Cross-linx Festival is not a standard music festival, where your go from venue to venue or set up a campsite. Despite the fact that it’s four days long, there is no option to purchase a multi-day ticket. This is because Cross-linx is an itinerant festival, a wandering nomad of music that takes place in four different cities in the Netherlands. Cross-linx begins today in Rotterdam, then moves to Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Groningen. Calling itself an “indie-classical” festival, this year it celebrates its thirteenth anniversary. The line-up is the same on all four dates, because the aim of the festival is to promote quality indie classical music and avangarde-pop acts. As in prior years, Cross-linx has an indie-crossover success story as a headliner. The year 2011 saw THE NATIONAL as the big name in their line-up. The 2014 headliners are JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ and ÓLAFUR ARNALDS, both of them accompanied by the Philharmonie Zuidnederland.
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ, who came to prominence as a solo artist, with his covers of Heartbeats by THE KNIFE and Teardrop by MASSIVE ATTACK, has been very very busy. He started JUNIP, in collaboration with Tobias Winterkorn and Elias Araya, in early 1998. Last year, they released Junip, their second album, which was acclaimed for its romantic yet desperate melodic atmosphere. JUNIP songs were also included in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s soundtrack. JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ will perform as a solo artist at Cross-linx, and fans hope to see some new and old songs in the set list, when he plays the Paradiso in Amsterdam. For ÓLAFUR ARNALDS, the Icelandic composer and performer, 2007 was a good year for his career year, where he began performing and making music that would create a bridge between classical and ambient minimalistic music. His most recent album: From Now I am Winter (released in 2013) shows him shifting from his traditional instrumental only setting, supplemented now and then by Arnor Dan’s voice.
Other artists performing at Cross-linx include MY BRIGHTEST DIAMONDS and PATRICK WOLF. If you are in the Netherlands, this is a must-see event.
Cross-Linx 2014
05.02.2014 – NL – Rotterdam – De Doelen
06.02.2014 – NL – Amsterdam – Paradiso
07.02.2014 – NL – Eindhoven – Muziekgebouw Eindhoven
08.02.2014 – NL – Groningen – De Oosterpoort
