Feeërieën 2025: unexpected, surprising and border-defying musical encounters 

Feeërieën is AB’s adventurous and free evening festival in Brussels’ Parc Royal, now entering its 21st edition. Two decades on, the festival still holds fast to its mantra of offering musically unexpected and genre-bending evenings – from headliners like Mohammad Syfkhan, to dance performances such as Into The Open (Voetvolk), or the anarcho-punk songs of Crass in an acoustic rendition by Jeffrey Lewis. 

Feeërieën 2025 promises yet another edition filled with striking musical encounters, where the words borderless and boundless are intentionally and artistically blurred. Take De Mannenbroeders, a cross-border collaboration between Zeelandic folk troubadour Broeder Dieleman (NL) and Colin H. van Eeckhout (BE), frontman of Amenra. Oor Magazine called their sound “a Roadburn-esque Elly and Rikkert”. 

The singular trio Merope finds itself at the fictitious border triangle between Belgium, France and Lithuania, featuring guitarist Bert Cools (BE), vocalist Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė (LT), and guest flautist Magic Malik (FR). The Guardian described their music as “a total immersion into a realm of skittering Lithuanian folk forms and spectral voices, where analogue and electronic instruments come together.” 

Nusantara Beat (NL) is the latest flagship from the intriguing Bongo Joe label, uniting members of Altın Gün and Jungle By Night in a deep dive into their Indonesian musical roots. The UK dub label Accidental Meetings brings an exciting collaboration between poet/vocalist James Massiah and sound curator Lord Tusk. 

Other highlights? Irish collective ØXN (IR), linked to Lankum, blends ancient folk with black metal. Dub wunderkind Elijah Minnelli (UK) creates a unique signature sound by fusing calypso and cumbia with reggae and leftfield dub. And Fulu Miziki (CD) builds its instruments from waste – a fitting tribute to their name, which translates from Lingala as “music from garbage”. 

And then there’s Sorvina (DE/US), the New York-born, Berlin-based rapper delivering soulful, jazzy hip-hop backed by an excellent live band. Or M I M I (BE), the Brussels DJ stepping away from her decks for a meditative, shamanic live set. 

With the support of the Brussels-Capital Region, the City of Brussels, Sabam For Culture, Liveurope and Bolt.