Le Guess Who? has grown into a leading international festival, known for presenting groundbreaking music in inspiring ways. The festival promotes sounds that are often overlooked and platforms fresh perspectives on what is possible in music.
As part of the 2025 festival edition, Le Guess Who? now announces the first edition of Sound & Culture Summit: a program that embodies the festival’s mission to celebrate boundary-crossing music and culture by exploring diverse perspectives. It’s a space that encourages deep listening, critical thinking and meaningful exchange.
The Sound & Culture Summit takes place on Friday, 7 November, at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht. In our efforts to ensure equitable access to knowledge and opportunities, the program is free and accessible to everyone.
Through workshops, talks and keynotes, LGW aims to create an inclusive space for knowledge sharing, inspiration and action. From the nuances of music production and technology, to urgent socio-political issues, the Sound & Culture Summit is a place to highlight the topics that are embedded within the festival program each year. This includes topics such as visa regulations, global accessibility, cultural policy, sustainability, community-building, music curation, sound engineering, archival practices, cultural heritage, and more.
The Sound & Culture Summit is meant to be a space where different viewpoints meet to initiate change. Policy makers share the stage with underground artists, academic researchers collaborate with musicians to explore new forms of knowledge, and community leaders exchange ideas with global activists.
This year, LGW collaborates with a.o. Reset!, a European network of independent cultural and media organisations; Keychange, a global network and movement that works towards gender equality in the music industry; Camp FR, an artistic residency program based in the French Pyrenees; and Ableton, who makes creative tools for a global community of music makers.
An overview of the program for Sound & Culture Summit 2025 can be found below or via leguesswho.com.
