Merlijn Poolman started his career with organising metal shows and tours, but after founding a nightclub (Subsonic, Groningen) in 2011 he gradually got more involved into the world of dance music. In 2018 he became the Night Mayor of the Dutch city of Groningen and in that role structurally worked on the link between the government, the club venue owners and (most important) the party people themselves. As leader of the Groningen Night Council, member of the Dutch Popcoalitie (advisory board to the government) and former European Music Council fellow-member Merlijn loves to balance between the formal policy making and the raw underground music culture that formed his career. He is also involved as founder in G2C- Gateway to China, connecting artists towards the Chinese music sector and COSIMO Foundation. COSIMO connects cultural projects and corporate funding with the use of tax incentives. A favourite quote by him is: "A good idea is formed with a beer at night and worked out with a coffee during the day"