21 February - De Kreun, Kortrijk

Dirty Beaches is the now two-man lo-fi rockabilly project of Alex Zhang Hungtai. He’s cited David Lynch films as a major influence, and Lynch’s corrupted ‘50s aesthetic is reflected in how Hungtai buries his Elvis-like yelps and croons and romantic melodies under layers of no-wavey distortion and reverb.

10 February - Kriterion, Amsterdam

Shame sees Michael Fassbender attempting to control his sex-addiction, when his sister crashes his carefully cultivated life in New York. And after the movie, be sure to stick around to shamelessly indulge in your own needs at the afterparty, which promises to be as dark and sinful as the movie.

10 February - Paradiso, Amsterdam

The UK’s musical pedos have found another group of young boys to salivate over in Howler, a Minneapolis power pop quartet. Tonight’s your chance to see if these guys’ balls have dropped and/or if they drop the ball. Swedish duo I Break Horses make pretty homemade shoegaze that favors synths over guitars and makes me want to revisit M83's Dead Cities. Husband-and-wife duo Tennis spend their days sailing the oceans and writing catchy ’60s girl-group pop songs about how much they wuv each other, then return to shore to record albums and go on world-wide tours.

14 February - Paradiso, Amsterdam

The idea of a “Garbage can Elvis” putting out experimental pop records on Diplo’s Mad Decent label (of all places) might seem weird enough to put you off, but while Diplo is vaguely douchey and can’t type to save his life, he can apparently recognize odd pop talent when he sees it - Delrey’s songs are eclectic, shambolic, and irresistibly fun, definitely one to watch.

15 February - Melkweg, Amsterdam

Adam Granduciel’s pet project weaves some pretty obvious Springsteen, Dylan and Tom Petty influences into epic Americana that’s well-executed enough to sound like a forgotten track by one of the aforementioned artists - both cinematic and comforting in its vague familiarity.

23 February - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Tracks is the Concertgebouw’s hip new initiative to bring classical music to a broader (and younger) audience, packing into one hour a potent mix of traditional and modern classical music and a speech by the musicians explaining what drives them, with cocktails afterwards to further lubricate one’s classical music initiation. This edition features Saxophone player Ties Mellema who will be joined by EnAccord Kwartet and Marijn van Prooijen (Double bass) for some mean interpretations of the works of Prince.

29 February - Melkweg, Amsterdam

While some might lump St. Vincent with various sterile NPR rock bands such as Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens, the characterisation seems superficial and unfairly dismissive. Even if her first two albums were a bit precious, Annie Clark don’t wanna be a cheerleader no more, and with Strange Mercy, she’s sullied the counterfeit naivete of Marry Me and ripped and torn away the lavish orchestral flourishes of Actor, and what’s left is her least affected and most empathetic record yet.

Archivo De Pivo is not merely a book, it is a project, a visualisation that blends the thruth with just the right amount of nonsense. A documentation of a journey, both actual and metaphorical. It's about mountains, girls and graphics. Basically, it's about life.

3 March - 10 June, Centraal Museum, Utrecht

This vibrant exposition deals with punk, the youth culture that was prevalent in the late 70's and early 80's. Despite a strong focus on the Dutch punk culture, the expo also shows international predecessors like Walter Dhan and Keith Haring. And because of the movements strong Do It Yourself ethos, there will also be plenty of interactive pieces.