“More than just pounding kicks and crazy party vibes!” – Boulevard Outdoor REVIEW

It must have been around 6PM. I had just ordered a fresh Italian BMT at the subway food truck before I settled myself at the water’s edge of the idyllic recreation park ‘Het Lageveld’. This beautiful piece of nature is home to Boulevard Outdoor 2017. Having the infamous concept ‘Dangerouz Mind’ hosting one of the stages, I became eager to find out more about this “best kept secret” festival.

So here I was, sitting with my freshly made sandwich enjoying the warmth of the early evening sun…

My eyes were just watching some small fish swarming aimlessly around like they were stuck in an invisible fish bowl when I hear someone say “can we join you?” I look over my right shoulder and see two girls standing nearby. Their electric blue and hazel brown eyes, shining with a querying expression, looked at me. The blond girl with the blue eyes was wearing a beautiful blue dress with some fancy white sneakers. The other girl, with dark brown hair, was wearing an ACDC shirt with a leather jacket on top, finished off by some torn black jeans. I imagine she probably cannot even recall one song from this band and the way the other is dressed, I doubt they go to festivals that often. “Sure” I reply and show my willingness to talk by asking, “How has your day been so far?”

Waiting for their answer and determined not to let my sandwich cool down, I take a bite of it – delicious. “We have enjoyed it a lot. How is your day?” The blonde one replies. I always dislike when people answer my question in such a short manner that only another question on my behalf can save the continuation of our conversation. So I ignore her question and force them to give a more specific answer. “Cool. What was the best part of it?” The blonde one takes a sip of her wine. ACDC takes the opportunity provided and answers “We enjoyed the ‘Dangerouz Mind’ stage a lot. You know, with all this Hardstyle music?” The answer quite surprises me as these girls are not your average Hardstyle groupies.

I carefully consider my reply. Simultaneously I take a look around. The festival beholds a bohemian-Woodstock vibe. Flags along the entire water edge dance cheerfully in the wind. Hammocks are situated on the beach and people extensively use them to take some rest and enjoy the lovely weather. A lot of people are sitting on the grass and chilling whilst enjoying their dinner – just as I am. I even spot a three person marching band performing for a group of people. I love these little details at a festival. I return my eyes to ACDC and reply with “I have no idea what you are talking about…” With a poker face I take another bite of my sandwich. ACDC looks at me bewilderedly. Blondie, luckily, hears the sarcasm in my voice and jokingly replies “Shut up!” I quickly swallow the now mashed BMT and laugh. She continues: “so, have you already been to the ‘Dangerouz Mind’ stage? What do you think of it?”

Although I would love to provide them with a monologue about my experience from the stage so far, I keep myself from a lengthy plea and return the question, “I am actually more interested in why you guys liked it so much.” Blondie takes another sip of her wine – I imagine she must be thirsty – before stating, “We always thought that we didn’t like this kind of music and so we never go stages with this kind of music. However, the atmosphere is really good and the music is super uplifting. It surprised us.” ACDC nods with her head as a sign of mutual agreement.

I cannot agree more with them. The atmosphere at the ‘Dangerouz Mind’ stage was excellent – although I found the atmosphere oat the entire festival itself to be very pleasant and relaxing. The stage could have been a little more crowded and the speakers weren’t of outstanding quality, however, with Mc Da Syndrome behind the mic and artists like B-Front, Phuture Noize, and Titan supporting the wheels, the party was definitely on.

What I love about these festivals is that artists often chose not to play from their regular repertoire. B-Front, for example, played a minimum amount of tracks from his new album, but did play the infamous track “Leave It All Behind” by Wildstylez & Alpha² vs. DV8 Rocks! For the dedicated crowd, these songs add a lot of refreshment to a set and for the untrained ear – like Blondie and ACDC – these songs are much more accessible.

I again look at the place where the small fishes were swirling around. They probably have escaped from their imaginative fishbowl because they are nowhere to be seen. I imagine they must have been immerged into the vastness of the lake. As I take the last bite of my BMT, I will think that I follow their example and engross myself back into the vastness of where the party people at. I take one last look at Blondie and ACDC and reproach myself that I have made such a superficial estimation about their personalities. There was clearly more behind their (tasty) appearance. I give them a big hug and make the false promise that I will look for them later that day, before heading back to the ‘Dangerouz Mind’ stage. Yes, although these girls were lovely, I am here for one thing and one thing only – TO PARTY!

Boulevard Outdoor is certainly a festival you need to check out next year if you like a festival which brings you more than just pounding kicks and crazy party vibes. The ambience of this festival is much more chilled and relaxing, compared to the average Hard Dance festival, but this is definitely worth the experience. We at AAN hope to see you next year, because we certainly are going!!!