Rock and rave: Your guide to the summer music festivals

Rock Werchter (pictured above)
This granddaddy of all Flemish music festivals is nearly sold out, though as we went to press, there were still Thursday-only tickets available. So while you’ll miss the likes of Radiohead, Linkin Park and Foo Fighters,  you can still see Arcade Fire, Beth Ditto, Kings of Leon and local faves Het Zesde Metaal. 29 June to 2 July, Tarweland, Werchter (Rotselaar, Flemish Brabant)

Gooikoorts
Now in its 15th edition, Gooikoorts is an international folk festival with a family vibe. Located in the Pajottenland countryside, it prides itself on its kid-friendly and welcoming atmosphere.  Names on the bill include the American roots music behemoth Bruce Molsky. The band leader (and banjo picker, fiddler, guitarist and vocalist)  plays on Saturday with his new trio Molsky’s Mountain Drifers, which also features The Goodye Girls’ Allison De Groot on the banjo and Boston’s Stash Wyslouch. 7-9 July, Dorpsstraat, Gooik (Flemish Brabant)

Cactus Festival
In Bruges’ Minnewaterpark, Cactus has one of the best settings of all the Flemish festivals and its line-up is traditionally stacked with cutting-edge acts. This year’s edition is no exception. On the melancholic, dreamy, indie front are artists like Texan post-rock-outfit Explosions in the Sky and slowcore-songwriter Sophia, who will put you in a state of trance. On the festive, cheery front there are the regular visitor Jamie Lidell and Tom Barman’s experimental jazz outfit Taxi Wars. 7-9 July, Minnewaterpark, Bruges

Rock Zottegem
July’s second weekend traditionally hosts this little East Flemish town’s finest festivity: Rock Zottegem. The “rock” in the name might be slightly misleading , as the festival is known to book straight-up pop acts as well. There’s the Dutch class act Marco Borsato (who, in his most famous song from the 1990s, claims that most dreams are a deception), the UK’s Bryan Ferry and the most popular Flemish singer of the moment, former Steracteur Sterartiest contender, Stan Van Samang. 7-9 July, Kastanjelaan, Zottegem (East Flanders)

Gent Jazz
Ghent’s jazz festival thinks outside of the box. Held in the gardens of the Bijloke concert hall, it’s an event that the city of hipster go-getters and urban experimenters truly deserves. Case in point: one of the headliners is German musician Blixa Bargeld’s long running avant-gardist ensemble Einstürzende Neubauten. Along with classic instruments, they’re known to play grinding discs, metal objects, jackhammers and iron rods. Also keep an eye out for fresh new jazz acts like Robert Glasper Experiment and Kamasi Washington. The last two days overlap with the Gentse Feesten. 6-15 July, De Bijloke, Ghent

Gentse Feesten
The largest combined music and street theatre festival in the world, Gentse Feesten draws more than one million visitors to the centre of Ghent for a 10-day outdoor bash that never sleeps (quite literally). Every square is a stage, and the biggest are the Korenmarkt, which features a variety of acts, the Trefpunt world music stage at Sint-Jacobsplein (or Walter De Buck-plein, named after the late mucisian who reinvented the Feesten in the 1960s) and the appropriately named Boomtown on the Kouter square, with mostly local alternative rock acts. Partygoers will be glad to hear that DJ sets at the Vlasmarkt will go on until the early hours of the morning. Next to music and theatre, there are, as usual, lots of activities for children, including a puppet festival and  the kids village Gentopia, where you can cast your vote for the child mayor of the festival. 14-23 July, across Ghent

Sfinks Mixed
Sfinks Mixed is a household name in the world music festival circuit in Europe. It’s free, it’s family- and refugee-friendly and in, its 42nd edition, it hosts the Algerian-Dutch rap phenomenon Boef. There’s also a special Latino edition of the festival on 23 September. 27-30 July, Pastoorsleike 7, Boechout (Antwerp Province)

Reggae Geel (pictured above)
Immerse yourself in the tunes of dancehall, ska and reggae artists such as Maxi Priest, Black Uhuru, Blood Shanti and ’60s originators The Heptones and The Silvertones. Maxi Priest helped transform the ska and rocksteady sound into reggae and has released a whopping 21 albums. The Silvertones have worked with the greats, including Duke Reid and Lee “Scratch” Perry, and have brought out new records in 2013 and 2015. Both are, of course, Jamaican. 4-5 August, Malosewaver, Geel (Limburg)

Suikerrock
Which small city festival blurs the line between mainstream and alternative and is named after its renowned sugar refinery? Tienen’s Suikerrock (or Sugar Rock), smack-dab on the Grote Markt, shows its knack for an eclectic line-up, with headliners such as Iggy Pop, Zucchero and Tinie Tempah. 28-30 July, Grote Markt, Tienen (Flemish Brabant)

Lokerse Feesten
Although they do serve a mean sausage, alternative music is the bread and butter at this hugely popular annual festival near Ghent. This year sees a lot of big, mostly American rock artists, many of whom will undoubtedly strike a chord with those who grew up in the 1990s. The main stage hosts the legendary alt-rockers The Pixies (no Kim Deal though; the new bassist is Argentinian-American Paz Lenchantin), Californian skatepunks Pennywise, shock rockers Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper (pupil and teacher, you could say) and Bay Area thrash metal icons Megadeth. 4-13 August, Grote Kaai, Lokeren (East Flanders)

Festival Dranouter
Dranouter has steadily grown as a local favourite and is now cherished as West Flanders’ cosiest music event of the summer. It used to be primarily a folk festival but now features a diverse, largely local line-up, with a folky tone. All ears this year are directed towards the legendary Dutch ska rockers Doe Maar, who sang praises to a certain Dutch herb (“Nederwiet”) back in the 1980s. Other names include festival favourites Het Zesde Metaal and De Dolfijntjes, dreamy Flemish pop-rock sensation Bazart and Antwerp’s Stef Kamil Carlens. 4-6 August, Dranouter (Heuvelland, West Flanders)

Antilliaanse Feesten
The Antilliaanse Feesten is not the city festival the name would suggest (there is no town called Antiliaan), but a tribute to all Caribbean music, albeit in a rock-like atmosphere. It’s actually the biggest festival in the world to put the spotlight on the spectrum of Caribbean genres. To people passionate about the music created by the descendants of African slaves, performers like Wilfrido Vargas, Farmer Nappy, Doble R and J Alvarez will most certainly sound familiar. Shaggy and Congolese Brusselaar Baloji should also ring a bell. Or just go to soak up the upbeat atmosphere. 11-12 August, Blauwbossen, Hoogstraten (Antwerp province)

Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop – on a par with Rock Werchter as the king of Belgian music festivals – needs no introduction. The Afghan Whigs, Tycho, STUFF., Interpol, PJ Harvey, Moderat and Strand of Oaks are some of the more interesting names on show this year. Other big names are Ryan Adams and The Flaming Lips. As we went to press, combitickets were still available but Saturday-only tickets were sold out, so if you’re planning on going, don’t wait any longer to secure your entry. 16-19 August, Kiewit festival site, Hasselt

Leffingeleuren
Leffingeleuren in Middelkerke is known as the epilogue to Flanders’ festival season and caters beautifully to people with an acquired taste in alternative music. Expect a big contingent of the alt rock and indie scene to make its way to the seaside town, but there will also be focus on local hip-hop artists. As we went to press, the following names had been confirmed: J Bernardt, Romeo Elvis & Le Motel, Zwangere Guy and Dieter Von Deurne & The Politics. 8-10 September, Leffinge (Middelkerke, West Flanders)

By Laurens Bouckaert unless otherwise noted