Dirk Baart is venue programmer at EKKO, Utrecht's intimate home for adventurous music, and part of the programming team of the annual arts and music festival Into The Great Wide Open, held on the isle of Vlieland. He previously worked as a marketeer for a.o. Into The Great Wide Open and Nijmegen's Valkhof Festival, and started out as a music journalist for national platforms such as VPRO 3voor12, OOR and Front.