Snoop Dogg, Ricky Martin, Ne-Yo Headline Curaçao’s North Sea Jazz Festival 2025

Tucked away on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao is a paradise of sight and sound that only those with an adventurous spirit — and a true appreciation for local culture — are lucky enough to enjoy.

That paradise is North Sea Jazz Festival, a 3-day celebration of local and international sonics, food and tropical bliss that descends upon the island’s capital of Willemstad each year, but with none before having gone as big as 2025’s rendition.

For the Aug. 28 to Aug. 30 festivities, the island nation, already adorned with whimsically colorful historic buildings and Caribbean trimmings, is transformed into a musician’s hub. At the center of this hub is the World Trade Center Curaçao, usually a local magnet for business conferences, which for one weekend is decked out in all of the regalia one would expect from any A-list festival in the United States.

Through its brightly lit neon gates is a feast for the senses: food from far-flung corners of the globe, activations from American heavy-hitters such as Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila and Jack Daniel’s, as well as three vastly different stages broadcasting local and international talent across international airwaves.

The name of the game for 2025’s North Sea Jazz Festival was go big or go home, and the island’s tourism board, in conjunction with partners Fundashon Bon Intenshon, Heineken, United Foundation, Curaçao Airport Holding and Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort, delivered with a diverse array of artists befitting of its title as the island’s biggest festival.

On Thursday, Aug. 28, the festival led off with a bang, leading fans dancing into the night with back-to-back sets from six-time Grammy Award winner and salsa magnate Gilberto Santa Rosa and “Celebration” creators Kool & The Gang. A special promotion was provided on the initial night of the festival for locals and tourists alike, with tickets being given away in person throughout the island for that evening’s festivities at zero cost, allowing anyone on Curaçao the opportunity to experience a bit of the festival’s magic through their own eyes.

The energy continued into North Sea Jazz Festival’s second night on Friday, Aug. 29, which kicked off with a rousing performance from Colombian rapper, singer and songwriter Ryan Castro. Slightly overlapping with that performance, but offering an entirely different nuanced vibe, was a set from Tennessee-born jazz prodigy Kandace Springs, who brought her Ella Fitzgerald-meets-Sade blend of sonics to the Celia Stage.

Things amped up even further over on the Sam Cooke Main Stage directly following Springs’ set, where NE-YO, energized as ever, delivered a medley of his hits, including “She Knows,” “Give Me Everything,” “Time of Our Lives” and “Let Me Love You” to a packed-out crowd easily numbering in the thousands.

After Ne-Yo left festival goers on their feet dancing, some soul and flamenco stylings came courtesy of Paul Carrack and Gipsy Kings By Diego Baliardo, respectively. Latin influence continued on the main stage shortly thereafter, with Ricky Martin lighting up the main stage and spurring every fan in attendance to be “Livin’ la Vida Loca” by the conclusion of his set. To round out the evening, Sheila E. and the E-Train reminded fans why she is the queen of percussion and ended another night under the swaying palm trees with a bang.

For its final evening on Saturday, Aug. 30, Curaçao’s North Sea Jazz Festival brought out the heavy hitters, with sets from Cimafunk and Jacob Collier to lead things off, before transitioning to Tems, enchanting the crowd with hits such as “Love Me JeJe” and “Me & U.”

Diverse genres were well-represented again on the festival’s last night, with Cuban jazz pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba taking to the Celia Stage at the same time that Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles delivered smooth soul to fans at the Sir Duke Stage.

The crowning jewel of the weekend, undoubtedly, was Saturday night’s headlining set from Snoop Dogg, which saw the world-renowned rapper take to the stage with Death Row labelmates October London and Kurupt, slinging through hits such as “Gin and Juice,” “Young, Wild & Free,” “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” and “P.I.M.P.”

“This is my first time coming to this beautiful place, but it won’t be my last time,” a smiling Snoop told throngs of fans at the conclusion of his set.

Last but certainly not least, closing out the festival as a whole at the Sir Duke Stage was Original Koffee, the 25-year-old Jamaican Grammy winner who provided the perfect tropical ending to the weekend via hits such as “W” and “Toast,” delivered alongside vibrant concluding fireworks that complemented the bayside stage and lapping water to its right.

All-in-all, Curaçao’s North Sea Jazz Festival provides a truly world-class festival experience that both enriches and honors the deeply profound cultural roots of the island. Through platforming local artists, cuisine, culture and business, the festival succeeds where others don’t in maintaining a balance of passionate, music-first design and supporting a truly world-class, yet often overlooked, destination that pleases even the most discerning travelers far beyond the event’s confines.