New to the city or just visiting Maastricht and wondering where to party in Maastricht at night? We have got you covered with a guide to the city, so you can find out what’s going on and meet its most valuable players.
You might not notice it straightaway, due to the historic centre and the classical image the city obtained thanks to André Rieu’s sold out concerts at Vrijthof square, but there’s a lot going on in Maastricht. It mostly starts with a so-called grassroots movement, in place like Pilzkiste, open air raves or house parties. Crews are being formed every day, but there a few that you should check out more closely.
Thanks to some really persistent crews the city’s scene has been steadily growing over the years. The Plata Morgana crew (formerly known as Seventy Eight Records) is one of them, but we definitely should not rule out the people at Terra Nova, Claydrum, or ourselves, Linke Soto. Also the people affiliated with Café Zondag and Brandweerkantine, have been around for a while. Everyone’s contributing their bit and prospects are looking good for a city that has been too closely linked to a more posh lifestyle.
In close collaboration with Muziekgieterij, Linke Soto is organising (free) daytime parties on Sunday called Minggu. Focused on bringing local crowds and DJs alike together, you can hang out at Muziekgieterij for a dance, a drink and meeting with friends.
As one would expect from an emerging city like Maastricht, there a bunch of venues that take their job and their crowd seriously. Muziekgieterij for example, which we call our home base for Linke Soto and formerly De Toko, is among them. Located in a former joinery of the now defunct Sphinx factories, it’s a characteristic venue with loads of original parts still intact. In September 2019 the new parts of the Muziekgieterij opened its doors for Muziekgieterij 2.0. It has turned into an amazing concert hall and a smaller room that reminds us of an actual ‘techno club’.
Among other clubs is Complex, that is located in the former ‘Platte Zoal’ and ‘Maastricht Music Hall’ closely to the Maas. They focus almost exclusively on electronic music and student nights. In the basement of The Social Hub (formerly: The Student Hotel), STAN (formerly known as The Commons), there have been parties going on as well.
From 2019 until the end of 2022 (†)we ran Soto Club at Muziekgieterij. After the new spaced opened up at Muziekgieterij, we took the next step after we had been running Linke Soto for over 13 years. The small room of Muziekgieterij was a place where you could check out exciting local and international artists and meet with interesting people, just like you previously got used to at De Toko. The dance floor stands for freedom, so come as you are: Meet me at Soto Club. Our successor is called De Shift, opening in 2023.
Maastricht might be small, but due to the city’s driving forces the city hasn’t gone unnoticed by the bigger organizations within electronic music. Boiler Room graced Maastricht with a visit multiple times now, showing that you don’t have to be a big metropole to showcase talent. Boiler Room knows where to party in Maastricht, how about you?
On top of The Student Hotel is the amazing Bold Rooftop Bar, which is located on the roof of the former Sphinx factory. It consists of the glass house with a bar and the roof, where you can play table tennis or chill out on of the benches. The view of the city is amazing and cannot be compared to anything else in Maastricht.
We have mentioned a few crews that have been active in the city for a while, but without artists there’s no foundation to build on. An overview of artists that have been around for a while and are actively contributing to Maastrichts nightlife and worth checking out: Disco Patrick, Sjang Kabang, Der Fünfte Roboter, Oliver Way, Flatspot, Mingus, Mâhfoud, Jef Hecker, Lewie, Perill and Tommen. Is it okay if we mention ourselves in here as well? We have been around for a while too: Dayak and Roy Habets. There’s more beneath the surface, like Couscous Discous, Sonorous Cell and Love Foundation.
We hope that we gave you a good overview what’s going on in the city and answered your question where to party in Maastricht. In case you miss anyone, a venue or other hotspots, contact us and we are happy to update this post.