Bitterzoet is a nightclub and music venue in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. It is located on

Spuistraat The Spuistraat in downtown Amsterdam connects the Hekelveld to the Spui. It runs roughly north to south, parallel to the Singel and the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. At the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, the Spuistraat crosses the Raadhuisstraat and ...

and was opened in 2003.

History

Bitterzoet was started in 2003 by Pieter de Kroon, Joris Bakker, and Nica de Bloeme. The club quickly became successful and was particularly well-known in hip-hop circles. In 2008, the club was sold to new owners Bas Louwers and Sjoerd Idema, although they continued with the same name and programming.

3voor12 ''3voor12'' () is a multimedia platform for alternative pop music of the Dutch public broadcaster VPRO. ''3voor12'' had 2 digital television channels (a clip-channel and a concert-channel), different radio channels (ranging from punk and al ...

subsequently wrote in an article about Bitterzoet: "In five years, Bitterzoet has grown into an important club, with innovative programming in the field of both hip-hop and alternative music." In 2018, Bitterzoet celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. Since 2020, Bas Louwers has been the sole owner.

Events

Bitterzoet offers concerts in various genres such as

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and provides space for emerging artists, bands and DJs. The main hall has a capacity of 350 people. Paradiso regularly programs concerts in Bitterzoet. In addition to concerts and club nights, there are sometimes other activities in Bitterzoet, such as album release parties, and, in the past, recordings for .

References

{{coord missing, Netherlands Music venues in the Netherlands