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 it can be tough to pick out the best gigs. This is why we have decided to put together a guide the discover the best live acts in the city, perfect for new and old Brusseleirs 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 March 2024.
Best gigs in Brussels:
5 March
Flavien Berger
Ancienne Belgique
If you are looking for more French music this March, this is the right place to start. Berger mixes pop with French chansons and lashings of bubbling synths that make you wonder if he wouldn’t one day like to make a full-on electronic dance album.
Flavien Berger at Botanique in 2016. Credit: Kmeron / Flickr
For his live shows, he interacts and works his audience into a frenzy of excitement and the adoring crowds follow him every step of the way on his journey of musical exploration. At Botanique in 2016, he jumped into the crowd and danced with them. Whatever happens this time, come for a good night out and expect the crowd to be young and excited.
6 March
DIIV
Ancienne Belgique
Looking at the background of members of DIIV (pronounced Dive, according to their Wikipedia entry), expectations are high. Vocalist Zachary Cole Smith used to play drums for fellow Brooklynites Beach Fossils, while bass player Devin Ruben Perez is a former member of Chicago’s indie darlings Smith Westerns.
DIIV. Credit: Coley Brown
The band used to spell their name Dive until they found out that there was a Belgian band of the same name. They might have chosen a name that doesn’t sound like Ride, the English shoegaze band, and the group they sound most like. While that may sound like a criticism, it’s not really: DIIV deliver all the jangly guitars, hummable riffs and walls of effect-laden guitars you would expect from a Brooklyn-based indie guitar band with their pedigree. One for fans of The Strokes but with less obnoxious band members. Maybe less good-looking too, depending on your taste.
7 March
Placebo
Ancienne Belgique
Sold out - Check status Ticketswap
Arguably the greatest band to come out of Luxembourg (singer and co-founder Brian Molko attended both the European and International Schools in the Grand Duchy), Placebo have been around since 1994 and were endorsed by no less than androgynous-rock royalty David Bowie only two years later.
Placebo performing at Rock am Ring in Germany in 2022. Credit: Sven Mandel
Placebo supported Bowie on his US gigs that year. Molko always delivered great tunes and songs that marked him out from other wannabe Marc Bolan/glam rock imitators. As Molko was born in Brussels, his band has always had a loyal following here and it is no surprise that this, their first gig in two years, is sold out.
12 March
Helado Negro
Botanique
Helado Negro (black ice cream in Spanish), real name Roberto Carlos Lange, is one of those genre-spanning artists that challenges a listener to identify all the influences and ideas going on in his delightful music. There’s soul, folk and electronica, all mixed together with lovely melodies and Lange’s soft and beguiling voice. His latest album, "Phasor", his eighth, features a unique synth, the Sal-Mar Construction, built in 1969, that he got to use at the University of Illinois.
Helado Negro. Credit: Sadie Culberson
The Sal-Mar is used to provide giant staccato bass chords on the album’s second track, ‘Best for You and Me”. On the opener, “LFO”, he name-checks two unsung Latin stars of music and music technology, composer Pauline Oliveiros and Lupe Lopez, a legendary Fender guitar-amp solderer. But don’t be put off by his cultural references. Throughout the album, he garlands his inventive arrangements with lovely tunes and hooks. Live, he is as charming and understated as his music. For fans of Swedish-Argentinian tunesmith José González or anyone who likes well-crafted pop with something picante in the mix.
15 March
Eliza Rose
Ancienne Belgique
Originally from Dalston in London’s grimy but now gentrified east, Eliza Rose broke out of UK capital's thriving underground club scene to become a chart hit, having worked with the likes of Skream, The Martinez Brothers and even Calvin Harris. The vocalist, producer and DJ began working in the famous Flashback Records store in Shoreditch, before turning her own hand at mixing records at parties and making her own music.
Vocalist, producer and DJ Eliza Rose. Credit: Botanique
And good thing that she did. Her music got recognised a few years ago, culminating in the success of her biggest hit, “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)”, which went double platinum – making her only the second female DJ to score a number one in the UK after Sonique in 2000. Curiously, she will also go down in British history for her song B.O.T.A having been the number one when Queen Elizabeth II died. Rose’s set at AB is part of the braindance series and the night kicks off at 22:00. Wear your most comfortable shoes.
15 March
The Smile
Forest National
The Smile are the two best-known members of Radiohead, vocalist Thom Yorke and guitarist and general musical genius Johnny Greenwood, plus drummer Tom Skinner. Skinner is a leading light from London’s avant-garde/jazz scene and was one of the drummers of top-flight jazz group Sons of Kemet. Their third album, “Your Queen is a Reptile”, was the token jazz album nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2018. That’s not a criticism of the album, which is stunning, but on the award jury.
The Smile. Credit: Frank Lebon
The Smile no doubt invited Skinner to join them to take advantage of his avant-jazz skills to perform their songs with unusual time signatures. He delivers on both of the albums they have released. Live, they are a great band where the sometimes wilfully challenging nature of their compositions (Greenwood was classically trained) is offset by the power of their music and the energy of their performances. One for Radiohead fans for sure. It will be interesting to see if they will fill the Forest National’s cavernous space with punters.
16 March
Black Pumas
Forest National
Amid all the homogenised music that the industry pushes out, every now and then a band pops up that feels genuine and authentic – if anyone the really deserves those labels. Hailing from the once legendary music Mecca, Austin, Texas, the Black Pumas are a duo that combines blues in the vein of Gary Clarke Jr and, for those of you with long memories, Robert Cray with the southern soul of Leon Bridges and Al Green.
The Black Pumas
They will appeal to fans of Brittany Howard and her former band, Alabama Shakes, and the Black Keys. It’s a strange choice of their management to play the former ice-skating rink (with acoustics to match) Forest National. Fans wanting to catch them in a more up-front-and-personal setting should try to see them at BXL Central (near the Comic Book Museum) on the same day but before their Forest gig.
27 March
Amadou & Mariam
Ancienne Belgique
A husband-and-wife duo from Mali, Amadou and Mariam started performing together in 1974, after having met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind. Their onstage rapport and their unabashed celebration of love and marital happiness in their songs (“Je Pense a Toi”, ‘Beaux Dimanches”) make for a refreshing show amid the cynicism of the dating-app age.
Amadou & Mariam in their home in Bamako, Mali, December 8, 2022. Credit: Nicolas Réméné / Ancienne Belgique
Amadou is a master of west African guitar and their live shows reflect their Malian origins more that the remixes and addition of electronic instruments of many of their recordings. One of their best-known songs, “Sabali” (patience, in Bambara), was produced by Damon Albarn of Blur. The two wear sunglasses on stage, but not because they think they’re superstars (which they are).
We hope you enjoyed the guide. If you want one for April, please share this article with your friends! Feel free to give us feedback info@brusselstimes.com
Small tip for sold out gigs: check Ticketswap in the days leading up to the gig and on the day itself – that is when most tickets come up.
