We partied hard at the Hideout Festival in Novalja’s Zrce Beach in Croatia, and discover why it’s one of the best summer dance music festivals in Europe
I won’t deny that I’ve been to my fair share of parties – I’ve lost count of the number of local festivals I’ve attended, I’ve toiled through seedy venues in Berlin’s and Tokyo’s club circuit, and I even survived Amsterdam’s biggest city-wide rave known by the dance community as the Amsterdam Dance Event. But despite being a somewhat seasoned punter for over a decade, I admit that nothing could’ve prepared me for my first, full-on international festival fixed in one location over a blurry, blistering whirlwind of five days. It was, at times, terrifying and trying. But it was undoubtedly the best party experience I’ve ever raved through.
The locale? Zrce Beach in Novalja, Croatia. The festival? Hideout Festival. The dates? Summertime: end June to early July. The soundtrack? A marathon of jacking house music, trippy tech-house, hard techno, all peppered with hints of jungle, acid, disco, grime and garage. EDM and vocal house? Not at this soirée, no siree.
Getting there wasn’t too tricky, unless you absolutely can’t deal with having a sore butt from long, draggy commutes. The easier option would’ve been to fly straight into Zadar, take a 15-minute drive to Zadar’s main bus terminal, and take an hour-ish bus ride to the town of Novalja, which is then just a 15-minute shuttle bus ride to the festival grounds at Zrce Beach. Unfortunately for me, I ended up flying to the Croatian capital of Zagreb, taking a shuttle to Zagreb bus terminal (one hour), taking another bus to Zadar bus terminal (four and a half hours), and so on. At least the gorgeous scenery you pass by makes up for it!
Hideout has an unlimited shuttle bus service that runs over the course of the festival (this costs about SGD55), so my recommendation would be to settle your lodging in the nearby town of Novalja, that has all the facilities, shops and dining options you need during the festival breaks. Hideout’s programme typically starts at 3pm, takes a three-hour interlude at 8pm (some hidden parties still go on), and kicks off again from 11pm until 6am (again, not necessarily).
Because it’s Mediterranean summertime, daylight lasts long with the sun setting at 10pm and rising as early as 4.30am. And that’s a good thing, because firstly, Zrce Beach is itself a photogenic slice of paradise – a pebble beach overlooking clear, azure waters, sandy plains, and rocky hills that rest against the horizon. During the festival, the beach is laden with all sorts of watersport activities like jet skis and paddleboats, and also perks for the thrill-chasers like bungee jumping and blobbing. And true to its notorious reputation as one of the best party beaches in the world, Zrce hosts a row of five main clubs scattered along the shore – Noa, Papaya, Aquarius, Euphoria and Kalypso – and it is in these distinctive hedonistic habitats where the DJ sets of Hideout take place.
So now that you have a rough picture of Hideout painted in your head, it boils down to the question: how in the world do you survive a festival of this magnitude? Five clubs, five days, 60 hours of music, and over a hundred DJs to catch? Granted, we all have different ways of experiencing a music festival like this. But if you’ve yet to tackle one and the prospect of it frightens you, just pay attention to my nine tips of fostering festival fortitude, and I’m certain that it’ll be, in some ways, a life-changing milestone.
#1 Manage your expectations
As stoked as I was, I ambitiously wanted to catch as many top acts as I could and check the boxes off my raver’s wishlist. So on my first night, when I ended up missing Oliver Dollar, Doorly and Theo Kottis simply ’cos there was too much going on, I was gutted. I remember going home the next morning feeling sorely disappointed, though on hindsight, I was being foolish. So I eventually adopted a mentality that actually helped me get through the days to come: “You won’t be able to catch everyone, and you don’t need to”. Once you accept that, you will have way more fun; trust me on this. Even when I was missing Craig David for ANOTR or Jamie xx for Eats Everything – no regrets whatsoever.
#2 Stay hydrated and fed
Even Energizer bunnies fizzle out sooner or later. Don’t overestimate your energy levels; pace yourself and grab a snack (easily available within Hideout) to refuel for the long nights ahead. As for hydrating, while a can of beer or a jumbo cocktail would get you in the mood for the squelching acid house audial trips of DJ Haus or the grimy bass house of My Nu Leng, there’s no shame in dancing with a water bottle in hand. For three hours straight, that bottle was my BFF during the rolling jack-a-thons of Heidi and Catz ‘N Dogz – it definitely saved me from an excruciating hangover.
#3 Rock the right threads
When you’re dancing for what seems like an eternity, practicality and functionality trump style in my books. Being a party by the beach, dressing light and dancing in swimmers is encouraged here; I remember stumbling upon a pool party in Aquarius where The Black Madonna played a sensual disco-teasing afternoon set, and I’m glad I wasn’t wearing skinny jeans. It also gets quite chilly at night from the sea breeze, so pack a cardigan or sweater if you have to. Never mind that I was the only one wearing it (all the body-flaunting peeps are just too proud to admit they’re shivering inside-out); I was thankful during my blustery club-to-club shuffle from grime rapper Skepta to house honcho Hot Since 82.
#4 Learn about your lineup
Nothing wrong with going to a festival and being totally clueless about who’s playing. But if you ask me, it’s much more worthwhile to catch an act you’re an avid fan of, and to compare if what you imagined in your dreams matches reality. Personally, I was chuffed to have my expectations met when I saw Drumcode’s techno don, Adam Beyer, whose cold, colossal kicks continue to ring in my ears. Likewise for another techno stalwart, Alan Fitzpatrick, who dropped original bangers like “Love Siren” and “Skeksis”; and Melé, whose fusion of hard house grooves and tribal rhythms made him one of my personal Hideout highlights.
#5 Otherwise, keep an open mind!
But that doesn’t mean you gotta scholarly stalk every artiste before you dive in; sometimes you just gotta go with the flow and let the DJ transport you. Neither full-on house nor techno, punters were taken on a brain-warping journey by Lithuania’s Gardens Of God (another Hideout MVP for me), who challenged listeners with a foreboding yet frenetic hybrid set of deep tech-house. And because I convinced myself to embrace everything – you’ll never know what you’re gonna find – I was pleased to discover the infectious house antics of Spaniards and Elrow residents, Marc Maya and De La Swing. Kudos to you fellas!
#6 Be a social animal
Chances are, there will come a moment when you’ll be separated from your mates. Your phone connection might betray you, your party pal might be wasted somewhere, or you might very well get split up while attempting to traverse the moshed scrum of ravers. So what do you do? Don’t panic, and make new friends! Fellow punters are generally friendly when they see that you’ve travelled halfway across the world to mutually revel in the moment. I was stuck alone in a sea of over a thousand people during the monster mega set of J.E.S.u.S – the back-to-back super collective of Jackmaster, Eats Everything, Skream and Seth Troxler. But in those five hours of house, tech-house and other dancefloor-rousing oddities (New Order, anyone?), I never once felt lonely. On the flipside, if you don’t like interacting with people, festivals are probably not for you.
#7 Catch disco naps when you can
The good thing about the daily three-hour interludes at Hideout is that they’re perfect if you wanna catch a snooze before the party revs back up again – your body will thank you for this later. Frankly, there was no way I would’ve lasted for Joris Voorn’s hook-driven closing set at 6am on the last day had it not been for the quick zees. And on that note, just catch as much rest as you can in general; you don’t have to be first in line when the gates open. Was I sad about missing The Martinez Brothers and Patrick Topping in the day? Sure. But collapsing from exhaustion would’ve been sadder.
#8 Watch your wallet
This probably won’t happen to everyone, but it’s something I’d urge you to take note nonetheless. No matter how much you’ve drunk, always be wary of your transactions. Be wary of menu prices, and be wary of how much change you’re expected back when buying drinks at the bar. On more than one occasion, the bartender probably tried to take advantage of how sloshed I was (I wasn’t) and attempted to short-change me. Most bars at the festival don’t accept credit cards either (this is probably for the better), so exercise caution!
#9 Know when you’ve had enough
Remember: you have nothing to prove by being a trooper. Despite the soaring level of fun I was having – the sunset techno of B.Traits, the choppy capers of Mella Dee B2B Mak & Pasteman, the synth-spewing savagery of Bicep, the cruising house of Denney and Friend Within – I always knew when it was time to pack it up. Always keep track of your ride out of the festival; being stranded on the beach for nine hours when you’re hung-over, filthy, famished and waiting for the next day’s sets to start is not fun at all. Know your limits!
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In fact, it’s because I knew I had a morning bus to catch which tragically forced me to miss the much-hyped after-party on Hideout’s last day – featuring a back-to-back set of Joy Orbison and Jackmaster. But it wasn’t a missed opportunity that required any consoling from my friends, ’cos as far as I was concerned, I had already accomplished what I’d set out to do. Survive a full-blown European music festival? That I sure did, and I’m glad that Hideout was my first.
For more information on the next Hideout Festival in Croatia, visit this website. And thank you, Hideout! I’ll never forget it.