Recap BRIDGE Guitar Festival Eindhoven 2026

For BRIDGE Guitar Festival Eindhoven, the city center was transformed into a Guitar Lovers’ Paradise. We look back on a sun-drenched edition with performances at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, as well as at other locations throughout the city. During this fourth edition, we welcomed no less than 25% more guitar fans compared to 2025! Thank you to everyone who was there; all the visitors, and special thanks to all colleagues and partners who worked hard to make this festival happen. Check out all photos on our Flickr account and watch the aftermovie below to get a taste of the atmosphere of BRIDGE 2026.

Skunk Anansie

One of the highlights of the festival was the sold-out Skunk Anansie concert at the Klokgebouw! More than thirty years after their formation, the British band remains just as relevant: raw, urgent, and full of energy. ‘The British alternative rock titans prove at the Klokgebouw that age has no hold on their live reputation,’ according to 3voor12/Eindhoven. No fewer than 4,500 visitors enjoyed an insane live show by frontwoman Skin, guitarist Ace, bassist Cass, and drummer Mark Richardson, who even surprised the crowd afterwards with an autograph session at the merchandise stand!

And the reviews are glowing as well. Eindhoven Rockcity describes the evening as follows: ‘Skunk Anansie, the rock legend of the 90s, set the venue on fire with a performance that sent you home with fire in your heart.’ Maxazine concludes: ‘Skunk Anansie has lost none of their power after more than thirty years. Skin is one of the most complete frontwomen rock has ever produced, vocally, physically, and politically present in a way few can emulate. The Klokgebouw was the perfect location for this evening, industrial yet intimate enough to feel the connection. Following last year, Bridge Guitar Festival once again chose its headliner with care. This evening proved why Skunk Anansie belongs there.’

Al Di Meola & Metropole Orchestra

Another world-class artist shone at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven on Thursday evening: Al Di Meola performed with the renowned Metropole Orchestra conducted by Vince Mendoza. ‘It immediately became clear how much extra atmosphere and depth that added to his music. From the first notes, the orchestra felt like a warm, musical blanket beneath the compositions. Vince Mendoza’s orchestral arrangements gave the songs extra color and emotion, without ever overpowering Di Meola’s guitar playing,’ writes Cutting Edge.

Al Di Meola is one of the most influential guitarists of the past few decades. He enchanted the audience tonight, first on the acoustic guitar and then building up to a set on the electric guitar. He shared the stage not only with the world-famous orchestra, but was also joined by guitarist Peo Alfonsi and percussionist Sergio Martinez, resulting in beautiful interplay. 3voor12/Eindhoven writes: ‘Martinez is a bomb of enthusiasm. With his mouth hanging open, he flies from one instrument to another. Alfonsi throws his heart and soul into the concert.’

BRIDGE Around Town

The free city festival BRIDGE Around Town hosted dozens of acts on Friday and Saturday. This was the first edition of BRIDGE to feature a large outdoor stage on the Markt! Thousands of visitors enjoyed performances by established names and up-and-coming guitar talent. British blues-rock singer Joanne Shaw Taylor crushed the entire Markt with her band on Friday evening, the Eindhoven funk-rock formation Whiff provided an enjoyable performance in the sunshine, and Amsterdam live sensation Hiqpy is a welcome guest at festivals, as was evident during BRIDGE. The Markt was completely packed on Saturday evening for closing act Therapy?. With a solid, energetic set, the Northern Irish rock band was the perfect closing act for this stage. Eindhovens Dagblad was there too and spoke to enthusiastic visitors who happened to be there by chance and visitors who came to see a specific band.

It wasn’t just on the Markt that there was plenty to enjoy; you could watch guitar performances at various locations throughout the city on Saturday evening. For instance, Hell Valley High and WASTE rocked Café The Jack, you could enjoy The Nine Wives with Woody Veneman at Café Wilhelmina, and Grey DeLisle & The Blue Ribbon Boys played at ‘t Rozenknopje. The Altstadt was packed at Cardigan Inn, and Javier Valdi and Turpentine Valley performed at Dynamo. For cinematic concerts, you could head to Paviljoen Ongehoorde Muziek, jazz lovers could indulge themselves at WestCord Hotel Eindhoven, and energetic indie rock bands blew the house away at M. Watch the aftermovie of BRIDGE Around Town here!

Guitar Convention

On the Saturday of the festival, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven was traditionally transformed into a guitar mecca where guitarists and bassists could indulge their passion. In collaboration with Gitarist and de Bassist, we organized an extensive guitar fair featuring stands showcasing over 70 guitar brands, including Cort, Martin, Blackstar, Ortega, Tokai, and Unquendor. Here, visitors could try out the gear themselves and ask questions to the product experts on hand.

In addition, visitors could attend masterclasses and workshops given by professionals throughout the day. For instance, Frank Gambale gave a Cort guitar clinic, and fingerpicking guitarist Thomas Zwijsen performed on Ortega guitars. Yvette Terpstra spoke about her experience as a guitarist with Froukje and Nick Schilder and demonstrated various techniques. Inspiring masterclasses were also organized for bassists. Tom Radsma, bassist of Hiqpy, demonstrated his pedalboard and went in search of new sounds together with the audience. Bassist Dave Swift, known for his collaborations with Jools Holland, shared stories about playing with the greatest artists such as Paul McCartney, Smokey Robinson, and Eric Clapton, and showed clips of this while playing along live. It was an inspiring afternoon! Watch the aftermovie here to get a taste of the atmosphere.

More reviews

A lot was written about the concerts at BRIDGE Guitar Festival Eindhoven! Read the other reviews (in Dutch) via the links below:

• Eindhoven Rockcity: Radar Men From The Moon & SØWT
• 3voor12/Eindhoven: Radar Men From The Moon & SØWT
• 3voor12/Eindhoven: The Aristocrats
• Rockportaal: Motorposycho
• Maxazine: Motorpsycho

BRIDGE 2027

Next year, BRIDGE Guitar Festival Eindhoven returns for its 5th anniversary! Mark your calendars: from May 26 to 30, 2027, Eindhoven will once again be a Guitar Lovers’ Paradise. And the first act has already been confirmed: on Sunday, May 30, Ausiàs Parejo will pay tribute to De Falla, Rodrigo, Ruiz-Pipó, and Debussy, among others, plus perform his own transcriptions. The young Spanish guitarist has already won dozens of first prizes at international guitar competitions, including the Michele Pittaluga Competition 2025. He is a welcome guest at guitar festivals all over the world, including BRIDGE 2027! Keep an eye on bridgefestival.com for all updates.