Every summer, Belgium transforms into a heaven for music lovers, with festivals taking place every weekend and attracting acts and crowds from all four corners of the world. Discover our favourite music events here.
Belgium has made a name for itself on the music scene in recent years, with iconic festivals such as dance festivals Tomorrowland and Rock Werchter, which every year attract thousands of music lovers.
However, there are many smaller, equally impressive festivals on the agenda planned for the coming months, offering something for everyone. Find all our favourites listed below!
June
Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, 20-23 June
Belgium caters to all music tastes and metal fans are covered with the Graspop Metal Meeting. While it is not considered small – attracting around 55,000 music lovers daily – it does attract a certain audience and is not as mainstream as some of the larger events.
Credit: Graspop
On this year's line-up, you will find rock-solid headliners (including Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and Scorpion) as well as exciting newcomers.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Couleur Café, Brussels, 28-30 June
This urban contemporary music festival started out in 1990 as a smaller and predominantly African music festival in the Halles de Schaerbeek. Since then, it has become one of the biggest festivals in Brussels, attracting around 70,000 visitors and featuring around 100 live artists and DJs.
People attend the first day of the Couleur Café music festival in Brussels, 23 June 2023. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
In recent years, the festival has been held in Osseghem Park near the Atomium.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Live is Live, Antwerp, 28-30 June
Live is Live is celebrating its third edition this summer, returning with an even more impressive line-up year-on-year.
Credit: Live is Live
The three-day festival takes place in the Middenvijverpark on Antwerp's Linkeroever – a spacious oasis of calm. Dageraad – the second stage which was introduced last year as the festival expanded – will again offer concerts in a more intimate setting.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Paradise City, Perk, 28-30 June
This festival arguably boasts one of the most magical locations, located next to a historic castle and surrounded by small lakes and tall trees.
Credit: Annika Wallis / Paradise City Festival 2022
This year it is expanding both the number of stages and festival terrain to accommodate a growing number of visitors. Expect an eclectic mix of dance music by some of Europe's best DJs, mouth-watering food and unbeatable views.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
July
Gent Jazz, Bijloke, 5-20 July
Another festival loved for its quaint location, hidden away in the historic Bijloke site near the city centre. The festival is considered one of Belgium's best jazz festivals, and every year manages to pocket some of the genre's most legendary artists.
Credit: Gent Jazz
This year is no exception, with names such as André 3000, pianist Sofiane Pamart and Nile Rodger & Chic adorning the line-up.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Les Ardentes, Liège, 11-14 July
Traditionally an electro-rock music festival, Les Ardentes has started developing a clear rap identity, billing top artists on the hip-hop and urban music scene.
Credit: Belga / Bruno Fahy
This year, the four-day event continues with this transformation with a large variety of extraordinary genres and artists on its programme, including GUNNA, 21 Savage and many more.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Dour, Hainaut, 17-21 July
Lasting for a total of five days, this alternative music event is for hardcore festival-goers.
Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
This year's edition will feature more than 230 artists from a wide range of genres, including the iconic JUSTICE and the Libertines and Chase & Status, take to the eight stages spread across the growing festival site.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Esperanzah!, Floreffe, 26-28 July
Since 2002, this world music festival has been an event with a mission: offering a varied programme of well-known and less familiar artists while committing to establishing a fairer world through music and the visual arts.
Credit: Belga / Maxime Asselberghs
Aside from the stellar line-up – including Xavier Rudd and MC Solaar, among others this year – festival-goers are also encouraged to participate in debates, all in the picturesque setting of Floreffe Abbey.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
August
We Can Dance, Zeebrugge Beach, 3-4 and 10-11 August
This two-weekend festival offers a unique occasion to party on a Belgian beach for hours. Since its first edition in 2013, the event has grown to become an annual tradition for many EMD lovers.
Credit: Belga / Maaike Thijssens
Every year, the festival focuses on a different theme, with 2024's being 'Drop in the Light, Rise in the Dark'. The organisers are encouraging festival-goers to wear outfits which explore the changing nature of night and day.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Suikerrock, Tienen, 2-4 August
Suikerrock ('Sugar Rock' in English) began as a small-scale, local festival, but has recently started drawing bigger names to its stages, and with it more festival-goers. This led to a move away from its long-standing festival terrain in the city centre of Tienen to the site of the famous local sugar refinery Tiense Suikerraffinaderij (which explains the name).
Suikerrock music festival in Tienen, 2 August 2015. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
The trend of adding an array of major international and domestic names continues for the festival's 36th edition, with many of Belgium's best acts including Lost Frequencies, Compact Disk Dummies and Blackwave, as well as Dutch Eurovision candidate Joost Klein taking to the stage.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Ronquières, Hainaut, 2-5 August
There are few festival settings more unique than that of Ronquières, which takes place right next to the canal and the impressive tower of the Plan incliné. The concerts are regularly punctuated by barges passing by.
Ronquières Festival. Credit: Belga
However, it is famous for more than its location alone: every year, it has been drawing bigger headliners and more visitors. Playing at the festival this year are Belgian singer Selah Sue, Yosef, Pixies and many more.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Lokerse Feesten, Lokeren, 2-11 August
While most of Belgium's now iconic festivals started out small – including giants like Tomorrowland – the Lokerse Feesten is one of the country's prime examples of how a festival can expand from a local, community-driven event to a large-scale festival attracting visitors from across Belgium and beyond.
Lokeren Festival 2023. Credit: Gino Maes / Facebook
The festival also stands out for its longer duration: several acts are scheduled every day for ten days – a similar concept to that of Gent Jazz. This year, Phoenix, Future Islands and Nas will draw crowds to the quiet, Flemish town.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
September
Doel Festival, Doel, 31 August
Last but not least comes a festival which brings what is usually a ghost town to life. Doel, located near the working nuclear reactors, is a partly-deserted village known for its abandoned buildings that have been taken over by nature, and a brewing ground for the latest graffiti trends.
Credit: Instagram / doelfestival
For one day in September, the streets come alive through a festival that celebrates its unique history and ends the season with a bang.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
