Sometimes called the jazz city of the Netherlands, Haarlem punches well above its size as a live music destination. Patronaat, one of the top ten venues in the country, anchors the scene with two halls and a café stage covering everything from international bands to local pop and jazz nights, while PHIL Haarlem has been a cultural fixture since 1873. For something more intimate, The Jazz Room at Verhalenhuis channels 1920s New Orleans, and Jopenkerk Brewery regularly turns a converted church into a live music space. The city also carries genuine industry weight: Record Industry, Europe's largest record pressing plant, has operated here since its founding as Artone in 1958. Each May, Bevrijdingspop draws around 150,000 visitors to Haarlemmerhout park, making it the largest and oldest Liberation Day music festival in the Netherlands.
