Five Reasons To Attend The Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival

It’s always a good idea to visit Curaçao. The deliciously diverse country 44 miles off Venezuela—a multicultural mélange of the Caribbean, the Netherlands and South America; 171 square miles of desert sand and cacti encircled by waters so blue they seem computer generated—has been wowing me for more than a decade, inspiring some of my favorite pieces of journalism (like this cover story for the New York Times about its profound music scene).

It’s an especially good idea to visit Curaçao during its flagship festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival. Founded in 2010, the festival has over the years showcased legends like Stevie Wonder, Sting, Prince, Alicia Keys, Carlos Santana and Usher, to name a few. My time at this year’s edition, last month, inspired five reasons why the Curaçaoan festival wins my heart, every time.

It’s a musical mess I mean a beautiful, wonderful mess. We’re talking Snoop Dogg, Ricky Martin and Gilberto Santa Rosa on the same lineup. The Gypsy Kings—and Jamaican reggae act Koffee. Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Hamilton De Holanda—and Kool & the Gang. The North Sea Jazz Festival is more than something for everyone—it’s a full-on musical smorgasbord.

How could it not be? It’s set, after all, in Curaçao, the ultimate mashup of an island—a place where in the local language, “thank you” is “danki” and “you’re welcome” is “di nada.” As a Dutch colony, Curaçao was a salt producer and port for enslaved Africans; during the 17th century, expelled Jews from Spain and Portugal fled there; in the early 1900s an oil refinery lured more foreigners. Today the island of about 160,000 is home to some 50 nationalities, and most locals speak four languages: Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamentu, which merges the first three languages with Portuguese and African dialects.

From a music festival perspective, this adds up to something special: many festivals in one, reflected in the three different stage settings–a grand main stage outside the island’s World Trade Center, a smaller beachside one and an air-conditioned tent with seating, primarily for the jazz acts. Such diversity means that you can appreciate sounds you already knew while relishing the joy of discovering new ones; for me, this meant stumbling on multi-instrumental British wunderkind Jacob Collier and strident Colombian reggaeton act Ryan Castro, who also sings in Papiamentu. And Curaçao’s mashup culture serves your stomach nicely; the array of food offerings at the festival vary from sushi and bbq to Asian satays, Dutch-style fries, shwarma and local favorite pan ku stuba, a hearty meat sandwich.

It is beautifully IRL Forget AI—this festival is so saturated in stunning real-life musicianship, it feels like a beautiful throwback to another era. This is because Curaçao has a rich legacy of live performance, with such local genres as ritmo kombina and tumba luring locals into small clubs packed with full-on mini orchestras. From the elaborate festival performances, to the gorgeous daily live-jazz vibes in my hotel lobby, to the saxophonist serenading departing festival-goers in the duty free shop at the airport, the North Sea Jazz Festival will have you blissfully drowning in real, live music.

It has the soul of the Caribbean but the body of the Netherlands In my younger years I was a regular at Caribbean music festivals—think Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica—that don’t really kick off until the wee hours of the morning and typically last well into the afternoon. While such fests are always a vibe, the older, wiser me appreciates a festival that starts early, ends not-too-late and generally operates on time. Behold the North Sea Jazz Festival: ablaze in Caribbean and Latin energy but with all the prompt efficiency of the Netherlands. It’s quite the combination.

Its host hotel: The Marriott Beach Resort A music festival is not just a collection of concerts. It’s an immersive experience, an all-encompassing energy, a precious collection of days when life becomes a kind of alternate reality revolving entirely around the before, the during and the after of the festival. Vital to this immersive experience is the host hotel, tasked with keeping the festival vibe alive and well around the clock.

Enter The Curacao Marriott Beach Resort. The hotel, literally next door to the festival grounds—this means no sitting in traffic—is lovely enough, with 336 rooms and suites across six beachfront acres, including two massive outdoor pools, lush gardens, and a full range of water-sport options. But its real winning feature is that it will allow you will eat, sleep and breath the North Sea Jazz Festival—in the best possible way. Hear soundcheck on the sand: an alluring teaser by the artists you’ll be enjoying later. Catch a glimpse of said artists on the hotel grounds—the Marriott hosts all performers, making it ground zero for celebrity sightings. Enjoy afterparties each night in the lobby, with a DJ playing until the wee hours and free local snacks for that post-festival energy boost. And if you need to, be lazy and take in the whole show from your balcony; one night I caught the whole final set from a lounger on the beach, with the waves lapping behind me and the moon beaming overhead.

It’s in Curacao And Curacao, I can’t emphasize enough, is one special place. We’re talking dramatic, unique landscapes like those at Shete Boka National Park, which look lifted from a Georgia O’Keefe painting; the historic, Instagram-friendly streets of Willemsted, akin to a mini Amsterdam; and the Kura Hulanda Museum, one of the only museums in the Caribbean memorializing slavery. Stay on after the festival to take it all in, and call on newly launched all-in-one booking platform Caribbean Travel & Tours to help you plan an itinerary that does this culturally rich country justice.

LOCAL TIP This Caribbean rum fan was thrilled to discover a newly launched local rum bottled in Curaçao—and a stylish one, at that. Rom Tambú, named for the drum used to play the music of Curaçao’s gorgeous Carnival, is a delectable dark blend aged up to 8 years in oak barrels and dressed to the nines: Each bottle comes adorned with a mini chapi, a historic agricultural tool turned musical instrument used in tambú, now a key ring for cutting the seal, opening the beautiful bottle and savoring a sip.