The Belgian spin on European showcase festivals, like ESNS and Reeperbahn, Fifty Lab celebrated its 5th year from 13-15 November 2024. Alongside rising Belgian talent, international artists were presented from invited festival curators. These included A Porta Festival, Electric Castle, Reeperbahn, and Left of the Dial. Presented in an easily digestible format across three days, 65 artists performed in various venues in the center of Brussels. Among the top selected acts were Hayes & Y (BG – FI), Lézard (BE), Fervents (BE), The Christian Club (BE), deep tan (UK), JOUBe (FR), Julie Pavon (DK), ENGLBRT (LU), Musspell (RO) and Whoman (BE) – featured image. There were also surprise performances, including a special album preview from Sylvie Kreusch.
Fifty Lab takes over Bourse
Serving as the central hub of the festival, Fifty Lab based its ticketing HQ inside the recently renovated Bourse in the middle of Brussels. In addition to greeting attendees, the building’s ground floor venue hosted several performances. From this location, all venues could be reached with a short walk – creating a sense of community within Fifty Lab. Adding to this is its conscious efforts to cultivate and promote diversity in the music industry.
Breaking through a male dominated industry
Lead by co-founder, Laetitia Van Hove, Fifty Lab maintains a commitment to presenting a balanced lineup, across genders and sexualities.
We strongly believe in the power of a diverse line-up, accessible for everyone. Diversity is not a trend for us, but a basic demand to shape the future of the music industry. We protect the gender balance of the line-up in what we hope will become the industry standard. On top of that we want to give Belgian artists the opportunity to play in front of an audience of international bookers and industry professionals, to expand their fandom across borders.
This was represented not only in the artists showcased, but also in the attendees. Fifty Lab is a place where everyone is truly welcome.
