One of the city's great hidden treasures, the Brussels music scene hosts some of the biggest and best up-and-coming artists and bands in the international, European and Belgian scene.
Every month, Europe's capital has no shortage of thrilling concerts – and picking out the best gigs can be tough. This is why we have put together a monthly guide to discover the best live acts in the city, perfect for new and old Brussels folk alike.
Carefully selected by music journalist Simon Taylor, here are The Brussels Times' choices for the concerts and gigs that you and your friends should not miss throughout February 2025.
Best gigs this month:
11 February
Laetitia Sadier
Ateliers Claus
Sadier is a rare thing in the Anglo-dominated pop world: a French international icon. She was one of the founding members of cult band Stereolab who artfully combined French yé-yé pop with motorik rhythms of German bands like Neu! and Can and used the music as a vehicle for calls to 1968-style rebellion. She was even born in that fateful year. Just a coincidence, I’m sure. Listen to their anthemic track French Disko with its irresistible driving rhythms and retro 60s organ. As you tap your feet and fingers, all of a sudden you realise that Sadier is singing about the need “rebellious solidarity” and calls for "La Resistance!"
Laetitia Sadier. Credit: Marie Merlet
Stereolab broke up in 2009 but reformed for live shows in 2019. Embarking on a solo career the year that Stereolab stopped, she has recorded four albums either in her own name or as the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble. Her music continues in the same vein as Stereolab, drawing on the same eclectic mixture of influences that, despite its diversity, ends up sounding quintessentially and even quaintly British. Sadier’s genius, together with Stereolab co-founder Tim Gale, was to take French pop and 1968 politicking, filter it through German and Brazilian music styles to create something unmistakable.
14 February
Amaro Freitas
Flagey, part of Piano Days
Freitas is a Brazilian jazz pianist, hailing from the north-eastern city of Recife, who boldly incorporates the rich local musical styles of his region into his music, especially the percussion-heavy frevo and maracatu. His eclecticism puts one in mind of other great Brazilian musical polymaths such as Hermeto Pascoal. Freitas made his name as one of the best jazz pianists in Brazil and released his first album, Sangue Negro, in 2016. His second release, Rasif, was a tribute to the local music of his hometown.
Amaro Freitas
On his third and latest album, Y-Y, which was released last year, Freitas worked with luminaries of the contemporary American and British jazz scenes including harpist Brandee Younger and UK flautist Shabaka Hutchings. Freitas collaborates with the two musicians to expand his own musical ideas and vocabulary, rather than relying on their names to boost his own reputation. He will be playing solo at Flagey. For fans of pianists like McCoy Tyner and South African Nduduzo Makhathini.
15 February
Use Knife
Magasin 4
Use Knife are Iraqi Saif Al-Qaissy and Belgian musicians Kwinten Mordijck and Stef Heeren. Al-Qaissy, who left Iraq during the war, is the group’s vocalist and sings and chants in Arabic as well as playing a range of traditional Iraqi percussion instruments such as the tabla-like darbuka. Mordijck and Heeren create a mixture of industrial sounds that at times are not far removed from the Electronic Body Music of Front 242 and the early electronic experimentation of Cabaret Voltaire.
Use Knife
Use Knife release their second album, Etat Coupable on 28 March. It is a follow-up to The Shedding of the Skin, which came out in 2022. To get a flavour of their music, listen to the title track of that album. I have yet to see them live but I would expect an intense, hypnotic and challenging experience, as the trio do not shy away from controversial issues and conflicts in the Middle East.
26 February
Nao
La Madeleine
Nao is a neo-soul singer, producer and songwriter based in East London. She came to prominence in the mid-2010s when she guested on tracks such as Firefly by UK artist Mura Mura, and Superego from Disclosure’s second album, Carcaral, and wrote songs for UK grime star Stormzy, Ariane Grande and Chic. Nao (whose real name is Neo Jessica Joshua) studied jazz vocals at the Guildhall School of Music and her training shows when she unleashes her incredible vocal range while remaining in total control of her instrument.
Nao
Check YouTube for a video of her performing Michicant with Bon Iver at Coachella in 2017. She recorded three solo albums and took a break from touring after her 2021 release And Then Life Was Beautiful after having her first child. She releases her fourth album, Jupiter, in February.
28 February
Hinds
Botanique
Rock history is full of bands who started out as friends who hit the big time until suddenly something falls apart –with half of the members quitting. Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1979. The Smiths in 1987. The Stone Roses in 1995/96 and so on. OK, so maybe all-woman alternative Spanish rock band Hinds aren’t quite up there yet, but they faced the same issues in 2023 when, after nine years members Ade Martín on bass and Netherlands-born Amber Grimbergen on drums announced they were leaving the four-piece band. That left the group’s two founding members, Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote, to carry on.
Hinds
The duo has rebounded from the experience with their strongest album yet, the defiantly named Viva Hinds (which, I can only assume is a reference to royal succession and not Morrissey’s solo album, Viva Hate.) Hinds were always great fun live, with entertaining on-stage banter, but as a garage band, you always felt that their songs could have been stronger. For their latest album, their fourth, they have reached level of maturity in their craft without losing their sense of fun. And, just in case you feel they needed a seal of approval from indie-rock royalty, the album features appearances from Fontaines DC lead singer Grian Chatten and Beck.
28 February
Bobby Lu, TJE and The Christian Club
Botanique
I had never heard of Bobby Lu when her record company pointed out that she and labelmates TJE were playing a triple-bill show (with The Christian Club) at Botanique. When I checked out Bobby Lu’s music, I was smitten by the combination of well-crafted songs and impressive arrangements. Pretty cool for a Belgian artist, I thought. Then I read up on Ms Lu and it turns out that she’s actually Lucy Ryan, an uprooted Brit.
Bobby Lu
She reminds me of another British Lucy, Lucy Rose. She released four EPs last year and a new single, Roam, in January. At Botanique, Bobby will be joined by TJE (who are Belgian) and The Christian Club from Bruges. They sound like they should be a goth band but they sound like Radiohead. A fun night full of musical delights and only for €15.50!
