harder electronic styles, while major events surrounding Amsterdam Dance Event further connect Zaandam with the enormous international audience arriving in Amsterdam each year.
HEMKADE Presents adds another layer to that strategy.
The venue can continue providing a home for established promoters while simultaneously bringing international concepts to the Netherlands and developing original experiences under the HEMKADE name.
It is a model that allows the venue’s past and future to exist alongside one another.
After 32 years of Dutch dance music history, HEMKADE is no longer simply looking to be the building where memorable events happen.
With HEMKADE Presents, the venue is stepping forward as a curator itself — using three decades of history as the foundation for an increasingly international future.
