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 that you should not miss with your friends throughout June.
Best gigs this month
3 June
Kazdoura
GC Vaartkapoen (VK)
In last month’s Gig Guide, I wrote about Kiss Facility who played at les Nuits Botanique on Sunday, 31 May and whose lyrics are in Arabic thanks to Egyptian-Emirati singer Maya Alkhateri. Kazdoura ("to stroll") are another Arabic-language outfit, this time featuring the vocals of Syrian singer Leen Hamo. The group was founded in Toronto by Hamo and Lebanese jazz musician and saxophonist John Abour Chacra.
Kazdoura
Their single Al Ain promises to be a massive summer hit with its catchy opening sax part leading into a memorable pre-chorus with Hamo’s vocals. Also check out Khayal, released in 2024. The band have been playing in their home city since meeting in 2020, but it is only this year, following the success of their singles, that they have broken out internationally with successful shows in the UK and France. It will be interesting to see whether their music attracts some of Brussels’ and Molenbeek’s Maghreb community to VK, the Dutch-speaking community centre of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
4+5 June
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
Bozar
AWVFTS is a joint project of US pianist and composer Dustin O’Halloran and guitarist Adam Wiltzie that makes huge cinematic music combining acoustic instruments with synths and electronic effects. The group has written music for films, including Lion, the heart-rending story of an Indian boy adopted by Australian parents and his quest to find his family.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
AWVFTS has a strong Belgian connection as the two Americans are joined by the two members of Echo Collective, a Belgian group which includes violinist Margaret Hermant and US viola-player Neil Leiter. Echo Collective’s own albums, which include a string version of Radiohead’s Amnesiac and an LP of compositions by cult Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hermant has recently released her first solo album, Freedom, which mixes harp and modular synths to intoxicating effect.
11 June
Colleen
Botanique
Despite her Irish stage name, Colleen is a French musician whose real name is Céline Schott, and currently lives in Barcelona. Her music is a mix of electronic instruments with a heavy use of looped samples. She started playing cello live as a way of creating a more spontaneous performance using acoustic instruments to recreate the patterns of her compositions, which were mostly written on digital music production software.
Colleen
She has been making music since 2001 with landmark recordings including The Golden Morning Breaks in 2005, which uses entirely acoustic instruments, and an EP in 2006, made using only music boxes. Her most recent release, Libres antes del final in 2026 on the cult Chicago label Thrill Jockey, is a beautiful work of ambient synths with a steady harmonic development that keeps the listener fully engaged. It will be interesting to see at the Botanique show how she reproduces those tracks live.
16 June
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Cirque Royal
Isbell is, for my money, the greatest artist in the genre known as Americana, or sometimes roots-rock, which is a mixture of country, especially country-rock pioneered by Gram Parsons and the Byrds, and folk-rock. Isbell used to be part of another great Americana band, Drive-By Truckers, which he left in 2007, mainly due to his alcoholism and unreliability. He charts his recovery from his addiction in one of his greatest songs, Cover Me Up, on his sensational fourth solo album, Southeastern, in 2013. The song is a tribute to his then-wife, Amanda Shires, and how her love helped him overcome his addiction.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
When he performs the song live, the crowd cheers when he sings the line: "I sobered up, I swore off that stuff/Forever this time" in recognition of his victory over the bottle. Isbell has released six studio albums since Southeastern, including his most recent Foxes in the Snow in 2025. He set himself an impossibly high bar with his first album, but since that record came out, he has written some incredible songs, including Speed Trap Town from 2015’s Something More than Free. Isbell is also a stellar guitarist, and his band, the 400 Unit, are one of the best around, featuring another great player, Sadler Vaden.
19 June
Amanda Shires
Only three days after Jason Isbell’s show at Cirque Royal comes a concert by Amanda Shires, to whom he was married until 2023. Shires is a singer, songwriter and violinist and has released nine albums, as well as having played on seven of Isbell’s LPs. My favourite is To the Sunset from 2018, which sees her branching out into indie music and includes the stunning Parking Lot Pirouette.
Amanda Shires
Shires’ songs draw deeply on her personal experiences. She is also part of the all-women country supergroup The Highwomen, which includes Brandi Carlile and Maren Morris. The name is a reference to the Outlaw country supergroup from the late ‘80s-early ‘90s featuring Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Check out the Highwomen’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain for a taste of their powerful, multi-harmony vocals.
26 June
Ezra Collective
Couleur Café
The group is yet another fruit of London’s incredibly fertile jazz scene. It was founded in 2012 by two brothers, Femi and TJ Koleoso, drummer and bass player, with keyboard player Joe Armon Jones. The original members met when they were part of the Tomorrow’s Warriors project run by UK musician and jazz composer Gary Crosby. Sax player Nubya Garcia (who played at Les Nuits Botanique on Saturday, 30 May) and flautist Shabaka Hutchings also came up through the Warriors school. Ezra Collective play an irresistible mix of jazz, soul and R’n’B with elements of calypso.
Ezra Collective
It is very difficult to resist moving to their music and they set out their musical agenda in their 2024 track God Made These Feet for Dancing featuring Yazmin Lacey on vocals. But don’t take it from me: the track was on Barack Obama’s list of his favourite summer songs in 2024. The group also won the Mercury Music Prize in 2025 and were the first jazz band to win Group of the Year at the Brit Awards in 2024. The band are set to release their fourth LP, Here Because of Hope, in September, but have just released their new single, Only Love, featuring UK rapper and singer Pa Salieu, who set Couleur Café alight last year. The track is a reggae-infused summer jam. In short, Ezra Collective are the perfect band for what will hopefully be a hot summer’s day at Couleur Café.
29 June
Elvis Costello
Ancienne Belgique
Another week, another of the greatest ever songwriters playing in Brussels. Costello (real name Declan MacManus) will be joined by his long-time keyboard player Steve Nieve to play a set of his "early songs". Looking at the set lists of some of the shows on this tour, Elvis has been playing some favourites, including Alison from 1977’s My Aim is True LP, Pump It Up from 1978’s This Year’s Model and the 1977 single Watching the Detectives. I haven’t been able to find an explanation of how Costello defines the early songs, but you only have to think that his first albums, as well as the two albums mentioned above, such as all-time classics: Armed Forces (1979), Get Happy!! (1980), Almost Blue (1981). That’s before we get to Imperial Bedroom (1982), Punch the Clock (1983), Goodbye Cruel World (1984), King of America (1986), Blood & Chocolate (1986).
Elvis Costello
Those LPs are all in the first ten years of his recording career. Quite a catalogue to choose from. I want to say something about ticket prices because concerts are getting more expensive and not just at Forest National. Tickets for Costello’s Show at the Ancienne Belgique are €71. Frankly, I think that for an artist (and band) of that quality, it is worth it, though I appreciate that for many, that is a lot of money. But it is cheaper than David Byrne was at Forest National (€118) and Paul Simon at Bozar, where I think tickets started at €150.
