Belgian Rockolate!

If you were asked to name someone famous to come out of Belgium, you would probably only come up with one or two names, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jacques Brel, Hercule Poirot?

Antwerp is a seaport in the north west of Belgium. The city successfully bid for the Capital Of Culture in 1993. However, the live music scene isn’t as vibrant as you might expect, considering the many bars and Jazz Cafés over there.

One of the artists to originate from Antwerp is Liverpool based performer The Maudlin Rich. I had the good fortune to support the artist on a brief tour of his hometown, which included a sell out gig for Marc & The Wolman Presents @ Misantroop, situated on the south side of the city. The Maudlin Rich alias Jurgen Wendelen, made an exclusive appearance on Radio Central FM prior to the gigs. Some of his songs feature the words of A.E. Housman, a poet from the early 20th Century.

One night he invited me to come and watch acoustic performer, Guy Swinnen who was performing in one of the bars. Guy was front man in The Scabs, a successful rock band from Belgium in the late eighties and early nineties. Their success was down to songs such as ‘Hard Times’, which were sung in English.

Checking out the various gig guides and music magazines such as RiffRaff, I searched for venues where people would go to see live music.

AB, which stands for Ancienne Belgique (Ancient Belgium), is the foremost venue for live music in Brussels. Well established, the venue features live acts in the main hall and club area. Liverpool’s Kling Klang will be supporting Mogwai for a sell out gig at the venue on Monday 26th May. Other acts acts venturing there soon will be The Kills, Goldfrapp, Glasgow four-piece Aereogramme, Evan Dando and The Eels.

The Annual Rock Wercter Festival near Bruges is the country’s answer to Glastonbury. The four-day festival runs from 26th to 29th June and has virtually the same line up; including REM, Coldplay, Metallica, Massive Attack, Moby, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bjork, Moloko etc.

Other festivals in the country include the Cactus Festival in Minnewaterpark in Bruges, which runs from 11th to 13th July. They will be including UK acts such as Stereo MCs and Sidestepper.  

The current bands to look out for in Belgium are Deus, Soul Wax, Das Pop and Admiral Freebee, (the country’s answer to Badly Drawn Boy). It’s generally agreed that five-piece outfit Millionaire are one of the best bands to emerge from Belgium in recent years. So if you’re out and about on the continent this summer, then check out some Belgian Rockolate.