Programmer Dirk van de Klooster put the Drachtster pop venue Iduna on the map, resulting in sold-out venues. Now it is up to his successor, Edwin van Andel.
He has officially done it for more than ten years, unofficially even longer. Now he is 39, and Dirk van de Klooster thinks it is time for other things for himself, and for someone else in that position. “Before you become a sour old programmer.” And now he makes way for Edwin van Andel (58). He says: “Age doesn’t matter in doll.”
Van de Klooster joined Iduna as a volunteer twenty years ago. He gradually took over more and more programming tasks. So long. And before it got too long, he quits. What is he going to do? “I have no idea, I find that scary too.” Plenty of offers, even outside of music: he is an excellent vegan chef.
Stopping at a high point is also an art. Visitor numbers have never been so high – around 35,000 this year. One sold-out show follows another. Often with big, international names.
The challenge is still there, though. “Now also with the small hall, I see all kinds of possibilities. But it is healthy if there is also flow. For the audience, but also for myself.”
A three-person team
In recent years, Iduna had to deal with personnel problems, with all kinds of tasks being assigned to him. At times the team consisted of only three people, with part-time jobs. Even though there is a large group of volunteers around it: “That will also end at some point.”
Iduna had about 125 shows in 2023, a lot for such a venue. And fifteen, twenty sold-out halls in the same year, that has never happened to Iduna. But it’s not that difficult, says Van de Klooster. Just book more expensive acts.
“On paper it is: more money, more risk, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Bigger bands also attract bigger audiences. By spending more money you also make more money.”
There are more decisions involved in programming. Think in terms of trends, look at what works in such a region and make sure you distinguish yourself from other venues.
“Every venue wants De Staat, or Jett Rebel, but they only do a few shows a year. Then I can fire my powder on that, but I can also look: what does the audience want here? And I’m not just talking about Smallingerland, but about the entire Northern Netherlands, perhaps even a part of Germany.”
The clunkier work
There is therefore a responsibility for Van Andel, who made his mark at the Melkweg and the Concertgebouw, both in his hometown of Amsterdam, and at De Harmonie in Leeuwarden. “But I come in a spread out bed. Dirk did a very good job. It was noticed years ago, also in the West, that Iduna has its own programming. Also the niche, the harder work, and hip hop, although it is a bit quieter now. It is a stage with its own face. And that appears to work.”
But Iduna is also a stage with challenges. The biggest: the location. Not so much the location on an industrial estate, but the position in a large one main town of a rural community. Drachten itself in particular shows a remarkable dip in demography, partly because there is no higher education. “It’s 30-plus here. My classmates didn’t know how quickly to get out of here. But when they are in their late 30s, you will see them return. But you do have a gap in that target group.”
The ‘lumber stuff’, heavy music, gabber, more extreme hip-hop and hardcore, that still attracts a young audience. “Things that are doing well in other places, you shouldn’t expect the same turnout here. It’s a pity sometimes, but that’s where the challenge lies.”
Among the older part of the target group, on the other side of the dip, the ‘classics’ are doing well. Van Andel: “At a Living Color we had a slightly younger audience, but at that punk night with Exploited, a week earlier, the average age was late 50s. In ten years that would be close to 70. Then they come with walkers. You have to start thinking about that now, also about the rejuvenation and future of your hall.” Van de Klooster: “You also want to have them in before they are 30.”
A layer of creativity
On his second day at work, Van Andel made his first booking: Joy Division Undercover, a tribute band. That category is not taboo in Iduna, but is certainly less prominent on the program than at some ‘competition’ stages. Preferably no more than once a month, on average, and preferably acts that add another layer of creativity to their repertoire.
This has to do with the two categories of visitors that Iduna distinguishes: the user who comes for the party, the band with the hit or the tribute act, and the fan who also comes for the experiment and the lesser-known names. Van Andel: “If you talk about an ‘own face’: you can only achieve that with original artists.” Van de Klooster: “But we must also be there for that user.”
Van Andel does have to ‘retrain’. Van de Klooster’s expertise mainly concerns loud music, while Van Andel’s specialty at Melkweg was hip hop.
“Programming is of course a profession. In the Concertgebouw I had to work on… global music and with jazz. I am used to adapting to the assignment I receive and the room I am in. Heavy music is the core of the event, I will have to brush up on that. This also applies to blues and Americana, which is less prevalent in Amsterdam than here. But it’s fun to learn, fun to get to know new music.”
In service of stage and audience
Van de Klooster: “Everyone thinks I come from metal, but I have maybe five metal albums in my closet. I come from punk. You have to teach yourself, that is part of your job as a programmer.”
Van Andel strives to bring hip-hop back and to bring about some rejuvenation in the program. “But in addition to the things we do here. That’s going really well, it would be stupid to change that. You should also delve into the area and the local acts. But I’m not too worried about that. You serve what the stage wants, but also what the audience wants. You have to find the right audience with the right act at the right location.”
And Van de Klooster’s contacts with the various bookers will be preserved for Iduna. “The idea is that something like this is linked to the stage, not to the person. It remains a trade.”
And on February 10, Dirk van de Klooster will be back in Iduna. But then as tour manager of Napalm Death, the British band he has been working with for years.