Le Guess Who? 2025: The Full Map of the Unknown
Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? has never really functioned as a festival in the classic sense. Since its inception, it has resisted the flattening effect of genre labeling, curatorial cliché, and the easy circulation of hyped names. Instead, it has become a cartography of sound that thrives in its contradictions: Ghanaian highlife legends sharing stages with noise duos, experimental jazz breaking into club mutations, sacred voices echoing against drone walls. With the announcement of the complete 2025 lineup, the picture sharpens without losing its deliberate blur.
Running 6–9 November, the festival once again binds together global perspectives. This year’s curators — Amirtha Kidambi, Asher Gamedze, Edna Martinez, gyrofield, Lonnie Holley, Tianzhuo Chen, Valentina Magaletti, and Ziúr — frame an amazing program. Their invitations range from Gary Bartz & NTU Troop’s spiritual jazz continuum to Goth-Trad’s bass pressure, from Raven Chacon’s politically charged compositions to experimental interventions by Phew and the curators themselves.
Among the fresh additions: pianist and composer Hania Rani introducing her electronic alter-ego Chilling Bambino; Ghana’s cult figure Ata Kak, releasing his first new work since 1994; Daniela Pes in collaboration with IOSONOUNCANE; Linn da Quebrada bringing São Paulo’s radical queer energy; Devendra Banhart returning for a stripped-back retrospective; and Norwegian duo Smerz reshaping classical and pop fragments into unsettling architectures. MAHA, Maria Alice, Skander Jaïbi, and Smerz signal the continued focus on diasporic voices and new hybrid forms.
Le Guess Who? also expands its commitment to queer and often too marginalized communities. A good example: the BATEKOO x Los Angles night (7 November, De Helling) that assembles Linn da Quebrada, Mina Galán, Juju ZL and others for a space that is as much manifesto as dancefloor.
Tickets are already fragmenting: four-day passes gone, day passes and venue-specific tickets still available. For anyone invested in music as more than consumption — as lived, contested, borderless practice — Le Guess Who? remains a rare beacon and lets say it straight: a must visit.
