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 February 2024.
Best gigs in Brussels:
8 February
Slowdive
Cirque Royal
Sold out - Tickets on Ticketswap
Slowdive were pioneers of the dreamy, echo-laden, fuzzed-guitar music dubbed "shoegaze" at the end of the 1980s. Twenty-five years later, the five piece from Reading are touring their fifth studio album: Everything is Alive.
Slowdive is an English dream pop band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire. Credit: Deepskyobject / Flickr
The album shows that the band are still capable of their trademark, soaring guitar anthems but with some synths mixed in that bring to mind early New Order. Check out album opener Shanty to hear what I mean. Slowdive’s music is as exhilarating live as it’s ever been – their concert at Cirque Royal sold out in short order, as did most of the European gigs on this tour.
Update from the band 08/02/2024: "We are really sad to announce that we have to cancel the show at Cirque Royal in Brussels tonight due to the death of a close family member of one of the band. We understand how disappointing the news will be and are really sorry to do this. The show is now rescheduled to Monday May 27th at the same venue. All tickets will be valid for the new show. We are so sorry for the inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding at this very sad time. xx"
11 February
IAMDDB
Ancienne Belgique, AB Ballroom
[Postponed]
IAMDDB (real name Diana de Brito) hails from Manchester but was born in Portugal to an Angolan mother. She is a talented singer and rapper with a style that ranges from early Doja Cat to Erykah Badu, one of her musical inspirations.
IAMDBB. Credit: Ana Viotti / Flickr
She has been recognised by no less a figure of rap royalty than former Fugees lead, Lauryn Hill, who invited the Angolan artist as her support act for her 2018 tour. IAMDDB is promoting her latest mixtape, Love is War Volume 6. She’s been tipped to break out big since 2018. Hopefully, this year will be the year.
Update: Unfortunately, IAMDBB has cancelled her tour. She explained on Instagram that she couldn't afford to put on the show that she wanted because it was too expensive, and her management company would not finance it. We will let you know when she is back in town!
14 February
CMAT
Botanique, Orangerie
Tickets available
Another artist whose stage name comes from her real name, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson is an Irish-born country-pop singer with witty self-deprecating lyrics and a high-energy live show.
She has been praised for big voice, a large stage presence and is backed by a top-notch band. Her performances on the Jools Holland and Graham Norton BBC shows on YouTube to get a taste.
The gig has been moved to the venue’s biggest room because of the high demand for tickets. Unsurprising, as CMAT has already scored two number one albums in Ireland – and her Botanique gig is sure to be well-attended by the large and vocal Irish community of Brussels.
CMAT. Credit: Sarah Doyle / Botanique
CMAT is definitely for fans of feisty alt-country artists like Neko Case and Jenny Lewis but her appeal goes much wider, not least because of her wry lyrics that paint a lipstick smile on a tear-stained face.
The titles of songs like Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend) and 2 Wrecked 2 Care and I Hate Who I Am When I’m Horny give you a flavour. Go see her now in the relatively small setting of Botanique because on her next tour she’ll be playing much bigger venues, ones which she won’t have trouble filling.
14 February
Last Dinner Party
Botanique, Orangerie
Sold out – Tickets on Ticketswap
When I first read about Last Dinner Party and how they came about during a wine-fuelled evening in Brixton, one of south London’s trendiest areas, I immediately thought they were the latest in a wave of hyped, hipster bands following Black Country, New Road and black midi from the Brixton scene.
The Last Dinner Party. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
But I was wrong. Dinner Party’s influences include the grandiose pop of Kate Bush and the vocals and twin guitars set them apart from other bands in the scene. They promise to be great fun live if you can get a ticket on Ticketswap. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until the summer when they will be a sure festival hit.
15 February
Ada Oda
Ancienne Belgique, AB Club
Sold out - Tickets on Ticketswap
To be honest, I’d never heard of Ada Oda until I saw their gig listed at AB Club. But what’s not to like about a local band that sings punk/post-punk in Italian? We have to encourage good Italian indie bands and not let those pseuds Maneskin define contemporary Italian music on the international scene.
Ada Oda. Credit: Ancienne Belgique
Ada Oda are fronted by Victoria Barracato, who, the AB website tells me, is the daughter of Belgo-Italian singer Frédéric François from the Chanson francaise scene. But Victoria's music is not like her Dad's – this is one for fans of Californian heroine chic punks Starcrawler, who like a good old-fashioned punk like the Ramones and Buzzcocks, played at a tempo that wakens the desire to pogo.
18 February
Ão
Ancienne Belgique, AB Club (two shows 15:00 and 19:00)
Both shows sold out – Tickets on Ticketswap
Ão’s name means "ow" in Portuguese, the expression of pain, though they like it to be ambiguous so it can also be an expression of surprise. Singer Brenda Corijn sings most of the songs in the Portuguese – learned from her mother and Mozambiquan father – and draws on that language’s capacity to evoke melancholia and wistful longing summed up in the Portuguese word saudade. The closest translation in English is homesickness but it carries a sense of a longing for a lost place or person.
Credit: Jules Desmet / Ao
Talking to the band, Brenda says that Portuguese feels like "a secret" and enjoys thinking that most of her audience at Belgian gigs don’t understand her words. Brenda’s soft vocals are set off by the moody electronics of Jolan Decaestecker, the sensitive acoustic guitar of Siebe Chau and the tasteful percussion of Bert Peyffers.
When I tell Brenda that her singing reminds me of Portuguese star Maro (a rising global star who sang Portugal’s Eurovision entry in 2022), she gushes about how much she loves her voice. The group was founded in Leuven in 2020 and are increasingly popular in Flanders, where they won a prestigious music award. They added a second matinee show at AB Club after their evening performance sold out. Ão are rising stars and I can think of nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than to cradle a Belgian beer and get lost in their music.
22 February
Dizzee Rascal
Botanique, Orangerie
Sold out – 90+ on Ticketswap
Dizzee Rascal was the first commercially successful representative of grime, a style that grew out of UK Garage (a mixture of sped-up house and RnB), mixing fast beats with rapid-fire rapping. His first album Boy in da Corner celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, at the time taking home the Mercury Prize, the highest accolade in the British music scene.
British grime music pioneer Dizzee Rascal. Credit: Achim Raschka
Dizzee was always the good-time guy of the grime scene, known for his British rap breakthrough classics Fix Up Look Sharp or Jus a Rascal – but also his more chart-friendly offerings like Dance wiv Me, a number one in the UK in 2008. You’re always guaranteed a good show with Dizzee.
27 February
L’Rain
Ancienne Belgique, AB Club
Tickets available
Multi-instrumentalist New Yorker Taja Cheek makes music that veers from avant-garde experimentation to Charlie XCX-style hyperpop, often within the space of a single song. She’s touring her latest album, I Killed Your Dog, which is a bitter-sweet to attempt to avoid succumbing to the pain of a break up.
L'Rain. Credit: Facebook
Her previous studio LP, Fatigue, was hailed by Pitchfork and The Wire as album of the year in 2021. She has a regular group of musicians she records with so it will be interesting to see if they join her for the AB gig. In any case, the intimate setting of AB Club will be a great place to experience her experimental but enthralling music.
We hope you enjoyed the guide. If you want one for March, 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.
