My name is Luca, and since February 2025 I’ve been working as an editor at Hard News. My work mainly focuses on articles about events, line-ups, and developments within the hardstyle scene. Besides that, I contribute to the PLAFONDDIENST Podcast and regularly attend festivals as an interviewer, including REBiRTH Festival and Intents Festival.
ALSO READ: From moodboard to mainstage: how an Intents theme comes to life
Normally, I’m on the sidelines documenting stories from the scene. But during the Dance Industry Minor at Fontys, my fellow students and I were given the opportunity to develop our own event concept. It didn’t take long before a thought started lingering in the minds of me and three friends: “What would it actually be like to organise an event ourselves?”
Not just another standard party with a line-up poster and a timetable people have seen a hundred times before. If we were going to do it, there had to be a concept behind it.
We soon found our way to De Avenue in Breda, where we partnered with a venue that was willing to help bring the first edition of AFZIEN to life. While De Avenue takes care of hospitality and technical production, we’ve been given the freedom to fully focus on the concept, line-up, and marketing of the event.
AFZIEN – The RAW Marathon
That’s how AFZIEN was born. The concept revolves entirely around the feeling of a marathon. Not the act of running itself, but everything that comes with it: perseverance, maintaining momentum, and working together towards the finish line. We wanted to translate that feeling into a rawstyle event while simultaneously creating a platform for the next generation of rawstyle artists.
The marathon concept extends far beyond the name and visuals. It forms the foundation of the entire timetable. After an opening set by Malvex vs SQUEEKR, B-Struct kicks off the marathon. Through a series of exclusive B2B moments, the pace is then passed on to Elevation, Oblivion, Unique, Coldax and Disaster. The final stretch of the course is in the hands of Mutant, who, as the event’s uptempo artist, is responsible for delivering the finishing sprint towards the finish line.
After writing more than 200 articles about events, line-ups, and developments within the scene, AFZIEN has given me the opportunity to experience the other side of the event industry. For the first time, I’ve been able to see firsthand what goes into organising an event. That’s exactly why I’m so excited to see everything come together on June 19 and discover how visitors experience the very first edition of AFZIEN.
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“Are you ready for the RAW Marathon?”
AFZIEN takes place on Friday, June 19, 2026, at De Avenue Breda. Curious to see what this musical marathon looks like in practice? Tickets are available through the website of De Avenue.
Hopefully, we’ll see you at the starting line!
