Music festival Couleur Cafe

It has been a long time since Couleur Café piled up its souks, restaurants, and musicians in the covered market of Schaerbeek, in Brussels, that now became a European cultural centre. In 1990, first edition of Couleur Café, the idea was to have a multiculturated, multiraced and friendly festival. Something that would not be big and gloomy. Something like the multicoloured social fabric of Brussels. The program back then was mainly with African and Afro-Cuban music. First success with 5,300 visitors.

Couleur Café already had the perfect ingredients: souks, decoration, restaurants, craftsmen, fanfares… Even if it was way more modest of course. With the success, the festival became bigger, moved, took on new music and became interested in urban music. Couleur Café wants the program to be eclectic, welcomes discoveries and Belgian music, even if its black roots are still as important. Over the years, the festive side of the festival and the multidisciplinary dimension were strengthened, with for example the Cool Art Café exhibition (with fine art) and the increase of extra-musical activities: dance lessons, free style demonstration, NGO’s invitation in the Solidarity Village…

Since 2017 the festival is hosted in the gorgeous park next to the Atomium, Couleur Café is not only a world music festival anymore but a festival with all urban music. With more than 50 concerts in three days, Couleur Café offers three stages with lots of different music: r&b, hiphop, funk, afro, jazz reggae, raga, reggaeton, dub, dancehall, latin and salsa. There is also a stage pumping warm electronic beats with that same desire of melting-pot.

Although Couleur Café gathers more than 70,000 visitors, including 5,000 campers, it keeps a human face. It is managed self-sufficiently by Zig Zag, a nonprofit organization. The festival became a must-see Belgian musical event that still encourages the fun and friendliness 32 years after its creation.