Although it's celebrating 25 years, the famous festival's humble beginnings were actually 37 years ago when the local youth council organised a free stage in the early 1970s. Soon an independent youth club called De Boskar began offering guitar workshops and organising community events. Peer began to think a little bigger.

In 1977, the free podium was incorporated into the Peerse Fieste, the local festival held every year, and big Flemish names like Raymond van het Groenewoud, Johan Verminnen and Philip Cathérine topped the bill.

In 1985, they decided to concentrate on the blues. "Since then, the event's reputation has spread abroad, reaching artists in the United States and Britain, and drawing a broader international audience with each year that goes by," says Jan Meurs, chairman of Break-Away, the non-profit that stages the festival.

Meurs explains that tour managers and performers alike enjoy the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of the big festival in the little town in Flemish Brabant. "But it's also important that we've opted to concentrate on blues, blues-rock and roots music," he says. "We have become specialists, and artists know to find us."

The festival is so good at sniffing out new talent that it actually prices them out of its own market. Over the years, it has hosted many artists who kicked off their European careers in Peer and have become unaffordable now: John Lee Hooker and Ben Harper both played in Peer before their names (and fees) went through the roof.

From the very beginning, the festival was based in a huge tent with the capacity to hold 15,000. This limits the audience and the festival from becoming a massive event like Werchter and protects fans from Belgium's dodgy weather. "I'm glad we stuck to the idea," states Meurs. "The audience appreciates it."

Usually attracting less than the daily capacity, the festival wants to continue offering a mid-sized event with reasonable ticket prices and cheapish drinks. "We don't benefit from government subsidies or major sponsorship," he continues. "The whole idea of being self-supporting existed in the very beginning when the youth centre started, and we've remained loyal to that principle."

There are also a lot of kids' activities running alongside the main programme. "We attract quite a number of 20- and 30-somethings who bring their kids, so we provided an alternative programme for them, ranging from drawing festival posters to performing an improvised ballet with Canned Heat on stage," Meurs explains. "Today we have the kids of 25 years ago returning with their own kids! This has become a crucial element in the festival programme, especially because the artists love it."

For the 25th edition, which begins on 17 July, Peer took a look back at the event's history and programmed some of the early artists that played there, including John Mayall, a festival veteran and godfather of the British blues.

American blues harmonica player Rod Piazza, who played the festival 20 years ago, will also be back, along with former frontman of The Byrds, Roger McGuinn. Southside Johnny, called "the Grandfather of the New Jersey sound" also makes a return trip to Peer, as does Steve Winwood.

And, of course, John Fogerty, the Creedence Clearwater Revival-ist, who has helped shaped the face of modern guitar playing wraps up this 25th blues family reunion with a bow.

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