Utrecht Band wins ‘Grote Prijs van Nederland’ 2025

27 June 2025

The Utrecht softpunkband De Zweefclub, consisting of former HKU Utrechts Conservatorium students, won the famous ‘Major Prize of the Netherlands on 31 May. With Ruben Nosaehi, Madelief Lammers, Margot Roubos and Thomas du Gardijn in the band, the seven-man band can now honestly call themselves the best new live act of the Netherlands.

On Saturday 31 May, the De Zweefclub performed in a sold-out hall of pop venue PAARD in The Hague, where they shared the stage with Ruby Mus, Lucy Fabienne and Divya. The band succeeded in impressing both the audience and the jury. Qmusic dj and jury member Stephan Bouwman called them the well-deserved winners: ‘De Zweefclub serves music in a unique mix of different styles. And their Dutch lyrics are very creative. They convinced both the audience and the jury with their energetic performance!

Winning De Grote Prijs feels like a dream coming true for De Zweefclub. To Dutch music website 3voor12, the band said: ‘We are around for five years now and making music means everything to us. Performing in the finals was a magical experience. We can’t wait to let our music be heard all around the Netherlands!’

Photo: Grote Prijs van Nederland

About De Grote Prijs
De Grote Prijs van Nederland is an annual music competition with many now-famous artists among the earlier winners, such as Typhoon, Eefje de Visser, WIES and Vic Willems. Winning the award means that the band may now call themselves the best new live act of the country. They also receive a sum of 10.000 euros and gain airplay in Stephan's Pianobar on radio Qmusic.