U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. From 8-10 November 2024, U? returns for its 4th edition.
The 2024 program for U? is now revealed, featuring a festival playground taking place in the Cartesius area on Saturday, 9 November, as well as many other activities and events throughout Utrecht. U? 2024 includes music, workshops, films, exhibitions, shared meals, discussions, and much more, spotlighting the diversity of the creativity from Utrecht and beyond.
Musically, U? features a.o. Sounds Like Touch presents Bromwol, an interactive performance where you can experience and play electronic textile musical instruments, and Jam Out, a jam session where Dutch and (undocumented) Newcomers can meet through music, both happening at Hof van Cartesius. At De Nijverheid, you’ll see a.o. a performance by the Amsterdam-based group Devon Rexi, founded by Nic Mauskovic (AKA Nicolini, former Le Guess Who? artist) and Nushin Naini, who create dubby, experimental music with Farsi vocals. At KABUL à GoGo, a range of artists perform, such as the playful and colorful sounds of vocal artist and DJ TiZi (visitors who are present before midnight can also stay for free for the Le Guess Who? program afterwards).
U? also features many other activities and events, such as Ethiopian-Eritrean poet and spoken word artist Denk Neni and brand-new hip-hop project Vudu Cru, both performing at the new Stadspodium De Ontspanning. The DIY art collective De Stadsjutters collaborates with Modulation, Rave voor de Rafelranden and the Utrecht squatting info hour to create a stage for underground artists. Bizaar Bazaar is a collection of happenings, such as live screen printing, performances, tattoos and special listening sessions at Kapitaal, curated by Raouf Alaïa, member of the BizarreWebWide collective. Author, journalist and editor Emma Warren, who has been documenting underground music culture for decades, shares practical guidance on how to tell the story of the community, space or culture you’re part of during a workshop at Tigers Gym. MOḌA is a collaboration between U?, Centraal Museum, BOKS and Buddy to Buddy Utrecht, hosting a grand community-focused gathering at Younity, with fashion, food, DJ sets, a graffiti and freestyle football workshop and live music by a.o. Le Guess Who? artists Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou, an all female Gnawa group, who deliver contagious and evangelistic desert blues.
This year, U? collaborates with different NL-based community curators who highlight their communities and creativity at the festival. These programs include a.o. PUNK CONNECTIONS, in which music, art and activism come together through DIY ideology, curated by Bibi Bannink in collaboration with dB’s. Maardewân invites you to VOGELFREI for A Study of a Shared Meal, a program in which an ordinary meal turns into a collaborative process in which everyone is invited to to play a role in creating this shared experience. At Tigers Gym, Nusaqueer Diaspora explores how Indonesian and Southeast Asian queerness lives on, is reinterpreted and reinvented through its diaspora, presenting Indo*queerness in workshops, live music, dance performances, and DJ sets.
An overview of the full line-up for U? 2024 can be found below and via leguesswho.com/u/lineup.
About Le Guess Who?
Widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals, Le Guess Who? exists to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world offer insights into the unprecedented diversity of human creativity. Le Guess Who? returns 7-10 November 2024 for its 17th edition in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
