Paaspop in Schijndel: happy, colorful and mixing all styles of music

The formula is clear: are you a pioneer in your own genre, a big streaming gun that strings together the hits or are you a legendary act that returns to the stage? Then there is a good chance that you will come to Schijndel during the Easter weekend for a performance. The Brabant three-day Paaspop – happy, colorful, mixing styles and lavishly decorated – traditionally kicks off the outdoor festival season.

This again attracted a potpourri of names that appeal to every type of music fanatic. Already on the first day, fans of heavier guitar work could have fun with Wargasm, Ploegendienst, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Limp Bizkit, spread over three stages. Younger festival visitors, on the other hand, mapped out a completely different route across the site, past top 40 names and stream giants. A nine-year-old boy had his first festival experience with his father at the biggest tent of the festival. Proud: “We have just seen Flemming and Antoon and now we will continue to Kriss Kross Amsterdam!”

It is a list of Dutch-speaking music stars that emerged during the corona pandemic. They experienced their breakthroughs in the lee and made gigantic leaps in the past year. For example, the young singer and rapper Antoon (21) played two nights in a sold-out Ziggo Dome less than half a year ago. Today, as a hybrid style mixer, he summed up exactly Paaspop: all boundaries blur, from hip-hop to pop with synths.

Newcomer Flemming (27) also operates in that corner. What was also particularly striking is how easily they wrapped the Apollo tent – ​​capacity 19,000 and almost full early in the day – with their rapped pop songs.

Then his peer, rapper Ray Fuego, had a more difficult time later in The Jack: a slightly lesser turnout for his band Ploegendienst. The band members, from hip-hop formation SMIB, punk duo Aus Raus and punk band Malle Pietje and the Bimbos, among others, had not seen each other for almost two years, but apparently there was still enough in the tank. Despite the few spectators, Fuego encouraged the audience. Towards the end of the set came the reward: another circle pit.

Visitors dressed as a croquette

Paaspop has reached its maximum in terms of surface area, but the site itself is heavily tweaked every year. Every music genre has a place. For example, the Roxy – for hip-hop and R&B – and The Silver Warehouse – for house – had switched places and both tents have become considerably larger. And there were new stages, such as the intimate Luxor.

Once the mud from the heavy rainfall on Maundy Thursday had dried, it was also time to enjoy outside the bandstands. On Saturday the weather cooperated particularly well, the atmosphere was positive and happy in the Join Us area, the theater and curiosities square. For example, visitors dressed as a croquette ran through a life-size airfryer. Others lost themselves in old-fashioned games like ‘Annamaria Cuckoo’. Laugh!

Paaspop also offered space on the stages for the unusual. In the Loco Royale, the corniness was central. Where else than in the middle of Brabant do you suddenly find yourself at the ‘How do you mean Luste Gij Ginne Koffie concert’? The question from the concert name creatively replaced choruses from iconic hits across genres; from hard rock to tearjerker.

Also striking: MEUTE on the shelves in the Phoenix, with brass instruments over techno beats from major producers of the genre. A marching band that took on the task of DJ and it also worked. Clear: the nicest kickstart of a summer music season was again in Schijndel. And the mixing of genres was rampant. We will undoubtedly see that a lot on the outdoor stages this coming season.