Rotterdam has always done things its own way. Less polished than Amsterdam, more industrial, more direct, and in many ways more interesting for it. The city has never really been trying to impress anyone. It just gets on with things.
Tomorrow, it gets a new stage.
On Saturday May 16th, the first edition of ALEF Jazz Festival takes place in the courtyard of the Groothandelsgebouw, right next to Rotterdam Centraal. It is an initiative by De Kunstfabriek and Goliath, two platforms that have been building something serious in the city over the past couple of years, and it is the kind of first edition that already feels like the beginning of something that will matter.
ALEF stands for A Legacy Echoes Forever, and the name is also an intentional anagram of FELA, a direct nod to Fela Kuti. Drawing from Afrobeat traditions, Afro-American jazz history, and Afrofuturism, the festival places improvisation at the centre of everything and asks what happens when live performance and contemporary club culture share the same space. The answer, if the lineup is anything to go by, is something unpredictable and very worth showing up for.
Nathan Badu & S!RENE
S!RENE and Vanyfox are on DJ duties, both stepping outside their usual formats to perform alongside live musicians from Higherlife Collective. That pairing, a big name in an unfamiliar setting, musicians improvising in real time alongside a DJ, is either going to go nowhere or go somewhere completely unexpected. The latter is the whole point.
“For our musical vision, we drew a lot of inspiration from the jam culture that is happening more and more in the big cities,” says David Grutter of Goliath. “People go to a club not knowing what to expect. A big artist like S!RENE stepping out of his comfort zone to play together with live musicians from Higherlife Collective, that is what ALEF is about.”
Beyond the music, the daytime programme gives space to eight local makers and community figures presenting vintage fashion, art objects, and independent work. The courtyard of the Groothandelsgebouw, a building that already has its own history and scale, becomes a full cultural ecosystem for the day.
This is a pilot edition, conceived as the foundation for something annual and ongoing. De Kunstfabriek has welcomed over 15,000 visitors, hosted more than 200 DJs, and presented 12 exhibitions over the past two years. Goliath has just been selected for the Plus Paradiso programme supporting the next generation of cultural innovators. Between the two of them, the infrastructure is real.
“With ALEF, we are trying to contribute something that feels both internationally relevant and still deeply rooted in Rotterdam. The city has an incredible creative energy, and we wanted to build a platform that reflects that openness and experimentation.”
André Marques
Rotterdam deserves a festival like this. It is happening tomorrow. Get your ticket here and get on the train.
ALEF Jazz Festival, Saturday May 16th, 15:00 – 19:00, Groothandelsgebouw Rotterdam.
