Starting mid-September, after the holidays and some restoration work, Sounds will be back in full swing with its Sounds Jazz Club program. For its fortieth season, it will offer Ixelles the best of jazz.

This time, the programming will be more collective, under the direction of artistic director John De Martino, who brings a fresh Italian perspective. Wednesdays will be dedicated to innovative experiments, jazz jams will move to Thursdays, and there will be jazz concerts on Fridays.

Alongside this jazz program, we will continue the Sounds Resist program of world music and committed music, initiated three years ago, with its jams or micro-openings on Tuesdays, and concerts on Saturdays and Sundays. Sounds Resist is also committed to promoting the participation of female performers and collectives.

You may have noticed in recent months that the wildest rumors have circulated about Sounds: “Sounds is going to disappear…”, “Jazz is over at Sounds…”, “The building owners are kicking Sounds out”, etc… We regret that these rumors have been spread on social media, which constitutes nothing less than unfair commercial practices. Indeed, if the Collectif Buen Vivir took over Sounds in 2021, it was to relaunch and perpetuate it. To do this, we have received the support of both the old and new owners of the building, who, as responsible investors, are lending us the building for at least the next 15 years, without receiving any income and without benefiting from any tax advantages, contrary to what has been claimed. We thank them warmly.

We had made a deal with the ASBL Sounds Live by giving it the profits from the bar during concerts in addition to programming freedom, but this association was unable to take advantage of this arrangement by managing it well and taking its financial responsibilities seriously. So, after a long mediation, we agreed that after 3 years of working together – which is not so bad – our paths would diverge so as not to further burden the finances of the ASBL Sounds-Resist. Our association also had to bear alone the significant costs of bringing the site up to standard and restoring it.

We confirm here our desire to keep the Sounds scene alive for many years as a space for quality live music, in addition to the Manolis room and the Espace Buen Vivir.

Since Brussels has lost so many live music venues, saving and perpetuating Sounds will be possible above all thanks to your help – by attending concerts in large numbers – and thanks to the support of jazz and world music musicians.

Long live live music at Sounds!