The 15 Best Belgian Summer Music Festivals For 2023

By MFW Staff / January 28, 2023

Born in the Netherlands, The Extrema Outdoor Belgium Festival, usually called the XOBE Festival, is a huge 3-day camping festival. It usually pulls in around 65,000 fans and features over 100 artists playing at 7 stages.

When it comes to metal festivals, there's few that can match the worldwide reputation of the famous Graspop Metal Meeting. 150,000 hard core festival fans make their way to Dessel for a weekend of hard rock, punk, metal, and everything else that's loud. The only thing wilder than this four-day festival is the camping. Bring a tent!

Unlike its wilder older sibling (the legendary Rock Werchter Festival), Werchter Boutique is a breath of relaxing fresh air. Only taking place over a single day, this is a festival for connoisseurs who value quality over quantity -- or who simply need a warmup for the massive four-day festival on the horizon.

Couleur Cafe transforms the city of Brussels into an urban world festival with more than 60 concerts and DJ sets over three days. This beautiful Belgian fest recently moved to a lush park with double the camping of the previous venue. From funk to free dance classes to reggae to cocktail bars to dub, this cosmopolitan party is sure to have something that appeals to everyone.

The beautiful people of Belgium gather together on the shores of De Lilse Bergen for a weekend of sun, swimming, and dancing. Spend the afternoon lounging at the lake followed by three straight nights of bumping tunes. There's a lot happening here, so dig your toes into the sand and enjoy the music.

For over 40 years, Belgian festies have descended onto the tiny town of Werchter for this annual 4-day tribute to rock, pop, and everything loud. If there's a headliner you want to see this summer, it's a strong bet they'll be at Rock Werchter which curates one of the best lineups of the summer. The delicious Belgian beer flows like water here, and yes, they do have waffles, along with a massive main stage, two tent stages, and one wild dance arena.

This Paradise City takes you down to the historic setting of Kasteel de Ribaucourt in Belgium for a weekend of underground electronic beats. The venue, a beautiful 15th century castle in the city of Perk, is located just outside Brussels (and right next door to the international airport!).

Les Ardentes, a boutiqe rock and pop festival in Liege, brings in 75,000 festies along the banks of the Meuse River for a long weekend of music. Recently, the festival has been gaining recognition for its strong international hip-hop lineup.

Cactusfestival in Bruges keeps it simple with only a single stage to help fans avoid dreaded schedule conflicts and an intimate experience, only allowing an attendance of 25,000. Focused on rock and alternative music, Cactusfestival has been delivering this intimate vibe since 1982.

Celebrating ten years as one of Belgium's premier electronic festivals, Ostend Beach is set against the coastline with plenty of sandy space for dancing your face off. Nearly 80 acts will compete for your attention over this three day seaside festival.

The multi-genre Dour Festival has been tearing up the Belgian countryside since 1989. It may have started as a single day event with a few thousand folks, but now the five day mega-festival sees 225,000 attendees, and hundreds of artists. The mix of music includes everything from mainstream rock to electronic to pop.

One of the top electronic music festivals in the world, Tomorrowland in Belgium should be on the bucket list of every festie. It's known for epic stage production along with its insane fireworks displays, and is one of the few festivals in Europe so popular that they hold two editions over two consecutive weekends.

Party on the beach! The Belgian flavored We Can Dance Festival takes place on the sands of sunny Zeebrugge Beach with five mind-blowing stages and electronic heavyweight DJs from around the world. There's a different theme each year and festies are encouraged to dress the part, which may change the atmosphere, but the vibe always remains full dance mode.

Do you crave hardstyle? Because you're going that and more at The Quontinent Festival. Epic sound stages combine with heavy beats in this lakeside fest. The Ravers Resort is where you'll rest up with camping options for all styles of festies.

The alternative flavored Pukkelpop is the second largest festival in Belgium boasting crowds of nearly 180,000. Started in 1985 as a simple single day show, Pukkelpop now features hundreds of bands over three days. The fest has changed venues a few times, but currently resides in the tiny village of Hasselt, which is located 45 miles from Brussels. Pukkelpop alumni include Pixies, Björk, The Stone Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Metallica, and The Prodigy. And of course, tradiation Belgian beers can be found everywhere.