Starting as consultant at Kick
It feels like coming home, and I’m very excited to take on this new challenge.
Summer of Kicks !
Working the summer season again for KICK APS - a company I've been connected with for over 20 years - working mostly as stagemanager for festivals like Gent Jazz, Summer Festival, Tomorrowland, Reggae Geel and Jazz Middelheim … and doing backline production again for the ever awesome Pukkelpop festival as well.
Reggae Geel 2014
This is a great Reggae festival in Belgium , one that I’ve worked for many times as a backline tech . After a few years of absence due to my busy touring agenda with Roger Hodgson , I’m now returning to Reggae Geel in the function of stage manager . JAH , Rastafari and Kingston Jamaican vibes for 2 days !!!
Dour festival 2014
This year I’ll have time again to work for Kick (artistical and productional solutions) , Belgium’s biggest backline company and still my first love . My first big festival will be the notorious Dour festival : 4 days , 7 stages , hundreds of bands ... it’s a big challenge to provide all artists with their requested gear . I’ll be going with 3 trailers loaded with backline and a 12 man crew . It’s gonna be 4 long and heavy days , but it’ll also feel a bit like a survival weekend in the rock&roll jungle , which has a certain charm to it ... :-)
Pukkelpop , Belgium
UPDATE : As you probably found out , what was supposed to be a great way to end the summer turned into a nightmare when a freakstorm hit the festival site on day one and killed 5 people , injured many more and pretty much destroyed half of the festival infrastructure . Me & my collegues are all allright , but my heart goes out to those wo were not so lucky .
Reggae Geel , Belgium
Tomorrowland 2011 : stage manager on Mainstage
Being a stagemanager at Belgium's largest dance festival Tomorrowland can take you to strange places . This year , the mainstage is decorated in true Alice in Wonderland style . Artists such as Faithless , Tiesto , 2ManyDJ's , David Guetta , Martin Solveig , Steve Aoki , etc will perform in the middle of this fairy landscape , complete with colorful fountains , fireworks & dancing elves ..... Technically this is a no brainer job , but it's a damn challenge to keep all those mad party people off my stage ..... what can I say ? ...... life is full of surprises .... :-) ....
Kick : working the festival season
As I help a lot of international touring artist with their backline , It's a great way to stay in touch with what's happening , get to learn a few new things , and stay in touch with all my Belgian techy friends as well .
Osschotse Feesten , Aarschot (B)
Pukkelpop , Belgium
Tomorrowland (Belgium)
Check out this video of Moby’s grand finale with fireworks and apocalyptic lighting
Gent Jazz Festival ( Belgium)
Rock Werchter (Belgium)
We’ve stacked our trailer with a variety of the most common vintage and modern instruments , spare parts and useful bits and bops .
The weather is great , and we’re waiting for things to happen .... I love it !
Couleur Café Festival (Brussels)
Afro Latino Festival in Bree (B)
We’re here with 2 trucks of backline and 3 backline crew working in a very pleasant atmosphere and good conditions , allthough after 3 days full time exposure to this type of music I’m beginning to long for some good old fashioned rock&roll ... :-) ....
Pukkelpop , Belgium
Reggae Sundance , Holland
Mind you : it’s hard work ! We provide backline for every single band that plays there (Jamaican bands seem to travel without backline as a rule) . Especially the keyboard demands can be pretty extravagant , and with 10 bands a day you’re busy from the early morn until ..... JAH , RASTAFARI !!!
Gent Jazz , Belgium
Rock Werchter , Belgium
Graspop Metal Meeting , Belgium
Afro Latino , Belgium
I’ll get the change to see Shaggy’s MD again , with whom I worked previously on the NOTP tour and the Natalia concerts .