Graspop Metal Meeting

De Stenehei, Dessel (Antwerp province)
24-26 June
➟➟ www.graspop.be

Highlights:
Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas
Priest, Slipknot, Rob Zombie (pictured),
Mastodon, Journey, Foreigner, Monster
Magnet

Graspop Metal Meeting actually began as
a mainstream pop festival in 1986, but 10
years later decided to radically change its
course after a disappointing edition (with
artists like Joe Cocker and Simple Minds).
It is a decision that has proved successful,
and the festival, the oldest and biggest
metal festival in the lowlands today, has
managed to maintain a loyal following
ever since.

If you're not a real metalhead, don't
despair: it's not all satanic roars, brutal
riffs and agonising blast-beats. There's also
plenty of room for radio-friendly hard
rock or hardcore punk rock.

This year, you can relive the '80s with
bands like Journey, Scorpions and
Foreigner. Punk rockers will be pleased to
see The Dwarves, Parkway Drive, Terror,
Pro-Pain, D.R.I or Bring Me The Horizon.
This year's crowd-puller is Ozzy Osbourne,
who never ceases to amaze at age 62 and
always manages to incorporate some of
Black Sabbath's many monumental songs
from their first four masterpiece albums.

The bat-decapitating nutter goes on stage
after Judas Priest, a household name in
the world of hard rock. Connoisseurs
will look forward to the sleazy doom of
Britain's Electric Wizard, the revolutionary
psychedelic metal of Mastodon and the
stoner rock veterans of Monster Magnet,
both hailing from the US.

I'm always surprised at the serenity of
the atmosphere at Graspop, a festival of
mainly aggressively charged music. "We
have our own thing going here," explains
organiser Peter Van Geel, "and the people
who to come to the festival are seen as part
of us, as part of the celebration of metal
music. I'm pretty proud of it all, really."

Cactus Festival

Minnewaterpark, Bruges · 8-10 July
➟➟ www.cactusfestival.be

Highlights:
Bryan Ferry, Lamb, Mogwai, Janelle
Monáe, Lyle Lovett (pictured), Isobel
Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Cold War
Kids, Hooverphonic, Kate Nash

Cactus is easily one the most beautifully
located festivals in Europe. It is set in the
stunning Minnewaterpark in Bruges, an
almost spiritual environment that has a
consoling effect on visitors and musicians
alike, who often perform with breathtaking
intensity during the course of this
long-running festival.

"Many artists have said that the setting
has something magical," claims organiser
Patrick Keersebilck. "They tell me that it's
comparable to a gig in a hall because of
the patience and composure of the crowd,
as well as the clear acoustics."

Cactus is a former winner of the award
for Best European Small Festival, but big
names haven't been shunned for this year's
edition. Bryan Ferry is headlining day one
and "thinking man's cowboy" Lyle Lovett
is one of the acts on day two. The emphasis
is on contemplative songwriters and
alternative performers, but Cactus also
has something in store for music loving
maniacs who like to dance: the up-andcoming
R&B funk goddess Janelle Monáe.

"It's only her second gig in Belgium after
an impressive appearance in Brussels
earlier this year," Keersebilck says. "I think
she's the next big thing in contemporary
soul and R&B."

Keersebilck believes in a less-is-more
philosophy. "There is only one stage," he
says, "which forces people to really give
their unbridled attention to the music. It's
not like the window-shopping audiences of
Werchter or Pukkelpop." He seems to have
a soft spot for world music, which attracts
a more cosmopolitan crowd. "This edition
we have a Nigerian artist, a Swedish band,
a Congolese band and even a German
musician playing reggae [Gentleman & the
Evolution]. We are a peculiar festival in a
musical landscape of boring uniformity.
That's what is attracting the crowds."

Openluchttheater Rivierenhof

Deurne (Antwerp) · Until 3 September
➟➟ www.openluchttheater.be

Highlights:
Manu Chao, Midlake, Joss Stone, Guido
Belcanto, Dinosaur Jr, CocoRosie, The
Pogues, Arno, K's Choice, Gotan Project,
Daan

Rivierenhof is a luscious park just outside
the centre of Antwerp and, during the
summer, a restful background for concerts
of different styles and genres. It is home
to "not the biggest festival", as the tagline
reads. "But we are the longest," chuckles
production manager Sylvie Svanberg. "It
is not the kind of festival where people
camp and stay the night," she says. "Gigs
are only in the evening, and there are no
hamburger stands or frietkots."

The festival insists on quality rather than
quantity, and the line-up is one of the
most diverse you'll see in the whole of
Flanders. There's a Cuban salsa night, by
Zule Max and Marga (on a Friday free of
entrance fee); 1950s big band from Pieter
Embrechts & The New Radio Kings; heavy
grunge by Dinosaur Jr; indie folk and folk
rock by CocoRosie and Midlake; alcoholic
folk punk by The Pogues; soul by Joss
Stone and even a comedy night starring
Flemish funny people Jeroen Leenders,
Lies Lefever and Bart Cannaerts.

There are some afternoon performances,
too, strictly reserved for the little ones.
Kapitein Winokio (pictured), the popular
singing sea captain who comes up with
new versions of traditional children's
songs, makes an appearance both in
late August again - his June show sold
out fast. The Ketnet Band, the cover
band from the children's TV network,
is also paying a visit to the park.
The Openluchttheater (Open-Air Theatre)
Rivierenhof is a family-friendly festival
that promotes quality and diversity in
a green environment just outside of
Flanders' biggest city. Be quick with the
purchase of tickets.

Rock Herk

Municipal Park Olmenhof, Herk-de-
Stad (Limburg province) · 15-16 July
➟➟ www.rockherk.be

Highlights:
Swans, Blood Red Shoes (pictured), Two
Gallants, Shameboy, Don Rimini, N-Type,
Errors, A Place To Bury Strangers, The
Sore Losers

This festival also takes place in a lovely
park. The one thing that sets it apart from
the rest: It's free!

Since it began back in 1983, Rock Herk
has never charged a dime. The cost of this
excursion might be, however, that you
have never heard of any names on the bill.
Programmers are "primarily occupied
with the future of alternative music," says
organiser Marc Croes, a heartfelt belief in
the Limburg-based festival resounding in
his voice. "A good example is Buffalo Tom,
a now-famous rock band that we had over
in the early 1990s, way before its initial
breakthrough. We also had The National,
back in 2007."

Is there an act he'd like to recommend?
"I'm definitely looking forward to seeing
Swans," he says, "a recently reunited
American post-punk band from the '80s
and '90s with a very dark but compelling
sound." He admits to being more of a
guitar man himself, hence he's also looking
forward to Saturday, the pre-eminent rock
day. "Brighton-based power-rock duo
Blood Red Shoes is one of my favourites."
The first day of Rock Herk is traditionally
reserved for electronic music. Universally
acclaimed dubstep DJ N-Type is one of
the masters of dance ceremony in the tent
sponsored by hipster magazine VICE,
while Flemish electro act Shameboy will
get a party started on the main stage.

"The people who organise Werchter
thought we'd never last," says a militant
Croes. "That was 29 years ago. And look
at where we are now. There will always be
room for an independent niche-festival in
the Flemish circuit, especially if it's free."
For a cheap view of the future of alternative
music on a municipal island of calm, Rock
Herk is where you should be heading this
summer.