shesaid.so is delighted to continue its longstanding partnership with Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in 2026, with a programme of conversations, mentoring and networking that reflects the evolving priorities of the electronic music industry.
Since 2017, we’ve worked alongside ADE to champion diversity, inclusion, education and professional development. What began as a mentoring partnership has grown into one of our longest-running collaborations, spanning ADE Pro, ADE Lab and community-led events that have brought together thousands of artists and music professionals from around the world.
Through our we.grow mentoring programme, we’ve connected early-career talent with experienced industry professionals to share knowledge, support career development and build lasting relationships. Our conference programme has explored artist development, music technology, publishing, sync, entrepreneurship and representation.
For 2026, we welcome UPTAK, the nightlife safety brand and newest member of the shesaid.so ALLIES network, as a new partner. Together, we’ll present conversations on nightlife safety and representation in electronic music, alongside the launch of UPTAK FOUNDATION’s new research on nightlife safety and drink spiking and the official shesaid.so x UPTAK networking mixer.
We’re also partnering with Equal Beats for the ADE Friends Talk “Can We Really Close the Gender Gap?” on Thursday 22 October, 13:00–13:45, at When Nature Calls. Featuring Keleigh Batchelor (AlphaTheta), Tiwa (Homecoming), Martha Bolton (NOT BAD FOR A GIRL) and Alex Tripi (Pete Tong DJ Academy), the conversation will examine barriers affecting women and gender-diverse artists, including access to opportunities, mentorship and representation. Looking beyond lineups, the panel will ask who holds responsibility for change and what sustained action could look like.
Across the programme, we’ll bring artists, industry professionals, researchers and organisations together to exchange ideas, build connections and discuss how we can support safer, more inclusive music spaces.
shesaid.so ADE 2026 - WhatsApp Pop-up Group
Join the shesaid.so @ ADE 2026 WhatsApp group
Heading to Amsterdam for ADE?
Join our pop-up WhatsApp group to arrange meetups, share tips & insights from the conference, and connect with other community members and industry peers. We’ll also share reminders about the shesaid.so programme throughout the week.
Coming solo or know someone who’d like to join? Share the sign-up link with friends and colleagues attending ADE.
Please keep conversations relevant to ADE and respectful of everyone. No spam or unsolicited DMs, and keep event promotion to the dedicated thread.
Programme
shesaid.so x UPTAK: ADE Mixer
Music • Networking • Drinks
Day: Wednesday 21 October 2026
Time: 17:00-18:30
Location: Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam
Join shesaid.so and UPTAK for an evening of networking with artists, industry professionals, researchers and organisations attending ADE.
The mixer offers an opportunity to connect with members of the shesaid.so community, the UPTAK team and music professionals from across the global electronic music industry in an informal setting.
Further programme details and music announcements will follow.
shesaid.so x Equal Beats ADE Friends Talk
Can We Really Close the Gender Gap?
Day: Thursday 22 October 2026
Time: 13:00-13:45
Location: When Nature Calls, Prinsengracht 581, 1016 HT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Speakers: Keleigh Batchelor (AlphaTheta), Tiwa (Homecoming), Martha Bolton (NOT BAD FOR A GIRL), Alex Tripi (Pete Tong DJ Academy)
Moderator: tbc
Description:
What would it actually take to close the gender gap in electronic music? This panel brings together voices from across the industry to explore the barriers affecting women and gender-diverse artists, from access and opportunities to mentorship and representation.
Looking beyond the lineup, we’ll ask where responsibility sits and what meaningful, long-term change could look like.
Attendees can sign up to access the DJ House with AlphaTheta and Pete Tong DJ Academy, which is where our panel will be held.
Discovr® is the platform for DJs and producers that celebrates only the best of what's next. The artists and the sounds that deserve to be discovered. An open house in the heart of ADE where DJs and producers drop in, play, get heard and meet the people shaping DJ culture.
Sign Up to Access the DJ House with AlphaTheta and Pete Tong DJ Academy HERE.
ADE Pro Talk
The Shrinking Gatekeep
Day: Thursday 22 October 2026
Time: 14:45-15:30
Location: Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam
Speakers: Novah, SPFDJ, LYZZA, HoneyLuv
Moderator: Connie Chow, shesaid.so Amsterdam Co-Director
Description
The Shrinking Gatekeep brings Novah, SPFDJ, LYZZA and HoneyLuv together at ADE Pro to talk about their experiences as artists in electronic music.
As electronic music's infrastructure consolidates into fewer labels, fewer festivals, and fewer booking agencies, who actually gets through the door — and does that door get harder or easier to find?
This panel brings together Novah, SPFDJ, HoneyLuv and LYZZA, four artists working across very different corners of the scene's sound, to talk about gatekeeping not as an abstract issue but as a live structural question.
As algorithmic and data-driven booking increasingly decides who gets stage time, does that open things up beyond old networks, or simply automate the same biases at scale? Does techno's harder-edged, male-coded culture face a different set of barriers than club and pop-adjacent spaces? And beyond visibility panels and awareness campaigns, what has actually changed access in practice — mentorship, transparent booking data, quotas — versus what's just been talk? A grounded conversation about power, access and what comes after representation.
Panel @ ADE Lab
Safety As A Community Practice
Day: Thursday 22 October 2026
Time: 15:45-16:30
Location: Het Ketelhuis, room 'Filmzaal 2'; Free to attend without any ADE pass
Speakers: Aynouk Tan (RITA Community), Eva Santos (CCO & Partner, UPTAK)+ Youssef Ahmed (Club Raum)
Moderator: Victoria Mazzone (Community Manager, City Collective Amsterdam).
Description:
Rather than assuming an extensive understanding of the structural dimensions of safety, the conversation will create an accessible and practical entry point into the topic. It will explore why safety is not necessarily experienced in the same way by everyone, and how identity, discrimination, previous experiences and the communities and spaces we move through can affect whether someone feels safe, how they respond to an incident and whether they feel able to report it.
From there, the conversation will move between prevention, community care, technology and reporting: how promoters and communities can think proactively about the people entering their spaces; what looking after ourselves and each other means in practice; how emerging tools can contribute to safer environments; and what accessible pathways for reporting and support can look like when harm occurs.
The session will include the presentation of key findings from UPTAK Foundation's new research on nightlife safety and drink spiking and a wider conversation about prevention, responsibility and creating cultures of care across nightlife.
Access
Please note that an ADE Pro Pass is required to attend the shesaid.so Pro panel and mixer at Felix Meritis. A limited number of guest list spots are available.
The Lab panel is free to attend to all.
If you're a shesaid.so ALICE, NINA or ALLIES member, get in touch with us to access your exclusive ADE Pro discount.