About us

Hit The City is a free music festival during the first weekend of Dutch Design Week (DDW), based on a similar DNA in which experiment, innovation and cross-overs lay at heart. Following a yearly tradition, the festival invites the approximately 350.000 DDW-visitors to explore Eindhoven in the evening and at night. Hit The City connects more than fifteen locations scattered across the city center, includes over 70 acts on its line-up and attracts visitors from 30 different countries. Limiting itself to no genre in particular: from guitar bands to pop, metal, hip-hop or DJ’s – and everything in between. No expensive tickets or passe-partouts, but an accessible way to discover new music.

Hit The City is a collaboration between Effenaar, booking agency Friendly Fire and an extensive local and international network of program partners, media partners, curators and venues for live music.

With a focus on the future of music and new talent, the festival stays on top of the national and international music scene. Which translated into shows around well-known acts at an early stage, such as:

Phoebe Bridgers – Fontaines D.C. – Khruangbin – Loyle Carner – Viagra Boys – Wolf Alice – Glass Animals – Alex G – Rufus Wrainwright – Lucy Dacus – Baauer – Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Joep Beving – Gengahr – Altin Gün – Just Mustard – And So I Watch You From Afar – Vagabon – Metz – The Weather Station

And that is only a fraction of its extensive history. With seven successful editions, the festival – previously known as DDW Music Festival – is now a permanent fixture in Eindhoven. A place where approximately 6000 music lovers of all types gather every year.

Hit The City will take place from Thursday, October 19 to Saturday, October 21, 2023 in Effenaar and more than fifteen other locations in Eindhoven city center. With its main program built around Friday 20th and Saturday 21th October. The entire festival is free of charge.

See you at this year’s festival!