Nusantara Beat gets a three-day MOMO Festival residency in Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM, 3 March 2026 – MOMO Festival is giving Nusantara Beat a three-day residency during this year’s edition, turning the Amsterdam-based Dutch-Indonesian band’s return to Rotterdam into something much bigger than a standard festival slot. From 16 to 18 April, the group will perform across multiple locations in the city as part of a more experimental festival format.

_{Image: Nusantara Beat. Photo credit: Pasqual Amade}

The residency format has become one of MOMO’s more interesting habits. Rather than booking an artist for one neat set and moving on, the festival gives them space to stretch, adapt, and try something that would not usually fit inside a normal timetable.

A different sound in the MOMO residency series

Nusantara Beat is the fourth artist invited into MOMO’s multi-day residency format, following earlier editions with caroline, Black Country, New Road and Tom Skinner. Where those earlier residencies leaned into indie, post-art rock and jazz, Nusantara Beat brings a different palette. The six-piece band blends traditional Indonesian music with vintage pop, drawing on 20th-century Indonesian songs while reshaping them through its own style and arrangements.

Why Nusantara Beat fits Rotterdam

The band includes members connected to acts such as Altın Gün, Jungle by Night and EUT, and has already built some momentum with MOMO audiences after a well-received appearance at the festival in 2023. Now the band returns with more room to go deeper. That matters in Rotterdam, because MOMO has always worked best when the city itself becomes part of the set-up, not just the backdrop. Motel Mozaïque dates back to 2001, when Rotterdam was European Capital of Culture, and the festival has built much of its identity around using the city itself as part of the experience. Over the years, that has meant programmes in places like Nighttown, the old LantarenVenster, a temporary church on Schouwburgplein, and the roof of the Hofbogen. That city-first approach is exactly why a residency like this makes sense here.

What the residency format is meant to do

Since 2022, MOMO has used the residency model to push artists beyond their usual repertoire across all festival days. The idea is to let them experiment with different formats, collaborations and spaces, often leading to performances that would be hard to recreate anywhere else.

Previous editions included Black Country, New Road improvising with 25 Rotterdam musicians in a church, caroline performing in the garden of the then-renovating Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and Tom Skinner pulling audiences into an experimental setting at WORM.

Enoma Amayo on the value of experimentation

“During the residency, we invite artists to experiment. Different forms, combinations or locations create new collaborations and often very special performances. That space is often not there within a regular festival set-up, but it is precisely in the experiment that unforgettable experiences often arise.”
– Enoma Amayo, Head of Programme, Motel Mozaïque

The festival says more of the programme will be announced in the run-up to April, so the exact shape of Nusantara Beat’s three Rotterdam performances is still to come.

MOMO Festival 2026 dates and tickets

MOMO Festival takes place from Thursday 16 April to Saturday 18 April 2026 at various locations across Rotterdam. Festival passes (passe-partout) cost €100, and day tickets start at €35. Tickets are available via motelmozaique.nl.

How to get there

MOMO Festival uses multiple venues across Rotterdam, so your best route depends on the programme announcement once the residency locations are confirmed. In general, most MOMO events sit in and around the city centre, making Rotterdam Centraal, Beurs, Blaak and Eendrachtsplein useful starting points, with cycling usually the easiest way to move between venues during the festival.