Music lovers from Brussels and beyond are getting ready to groove to beats and rhythms as the long-awaited summer festival season kicks off this weekend. From now until the end of August, not a weekend goes by without a large-scale multi-day festival or intimate, unique music celebration taking place.
Belgium may be small, but its abundance of annual festivals attracts acts and crowds from all four corners of the world each summer. The country has made a name for itself on the music scene in recent years, with the iconic Tomorrowland, Pukkelpop and Rock Werchter making waves. But there are plenty of smaller, lesser-known but equally impressive festivals on the agenda planned for the coming months. Find some of our favourites below!
June
Couleur Café, Brussels, from 27 to 29 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 over 80 live artists and DJs and over 40 food trucks and 20 stalls. In recent years, the festival has been held in Osseghem Park near the Atomium.
Couleur Café 2024. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
This year's 34th edition of the festival is as varied as ever: from hip-hop to reggaeton, afrobeats, dancehall, amapiano and electro – revellers are in for a treat. Headliners include Little Simz and Omay Lay on Friday evening, Nathy Peluso on Saturday, and Denzel Curry to wrap up the festival on Sunday night.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Live is Live, Antwerp, from 27 to 29 June
Live is Live is celebrating its fourth edition in Middenvijver park this summer, a spacious oasis of calm just a stone's throw from the hustle and bustle of Antwerp's city centre.
Credit: Live is Live
This year, the three-day festival is returning with an even more impressive line-up, featuring the likes of The National, Ben Howard, Paolo Nutini, Passenger, and Editors, among many others.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Paradise City, Perk, from 27 to 29 June
Now in its tenth year, 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, highlights include the UK's highest-streaming jazz artist in 2023 berlioz, Brussels-based Odymel and EMILIJA, and Turkish folk group Altın Gün. Expect an eclectic mix of dance music by some of Europe's best DJs, mouth-watering 100% plant-based food and unbeatable views.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
July
Les Ardentes, Liège, from 3 to 6 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.
Les Ardentes in Liège, July 2023. Credit: Belga / Bruno Fahy
This year, notable acts such as David Guetta, Damso, Lil Tecca, PartyNextDoor, and J Balvin will take to the stage over the four days, alongside many other emerging and established artists.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Brosella festival, Brussels, from 4 to 6 July
This urban jazz festival has been holding outdoor concerts in picturesque surroundings in Brussels since 1977. This year's international line-up features Mayra Andrade, Oded Tzúr, Lakecia Benjamin, SALIF KEïTA, Jaga Jazzist and more.
Credit: Brosella
The weekend event offers a unique array of jazz and blues music and a programme specifically for children in the enchanting setting of Osseghem park in northern Brussels.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Gent Jazz, Bijloke, from 4 to 19 July
One of Belgium's best jazz festivals, Gent Jazz always manages to pocket some of the genre's most legendary and beloved artists, and 2025 is no exception. From Leon Bridges, The Roots, Ibrahim Maalouf and Steve Coleman to Tigran Hamasyan, An Pierlé and Herbie Hancock, prepare yourself for another stellar line-up this year.
Branford Marsalis quartet pictured during the Gent Jazz festival in Gent, July 2023. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Gent Jazz is also loved for its quaint location, hidden away in the historic Bijloke site near the centre of the Flemish city.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Ostend Beach Festival, Ostend, from 12 to 13 July
Since 2010, this festival has been transforming Ostend beach into a musical haven. Over two days, house and techno artists will perform across four stages.
Credit: Ostend Beach Festival
Organisers say this year promises to be the festival's "biggest line-up ever," featuring the likes of MEDUZA, Reinier Zonnerveld, HUGEL and more.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Dour, Hainaut, from 16 to 20 July
With seven stages, six campsites and five days of non-stop music, this alternative music event is for hardcore festival-goers.
Dour festival in 2024. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
This year's 35th edition will feature over 230 artists from a wide range of genres across the growing festival site. Headliners include Belgian DJ Charlotte de Witte, Brussels rapper Hamza and British artist Stormzy.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Esperanzah!, Floreffe, from 25 to 27 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: Esperanzah! Festival
Aside from the impressively international line-up – including Colombian group Bomba Estéreo, Franco-Algerian artist Rilès, and the Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha 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
Suikerrock, Tienen, from 1 to 3 August
Suikerrock ('Sugar Rock' in English) began as a small-scale, local festival, but has recently started drawing bigger names to its stages, and more festival-goers as a result. It therefore moved 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
In recent years, Suikerrock's line-up has featured major international and domestic names, and 2025 is no different. This year, festival-goers can expect Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, Nelly Furtado, and many more.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Ronquières, Hainaut, from 1 to 3 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.
Ronquieres Festival in August 2023. Credit: Belga / Anthony Malagoli
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 Clara Luciani, The Vaccines, Belgium's Mustii, The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, and many more.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Lokerse Feesten, Lokeren, from 1 to 10 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, Iggy Pop, The Undertones, Soft Play, Belgium's Equal Idiots, Pet Shop Boys, Sex Pistols and more will draw crowds to the quiet, Flemish town.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
We Can Dance, Zeebrugge Beach, from 15 to 17 August
Like Ostend Beach, this three-day weekend festival offers a unique occasion to party on the Belgian coast for hours. Since its first edition in 2013, the event has grown to become an annual tradition for many EMD lovers, and this year boasts an iconic line-up of over 150 artists across seven stages.
Credit; Belga/ Maaike Thijssens
Every year, the festival focuses on a different theme, with 2025's being 'Denim Dancers', a tribute to denim's universal appeal. "Whether you keep it classic or go all out, from streetwear to high fashion, up-cycled or DIY, denim is for everyone – spanning generations, styles, and subcultures," the organisers say.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Brussels Open Air Festival, Brussels, 30 August
The Brussels Open Air Festival will return for its second edition in August, showcasing ten collectives, clubs, labels, and promoters across six different locations: Place De Brouckère, Place Poelaert, Place d'Espagne, the Cité Administrative (Congrès), Vaux Hall, and Place Jean Rey.
DJ Boris Brejcha performs at the Royal Palace Open Air festival, organised by Hangar on Thursday 15 August 2024. Credit: Belga / Christian Neyt
This festival continues the 'Club Open Air' project launched in 2021, which gave Brussels-based festival operators the opportunity to host outdoor events at the Cité Administrative. The first edition of the festival in 2024 attracted 11,000 attendees and just as many are expected this summer.
Find more information and get your tickets here.
Doel Festival, Doel, 30 August
Last but not least is Doel Festival. This partly-deserted village located near the nuclear reactors is usually known for its open space filled with visual stimuli, from abandoned buildings to the latest graffiti trends covering the walls. But on this day in August, the ghost town comes back to life. What better way to close off the festival season?
Credit: Instagram / doelfestival
Find more information and get your tickets here.
