The first rays of spring are upon us, which sets into gear the high anticipation mode for the coming festival season. One of the staples of the musical year is of course my beloved Brakrock. Check out my 2023 ode that spells out my deep-rooted love for this festival.
A twinge of sadness creeps into my soul as this year, due to it falling a week later than usual years, I will unfortunately miss the Friday folly of punks in action. That day marks the culmination of a touralong that started in 2024, as Hope Erodes will set off their signature mayhem at Alcatraz. My journalistic yearning for a great story arc renders this performance an unmissable part in my fated web of purple musical threads to follow.
Sidenote: The only band able to sway me from this heartbreaking choice, would be The Vandals. Although seeing their current tour schedule, it doesn’t seem likely this wish will be granted. Yes, this means that I will even begrudgingly miss Less Than Jake, the authors of one of my favourite personal theme songs, as seen below. Fortunately, this series will have me revisit their (at least to me) legendary passing in the 2024 edition.
Be that as it may, even one day on the beautiful grounds of Duffel’s ruins, is better than a lot of festivals combined. I will be planning my schedule meticulously, so I can wring the most of the one Brakrock day that is granted to me by my musical overlords. My list will definitely include The Cancer Bats that were a absolute highlight of 2024, as you can discover in one of the two blogs on that edition that actually got written down. The other top spot is reserved for Good Riddance, who left me (literally) battered and bruised but smiling like a kid at a candy store in 2023.
Several other names have also piqued my interest, but the full battle plan for August 8th will be plotted once the time tables are set. So, lots to look forward to and in the meantime, I still have ample time to reflect on not one but two of the previous editions. Last year around this time, writer’s block struck me with a shattering blow. (As many artists and bands who’re still awaiting the write up of my experience with them can attest to.) Hence, most of my tale of the 2024 edition is still constricted to the confines of the notebook that holds the impressions I jotted down. (Aside from the last part in my Clyde McGee and Lightnin’ Luke touralong searies where they perform as Bridge City Sinners & the blog mentioned above.)
Some of those notes, as always, are near indecipherable since they’ve been written swaying shoulder to shoulder with the raging masses in front of the stage. Others may be a little more legible, when I decided to jot some stuff down while chilling by the pond.
Nevertheless the few words I will be able to make out will undoubtedly trigger a flood of happy memories of music, atmosphere and the purple people I encountered there. So this year, I start my writing early to bring you a two-for-one special. A look back to my highlights of both the 2024 and 2025 editions.
With this, I leave you in suspense, awaiting the next part. Spoiler alert: In honour of their appearance on Friday (and my wallowing in the melancholy of not seeing them this time around), I will tell you all about Less than Jake and the great Mad Caddies in part 2 of my two-for-one ode: The Legends of Ska at Brakrock 2024.
Brakrock – Kasteel ter Elst – Duffel – August 7th & 8th 2026
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