This year at Decibel Outdoor, I had the opportunity to experience the festival in a truly special way!
It all began on the Wednesday before the Decibel Outdoor officially kicked off. I was fortunate enough to visit the location early to get a sneak peek at the stages and film some pre-event content, all aimed at helping visitors prepare and get hyped for an unforgettable weekend at the festival!
Just two days later, on Friday, we arrived at the Comfort Camping area, which I always choose for its balance: it offers a peaceful environment to actually get some sleep, while still being close enough to the main camping area where the legendary Decibel Outdoor afterparties happen. After setting up our tents on the soft, freshly rained-upon ground, my friends and I took a moment to sit down and catch up before heading over to the festival grounds.
Once at the festival, I met up with the great team of b2s, the organization behind Decibel Outdoor.
While we were getting our wristbands for the weekend, we happened to run into Hans Glock, an artist who noticed my tattoo from a different festival.
To my surprise, he offered to pay for a new tattoo if I got it with the Decibel Outdoor logo or slogan—and of course, I couldn’t say no to that! So, before even seeing a single DJ set, we went to the tattoo parlor, hosted by “De Prikkende Mug Tattooing”, where Ben gave me a “LIVE LOUD” tattoo, while Hans Glock interviewed me during the session. What a way to kick off the festival weekend at Decibel Outdoor!
After the tattoo session was over, we met up with more friends and headed straight to the Sound of Decibel stage. Phuture Noize was the first to play, and as expected, he brought the energy that got the party started. We took a brief detour to the Party Style hangar, where Ransom and Bass Chaserz kept the crowd bouncing with their high-energy beats. Then, we made our way to the Decibel Outdoor mainstage, which, for the first time ever, was open on Friday!
We climbed up to the premium decks and were greeted by an incredible view of the crowd, fully immersed in the festival’s vibe. The Purge kept the energy high, and the night culminated in an outstanding performance by DJ Paul Elstak and Boogshe. With fireworks lighting up the sky, lasers cutting through the soft rain, and thousands of ravers dancing below, the Friday night mainstage closing at Decibel Outdoor couldn’t have been more magical.
After the mainstage closed, we joined the pilgrimage to City Hall—or as it was affectionately nicknamed, “Shitty Hall”—where the iconic Gezellige Uptempo DJs, with their famous poop masks, had everyone laughing and dancing. Their wild set was exactly what we needed at that moment. After expending all the energy we had left, we headed back to the comfort camp for a well-deserved rest, knowing we needed to prepare for the even bigger Saturday at Decibel Outdoor.
Saturday started with a birthday celebration at our camp (shoutout to Max!), complete with cake, before heading over to the Pussy Lounge to catch Dr. Rude, Pat B, and Bass Chaserz. What better way to celebrate a birthday at Decibel Outdoor than with some of the best Hardstyle acts around?
Next, we made our way to the Hardstyle Classics stage for Josh & Wesz. At this point, I was getting nervous, as I had my first big moment of the weekend coming up: performing live on stage with The Pitcher! His track “I Just Can’t Stop” was the song that first got me hooked on Hardstyle, so being able to share the stage with him at Decibel Outdoor felt like a dream come true.
After the performance went off without a hitch and my nerves settled, I was ready for the next part of my day: another performance! This time, it was with Davide Sonar, the Italian legend, who had invited me to join him on stage again after our fantastic show at Defqon.1 earlier in the summer. Performing with these amazing artists at Decibel Outdoor was such a full-circle moment for me.
With my heart filled with excitement, I rejoined my friends and continued the party.
After a quick recharge back at camp, we headed to the Hardcore stage to see Angerfist and N-Vitral. If you’ve seen either of these legends perform, you already know that they never miss a beat, and this performance was no exception.
On the way to the Decibel Outdoor mainstage, we made another pit stop at the Hardstyle Classics stage for Frequencerz, who delivered one of our favorite sets of the weekend. With everyone singing and dancing, it was pure Hardstyle euphoria.
By the time we got back to the mainstage, Nosferatu was about to close out the night. The end shows at Decibel Outdoor are always known for their unmatched production quality, and Saturday night was no different. The synchronization of the sound, lasers, and pyrotechnics left us speechless once again, even after so many years of attending. It’s moments like these that make Decibel Outdoor stand out from any other festival.
Although we skipped the afterparties that night, we had big plans for Sunday. Right when the stages opened, we made our way deep into the forest to catch one of the most anticipated performances: three full hours of Geck-o! From the moment his set started, we couldn’t stop dancing.
Geck-o took us on a nostalgic journey through Hardstyle history, touching on Jumpstyle and Hard Trance along the way. My personal highlight of the day came when I got the chance to join him on stage for his legendary track “Soul Train.” At that point, I couldn’t have asked for more from the weekend!
After Geck-o’s set, we watched the Italian Hardcore maestro Mad Dog tear up the stage before heading to see Frequencerz again at the Hardstyle stage, followed by B-Front and Phuture Noize’s spectacular show, “The Enlightenment.” Their set at Decibel Outdoor was something that simply can’t be compared to any other experience.
Afterward, we finally got the chance to ride the Ferris wheel and take in the breathtaking views of the festival grounds before diving into the Early Uptempo Sounds of F.Noize, complete with stage gabber performances and a hyped-up crowd, where we honed our hakken skills in preparation for the afterparty.
After a quick break at the comfort camp to grab some hoodies for the long night ahead, we rejoined a crowd of excited ravers and made our way to City Hall once again. Dither was already pumping out hard beats when we arrived, and we quickly found our friends to dance the night away.
The afterparty reached its peak when Spitnoise took the stage for his final beats of the weekend, closing out the night with an explosive set. Still buzzing from the incredible afterparty, we paid one last visit to our friends at the regular camp before heading back to comfort camp for one final night of laughter and reminiscing.
The next morning, we packed up our camp, said our goodbyes, and left Beekse Bergen with hearts full of incredible memories. The countdown for Decibel Outdoor 2025 has officially begun, and we’ll definitely be back, 100%.
