De Staat has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most inventive and fearless live acts. With six studio albums and countless performances to their name, the band has consistently pushed the boundaries of what a rock band can be. From the pounding battle cries of ‘Witch Doctor’ to the razor-sharp commentary of ‘KITTY KITTY’ — De Staat has long explored themes such as demagoguery and mass manipulation. De Staat has played — and in some cases headlined — major festivals including SXSW, Glastonbury, Lowlands, Sziget, Boomtown, Rock for People, Pukkelpop, Rock Werchter and Deichbrand, and has toured with bands such as The Rolling Stones, Muse and Biffy Clyro. Their music ranges from industrial grooves and heavy riffs to experimental electronics and pop sensibility.

After two years of silence, De Staat returns with a long-awaited seventh, self-titled album, an art installation and a live show, marking nearly 25 years of boundary-pushing work in the art rock landscape. Their latest creation engages more strongly than ever with today’s dystopian anxieties, where power, populism and control collide and the line between reality and fiction gradually blurs. De Staat will tour Europe and the United Kingdom in the autumn of 2026, stopping at Cactus Club on November 7.

In their home country, the Netherlands, there’s no doubt about it anymore: the Amsterdam-based indie pop band Hiqpy is the next big thing. Without having released a single note of music, they already made it onto the stages of festivals such as Pinkpop, Best Kept Secret and Into The Great Wide Open. Last year, they were called in last minute to perform at Werchter, a show that Humo later praised: “the primal force of Anna Calvi, the love for the cinematic qualities of Weyes Blood and Sonic Youth-worthy outbursts.”

Meanwhile, Hiqpy has secured a record deal with Sony Music and is ready for a major breakthrough. Tunisian-Dutch songwriter Abir Hamam writes songs that truly mean something while also feeling tailor-made to explode on the biggest festival stages. For their first singles ‘Something’, ‘Girl in Red’ and ‘Red Flag Magician’, Hiqpy collaborated with Danton Supple, Grammy-winning producer for artists such as Coldplay, U2 and Elbow.

False modesty won’t get you far with our northern neighbors, so let’s just say it as it is: Hiqpy is aiming for the big stages and big anthems. And if they’re delivered as crisply and excitingly as these Amsterdam musicians do, we’re absolutely ready for it.