Into The Great Wide Open 2023
Can it be better?
THE MUSIC
There were amazing shows given on Vlieland, which still provides that little bit extra. We hear it all too often, in newspaper headlines and circulating among the audience: actually, the island is the main act.
But still: c'est le ton qui fait la musique. New guitar bands like Sprints and Ditz attracted a lot of attention, while in De Kuil, the Utrecht dj Ajuma filled the place completely. At Grove, everything came together in the afternoon sun on De Tokkelbaan. A socially critical note, sung with fierce dancing. Acts like Warhaus, Agar Agar, Charlotte Adigéry, and Squid, who had made an impression in lesser-known roles at previous editions, were able to live up to their newfound popularity. We are curious to see which artists will outgrow their current stage in the coming years.
The musicians felt at home on the island where we have been warmly welcomed since 2009. Jasper Verhulst, bassist of Altın Gün, for example, volunteered for three days, played records, and closed the full Sports Field on Sunday. November Ultra sighed on the boat back: 'It truly was a dream to sing my little songs here, on this island, surrounded by so much kindness, talent, and natural beauty.' And Hamish Hawk expressed on social media: 'Never laid eyes on a festival quite like it.' Those are the compliments that make it all worth it as a team.
The art route focused on the mind-expanding effect of the Wadden Sea area, and thus the sensory experience.
Fragrance artist Frank Bloem deconstructed the scents of summer and specifically captured the scent of the Vlieland pine forest, both in an installation and in the perfume Pine Lust, which was available in a limited edition (and sold out). Brackish Collective brought the brackish dune area to life with a tasting of surprising plant extracts from the region. Other works simultaneously engaged both eyes and ears, such as the three exceptional sound boxes by Pelle Schilling – a talent to keep an eye on – and [tick] by Jurjen Alkema & Andrea Dröes. Vica Pacheco's Mitote was beautifully intimate and created stillness, while the works of Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch and Heleen Blanken explicitly stimulated the senses by playing with light.
SUSTAINABILITY
(Almost) off the aggregates
The festival was almost entirely off the generators thanks to the efforts of Lab Vlieland in a pilot project using energy from the fixed power grid and rechargeable batteries that powered the stages. This resulted in a saving of 6000 liters of diesel – and the associated emissions – compared to the 9000 liters we needed last year. Thanks to reusable dishes, the banning of residual waste bins on the site, and meticulous waste separation, we were able to keep more raw materials out of the incinerator than ever before. This way, all waste streams can be reused as raw materials.
We also took other measures to reduce our footprint. For instance, the crew was transported to Harlingen fossil-free and artists – as long as they did not prefer to travel on foot or by bike – were driven around Vlieland in electric vehicles. The unavoidable residual emissions, a large portion of which are due to visitors' travel movements, are compensated through sustainable carbon storage.
