In the end the dispute was settled out of court before the appeal, but the whole business led to more vigilance about the volume of the music.

In the conflict, the sympathy vote went almost unanimously to Cactus. Not surprising - it always had a good reputation among music fans and (most) inhabitants of Bruges alike. Few festivals are so ideally situated: not the never-ending, impersonal pasture of Rock Werchter, neither the enclosed city squares of Marktrock in Leuven, but the nice Minnewaterpark with trees and a pond. It's situated at the outskirts of town, near the train station.

Where, from the second half of the 1990s on, most big Flemish festivals added a second stage - and sometimes a third, a fourth... - and shortened the length of the openings acts, Cactus still opts for one stage and almost never programs concerts of less than an hour. Which means that there are breaks between the concerts! Without music! Call me old-fashioned, but not to have to run from one stage to the other comes as a relief.

Not that there was any possibility to run during the accursed edition of 1998. Three days of pouring rain had turned the Minnewaterpark into a pool of mud in which the brave patrons still present were sinking slowly but steadily. It almost lead to a financial catastrophe, but the festival overcame the problems and nowadays is safe and sound.

Against all odds, Cuban veteran Compay Segundo and Brazilian singer Marisa Monte warmed, with sizzling performances, the hearts of those brave ones. That must have been on Sunday, traditionally the world music day of the festival. At least, until a few years ago, because the division between world music and pop has now been given up.

Although Cactus hasn't much world music in store anymore. That's a pity, but fans of adventurous rock have loads to look forward to. Don't be late on Sunday, for instance, since Japanese opening act Mono have amazing noisy soundscapes in store. Later that day, Calexico serves a tasty mélange of Americana, tex mex and mariachi, and The Magic Numbers transport you back to the Summer of Love.

Maybe you prefer, on Saturday, the searing rock of The Gutter Twins (aka Mark Lanegan and Greg "Afghan Whigs" Dulli) or the dreamy songs of Joan As Police Woman.

The top acts this year are Tracy Chapman, Paul Weller and Joss Stone. Those names reveal that Cactus (the name refers to the pub that, at the beginning of the 1980s, was the home of a radical-left action committee) isn't really the thorniest festival in Flanders, but it's never less than succulent.

10-12 July
www.cactusfestival.be

Best of the rest

The best music fests aren't necessarily the biggest

Sfinks Festival

Sfinks Festival in Boechout, a small village south of Antwerp, is one of Europe's most renowned world music festivals. It started out in 1976 as a folk fest, but from 1982 on it expanded its musical range. At a time when the term "world music" had still to come into vogue, it presented Manu Dibango and Youssou N'Dour.

With the growing interest in the genre in the 1990s, the festival boomed, but a few years ago Sfinks deliberately toned down. They still have a few big names on the line-up - this year, for instance, Natacha Atlas - but the festival is mainly looking for unknown talent.

If you're unfamiliar with, say, the dance music of Les Espoirs de Coronthie from Guinea or the ritualistic performances of Deba from Mayotte (the French overseas collectivity north of Madagascar), this plunge into the unknown turns Sfinks into the most adventurous big festival in Flanders.

Thanks to the Kidz Village, a widely varied world cultures market, where you can buy anything from sandals to musical instruments, and the presence of all flavours of the world cuisine, it's also a lot more than just a musical journey.

24-26 July
www.sfinks.be

Lokerse Feesten

Probably no other festival in Flanders, brings together such a diversity of acts as the Lokerse Feesten (in Lokeren, East Flanders). This is facilitated by the nature of the festival: it takes place during 10 consecutive evenings with three or four names on the bill.

So one evening the focus lies on dance acts, the next on British indie rock, and so on - although the connection is, at times, a bit loose (Novastar and Los Lobos, someone?). The Lokese Feesten has been around for 35 years, making it one of Flanders' longest-running music fests.

For awhile, the focus was on Belgian acts with some foreign names as a bonus. But since the beginning of this century, the orientation slowly changed. This has largely been due to marketing: two years ago, Marktrock in Leuven, also in August, chose for a more modest line-up, so the Lokerse Feesten makes sure it's the place to be for more mainstream pop acts that lack the hipness factor needed for Rock Werchter or aren't alternative enough for Pukkelpop. Think: Ray Davies, David Byrne, Simple Minds or Belgian veterans The Scabs.

31 July - 9 August
www.lokersefeesten.be