Pukkelpop cancels indie festival Hear Hear

Pukkelpop has announced that its one-day festival for fans of indie and alternative music will not return in 2023.

Hear Hear! was launched in August 2022, drawing 15,000 fans to Hasselt, Belgium, for performances from the likes of Editors, Pixies, Liam Gallagher, Future Islands, Wolf Alice and Anna Calvi.

At the time of the announcement, Pukkelpop organisers said rock and indie had “faded into the background” at the marquee Belgian festival and that Hear Hear would give those genres “a little more attention”.

A recent statement from the organisers says: “Hear Hear! was very positively received by the festival-goers present, as evidenced by the numerous reactions we received during and after the festival.

“As an organisation, we have to dare to make choices”

“Unfortunately, in these times, that is not always enough and as an organisation, we have to dare to make choices. In 2023 we are fully committed to a rock-solid Pukkelpop edition and Hear Hear! will stay in the fridge for a while. Next year we will gladly revisit this.”

In the past, Pukkelpop has tried several times to start an extra festival in addition to its flagship event.

Previous events run by Pukkelpop include Polsslag, Rimpelrock and the Summer Swing family festival.

Since 2018, Pukkelpop has also been organising techno and house festival Garnizoen.

Pukkelpop (cap. 66,000) will return this year between 17–20 August, with the line-up yet to be announced.

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Pukkelpop launches new festival for indie lovers

Pukkelpop, one of Belgium’s marquee festivals, has planned a new one-day event for fans of indie and alternative music.

Hear Hear! festival will take place in the Kiewit festival arena in Hasselt, Belgium, on Sunday 14 August.

Editors, Pixies, Liam Gallagher, Future Islands, Wolf Alice and Anna Calvi are among the acts booked for the inaugural event.

“Pukkelpop focuses on what is going on among young people, and in recent years that has mainly been hip-hop,” says spokesperson, Frederik Luyten. “As a result, rock and indie have faded into the background. We’ve been thinking about giving those genres a little more attention for a few years now. Now is the perfect time for that, especially because you see young bands reviving the guitar.”

Squid, Porridge Radio, Balthazar, Battles and Bill Nomates are also due to perform on one of the festival’s four stages.

“We’ve been thinking about giving those genres a little more attention for a few years now”

Hear Hear! is scheduled for the week before Pukkelpop, which also takes place in the Kiewit festival arena.

The 66,000-cap. flagship festival is due to take place for the first time in two years due to pandemic-related cancellations.

Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon are slated to perform across the four-day event, running between 18–21 August.