What’s on 29 May-4 Jun 2025
⭐ This Week's Top Picks
Throwing Muses. American alt-rock icons Throwing Muses perform in Bruges in their first return to Europe since 2011. If punk is your jam, snap up your tickets for Aussie and local Bruges bands, CLAMM and KLUTTER.
Between Two Lights. A Belgian premiere of this moving choral music and physical listening experience illuminating mystical texts —a journey to the edge of existence and back.
Meifoor (May fair). Enjoy the last week of the annual May fair, a buzzing centre of fairground attractions.
🎨 🎻 🧺 Art, Music & Markets
Between Two Lights. “What lies between the end of one life and the beginning of another? Is there a space in between—a moment when we are no longer who we were, yet not yet who we are becoming?
Between Two Lights is neither a traditional narrative musical nor a classical concert. It is a physical listening experience—a journey to the edge of existence and back. In crafting this composition, Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo drew inspiration from the Heart Sutra, a Buddhist text in which emptiness and form intertwine. This is no abstract mysticism, but a meditation on the moment that affects us all: the fleeting interval between what we leave behind and what lies ahead.
During the pandemic, Huang Ruo experienced the profound loss of his mother. He returned to his home village and participated in a traditional mourning ritual lasting seven days, followed by six weeks of bardo—a time of transition, silence, and search. From this personal grief, the first notes of Between Two Lights were born. The piece consists of musical mantras—patterns that do more than sound; they become physically tangible. Sound, in this piece, carries rhythm, breath, and memory. Sixteen singers from the Netherlands Chamber Choir, performer Grace Ellen Barkey, and Huang Ruo himself move through the space, their voices and bodies resonating and amplified by silence. Voice transforms into movement.
Under the direction of Aïda Gabriëls and Tido Visser, the audience is not merely a spectator, but an active participant. The experience does not lead to answers but to an encounter. We journey from the personal to the universal, exploring what that means for each of us, in the here and now.
Do we dare to face the moment when everything falls silent? To look into the unknown, the emptiness? To recognize what binds us all, yet is seldom spoken of?
Note: Sensitive content: mention of death, performance for ages 14+. Tickets: €14,50-€29. 30 May, 20:00. Concertgebouw, ‘t Zand 34. https://www.concertgebouw.be/en/between-two-lights-1
Monster Hit. Liesa Naert is the resident artist this season at the Bruges Cultural Centre. “The monster you never, ever want to encounter. What does that look like? … Inspired by her children's monster drawings, resident artist Liesa Naert is organizing an exhibition in our Biekorf exhibition space. In the theme "Praise of Playfulness" she is investigating, together with the people of Bruges, how impactful the imagination can be and she also wants to immerse adults in that world.” Until 20 Jun. FREE. Exporuimte Biekorf - Sint-Jakobsstraat 8.
https://www.ccbrugge.be/agenda/4370//monsterhit
Weekly markets. Due to the annual May fair, a buzzing centre of fairground attractions on ‘t Zand, Saturday markets this week, and the market on Wednesday will both be on the Grote Markt/Burg.
🎬 🎭 Stage, Screen, and Scene
Cinema. Cinema Lumière (Sint-Jakobsstraat 36) will be showing a variety of films over the next week. These include The Phoenician Scheme, Good One, The Surfer, Lilo & Stitch, and The Last Showgirl. Ticket prices are up to €12, with a family film option before 16:30 costing €9. Visit the cinema’s website for films, timings and bookings: https://lumiere-brugge.be/agenda-lumiere-brugge/
Kinepolis (Koning Albert l-laan 200) will offer films and showings over the coming week including Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning, The Amateur, A Minecraft Movie, Ballerina, and Pride & Prejudice. A standard ticket costs €14,10. Visit https://kinepolis.be/nl/nl/movies/overview/ for more information and bookings.
⚽ Game On: Sports & Recreation
Cycling: Pedalling against cancer. “Pedalling against cancer together with thousands of soulmates. That's the 1000 km for Fight Against Cancer! On Sunday 1 June, the cyclists of the 1000 km will also come and leave for the afternoon city of Bruges. And not only them, because you are more than welcome as a supporter too. So be sure to drop by to cheer on the cyclists. And enjoy the music, experience and atmosphere yourself.” 1 Jun, 11:00-15:00. Sportcentrum Daverlo, Dries 2, 8310 Brugge.
https://www.komoptegenkanker.be/de-1000km/trap-mee-tegen-kanker
https://www.komoptegenkanker.be/de-1000km/programma-middagstad-brugge
Football fans visiting Bruges can watch the city’s two world famous clubs, Brugge KSV (“Club Brugge”) and Cercle Brugge KSV (“Cercle Brugge”) play during the season at the city’s Jan Breydel stadium (Koning Leopold III-laan 50). Watch this space when the next football season gets underway!
🍻🎶 Bruges After Dark: Nightlife
Throwing Muses. “American alt-rock icons Throwing Muses are widely regarded as one of the best college rock bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Formed by Kristin Hersh and her high school friends, the band released 'University' (1995), a landmark album that charted and built a devoted fanbase that has followed Hersh for decades. Founding member Tanya Donelly left after the band’s early years to join The Breeders and start her own project, Belly, but always maintained a close relationship with the group.
After signing to a major label, Hersh quickly realized she had no interest in the corporate world or the greed of the music industry. She used her first solo album, 'Hips and Makers', as a bargaining chip for complete artistic freedom. Throwing Muses later signed with independent label Fire Records, releasing a string of albums throughout the 2000s that stand shoulder to shoulder with their early classics.
With Kristin Hersh’s idiosyncratic vocals, raw, emotive guitar work, and dynamic songwriting, Throwing Muses remains a powerhouse of the alt-rock era - one that still holds its own against successive generations of guitar-driven music. Hersh’s uncompromising independence kept the band just outside the mainstream, granting them a cult status and artistic freedom that remains rare in today’s music industry.
For the first time since 2011, Throwing Muses return to Europe—now a trio led by Kristin Hersh. The Moonlight Concessions Tour will be accompanied by a new single and serves as a retrospective of 40 years of American rock history.”
30 May, 19:30. Tickets: €12-31. Cactus Muziekcentrum, Bargeweg 10.
https://www.cactusmusic.be/EN/Concerts/Calendar/throwing-muses
CLAMM + KLUTTER. “Barking wildly, the young dogs of CLAMM join the pack of punk, psych and garage rock bands that are making waves Down Under. The trio, consisting of Jack Summers, Miles Harding and Stella Rennex, has been active since 2020 and operates from Melbourne. CLAMM ’s music explores the challenges of being young in an increasingly strange world. Political themes of oppression and entrenched power systems are combined with themes of community, creativity and personal stories of mental wellbeing. All of this is done with the volume turned up to eleven and the gas pedal to the floor, because CLAMM is raw, fast and urgent . Their energy is reminiscent of compatriots like Civic, The Chats and Amyl & The Sniffers. Their debut album ' Beseech Me' ( 2020) was immediately well received in local punk circles and also found an audience outside Australia, partly thanks to the British label Meat Machine ( Crack Cloud, Nov3l…). With their second album 'Care' ( 2022) and the EP 'Disembodiment' (2024), the band also received international media attention. BBC6, NME, DIY Mag and Paste now tip CLAMM as a band to keep an eye on. In 2025 CLAMM will release their third album 'Serieus Acts', exploring new musical paths without losing sight of their raw and powerful punk identity. Album presentation in Cactus Café!”
KLUTTER. “Bruges' KLUTTER is the project of Arthur Langbeen, guitarist of Barno Koevoet & The Duijmschpijkers. The five-piece band serves an energetic and exciting mix of postpunk, new wave and hardcore punk. KLUTTER debuted earlier this year with their 'Personal Sense of Self' EP, which was picked up by the underground YouTube channel Tegoslucham, which also put Being Dead, Prison Affair and Taqbir on the radar. With sharp guitars, pounding bass lines and driving rhythms, KLUTTER creates an unrelenting live show. Step into the madness!” Tickets: €14-20. 3 Jun, 19:30. Cactus Café, Bargeweg 10.
https://www.cactusmusic.be/EN/Concerts/Calendar/clamm
These performances are part of the “Breaking Waves” series at Cactus Music:
https://www.cactusmusic.be/NL/Concerten/Reeksen/Breaking-Waves
🌈 Family Fun: Events & Adventures
Meifoor (May fair). “Meifoor Brugge is a folk festival that dates back as far as the year 1200. Indeed, in that year an International Annual Fair was organised in Bruges for the first time. Meifoor Brugge takes place in the city centre. As a result, a considerable part of the historic city centre is dedicated to carnivals for weeks.” There are reductions available for several attractions: https://fori.be/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/bonnenMeifoor2025.pdf
Until 1 Jun. ‘t Zand. https://www.brugsemeifoor.be/home/
Atelier Matinée, Concertgebouw (Concert hall). The entrance hall of the Concertgebouw transforms into a play, craft, and discovery zone on (almost) every Sunday morning. FREE, next on 1 Jun, 09:30. https://www.concertgebouw.be/nl/atelier-matinee-en-workshops
Concertgebouw tours. The concert hall offers tours of its architecture and (sound) art exhibition. https://www.concertgebouw.be/nl/concertgebouw-circuit Guided tours are available on some days, including on 31 May. Tickets: €6-12, FREE for children under 6. Concertgebouw ('t Zand 34.) https://ticketshop.ticketmatic.com/concertgebouw/shop
🌤️🌧️ Weather
The forecast on most days this week is cloudy with some rain and sunny spells. Daytime temperatures are expected to be between 16°C-21°C.
Find latest forecasts covering Bruges at: https://www.meteo.be/en/belgium