November Music

November Music is an annual festival of contemporary music in 's Hertogenbosch, the medieval Brabant capital also known as Den Bosch. It has run in the city since 1993 and is held over roughly ten days in the first half of November, with the 33rd edition taking place from 7 to 16 November 2025. Its motto is "Today's Music by Today's Makers," and the festival draws audiences of more than 10,000 people per day.

The festival is not tied to a single building. Concerts are staged at various locations across the city, and each edition sets up a festival hub. In 2025 the hub was at Theater aan de Parade during the first weekend and at the Verkadefabriek during the second. The programme sits at the intersection of contemporary composed music, jazz and improvisation, avant garde world music, electronic music, pop, sound installations, modern opera, music theatre and interdisciplinary performances. A typical edition presents well over 90 productions, and some years have passed 100 concerts.

The 2025 line up gives a sense of the range: 22 premieres and 22 newcomers, a Berio Marathon, a new music route called SoundBites, and the world premiere of AIR, a project by artist in residence Diamanda La Berge Dramm. International names on the bill included Arooj Aftab, Ibrahim Maalouf, Thomas Azier and Makaya McCraven. Alongside the concerts, the festival hosts the New Music Conference, held for the seventh time in 2025 with Buma Cultuur, a day for new music professionals to learn, network and explore collaborations. Since 2021, November Music has been part of the Dutch national cultural Basic Infrastructure.