Underground electronica festival Horst Arts & Music returns next spring to Asiat Park in Vilvoorde. On Thursday, organisers announced the new line-up, which features 50% Belgian artists for the 2026 edition.
In recent years, Belgium’s Horst has become one of the most hyped festivals in Europe's underground electronic music scene, attracting visitors from across Europe and beyond.
The event will return to its usual location from 14-16 May 2026. "In a landscape increasingly shaped by fast, easy-to-consume electronic music, Horst provides a welcome rejoinder," organisers say, underlining their commitment to underground and alternative artists.
On Thursday, the DIY-spirited festival announced its new line-up, featuring over 120 artists spanning many styles and genres.
Everyone booked to play at Horst is "united by their dedication to the transformative, celebratory and political power of dance music," according to a statement from the festival.
Horst Festival. Credit: Julien Janssens
"We’re not interested in repeating what already works," says Simon Nowak, Head of Music at Horst.
"The 2026 programme is built around evolution, giving space to artists whose work carries depth, intention and a long-term cultural resonance. Every choice reflects how we understand club culture as something that keeps moving, not something to be looped."
On the line-up this year, the US garage guru Todd Edwards, Detroit House originator Stacey Hotwaxx Hale, world music specialist Gilles Peterson & MC Rob Galliano, and dance music anthropologist Daphni.
Other guests’ appearances are the rare vinyl collector behind MCDE Danilo Plessow, and afro house star Karen Nyame KG.
The festival will also be bringing together DJs and artists for joint performances, also known as B2B (back-to-backs), with Call Super joining forces with Parris, and the bass-heavy London-based duo OK Williams & Tasha.
There will be a strong live focus, including Barker, Om Unit presents Acid Dub Studies, SnPLO (PLO Man & DJ Spence), Takuya Nakamura and OK EG.
Horst festival. Credit: Illias Teirlinck
This year, the lin-eup includes 50% local artists from Belgium, including club-focused selectors such as AliA, Altinbas, Ben Kamal, Clara D, DJ Rino, Mankiyan, Nefeli, ONEY, and Shabz.
Live performances will also position Belgian artists at the core rather than the margins, with sessions from Natasha Pirard, PiP & Ambroos De Schepper, and Jan Loup & Mika Oki. Half of the closing sets will also be Belgian.
Across the site, there will be fewer boundaries between disciplines. Hybrid performances and cross-genre formats will feature heavily, dissolving the line between performance and dance floor.
These include Gilles Peterson with MC Rob Galliano, Susobrinos’ Susonidos Block Party, DTM Funk’s Black Gravity Dance, while also premiering the hybrid live show from Belgian-Italian collaboration Front De Cadeaux, and a one-of-a-kind closing ceremony by Le Motel – putting collaboration and live exchange to the forefront.
Brussels’ very own Kiosk Radio will be joined by New York City’s The Lot Radio, both stars of transatlantic DIY radio. They will be curating a special joint line-up, which will be announced in March. Resident Advisor will also co-curate the Weaving Weeds pavilion, deepening last year’s focus on experimentation, wave, and bass music.
The Horst 2026 arts and architecture programme will be announced at the end of February. The last tickets are available via the website.
