That’s right. We decided it is about time to come home and embrace the forest, the fresh air, the camping site, the food square, the merch tent and most of all the good vibes we created there together. Let’s make Zottegem the post-rock capital of the world again for at least one weekend a year. To be able to do that we need you to be there! We will invite some bands too, cook some nice meals, bring a few dunk!beers and we’ll just have a great time. Tickets are going live on September 5th!

Our plan is to pick up from where we left back in 2019 but we’ll have to make some small changes to improve the logistical side of things and offer an even better experience. The idea will be one Main Stage and of course the Forest Stage. We’ll have the food square with more options than ever before and a dedicated merch area again.

This sounds great right? But why did we ever decide to leave then?

The whole Covid situation kicked us out of the routine of setting up this festival year after year and it made us question the concept and shape of this event. We moved it to this outdoor area in 2014 and we believe it improved the experience. So maybe there was a way to move and improve again. We reached out to viernulvier in Ghent to see if there were any options over there and they welcomed us with open arms. We were delighted to have such an amazing building with so many wonderful stages to our availability. We didn’t need to build anything. It was all there. And it all came with a professional crew on top of our experienced team. So this left us more time to focus on the music and the lineup.

Ok, so why are you going back now?

The dunk!magic remained in the forest. We underestimated the impact of the location, the outdoors, the food stands, the central square to meet new and old friends. The people arriving early while we were still setting up the festival… In recent years we had people visiting the forest before they went to the festival in Ghent. That made us realize that this forest, where now a fourth generation of our family is growing up, is actually not so ordinary.

It is the center of a worldwide community, at least for one weekend a year. We were wrong to think we could move this all again. It’s all connected to each other: the mindblowing performances, the location and the community.

So yes, we’re heading back to the forest! We are very excited about this and we hope to see all of you there next May. Tickets are going on sale in just two weeks!

Video credits: forest footage by Artuur Bruwier, live footage by Guillian Maertens and Evi Vanderheeren

Moving back to the forest

This sounds great right? But why did we ever decide to leave then?

Ok, so why are you going back now?

Thank you!