Last friday I witnessed one of the most amazing concerts of the year, one of the Night Of The Proms concerts at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp.

Every year, the organisation tries to find a selection of artists who are able to entertain a sold out arena.  I have to say…  this year they did more than succeed… they truly outperformed!

The line-up of this year was:

• Div4s: 4 beautiful Italian sopranos, who had all a classical formation and performed already a few times with Andrea Bocelli
• Il Novecento: for those who know the Night Of The Proms, the all time classic for the symphonic orchestra, led by Robert Groslot
• Fine Fleur: the choir who manage to deal with pop and classic songs as no-one else can
• John Miles: every year he performs with an all-time pop classic at the Night Of The Proms
• Mick Hucknall: also known as the man with the voice of Simply Red.  In 2010 Simply Red stopped existing as a band and now Mick is going on his own musical journey
• Angie Stone: One of THE soul-voices of the last decade, known all around the world for the world-hit “Wish I didn’t miss you” and many other great songs
• Seal: Like Angie, this man needs no introduction.  Everybody knows “Amazing”, “Crazy”, “Killer”,…etc.  The man who nows how the get the crowd moving!

Yesterday Axelle Red had a concert for her new album “Un coeur comme le mien” at the beautiful Cirque Royale.  The scenery completely matched the wonderful tones of Axelle and her band.  The atmosphere was immediately set with the first tones of “La claque”… Axelle surprised again with a perfectly balanced set, well supported by her band.  The great bass-sounds gave the songs a warm and relaxing sound… She did it again: the new Axelle.

Last friday I witnessed a great performance of the belgian singer-songwriter Eva De Roovere @ De Kuub in Turnhout.  There were a lot of fans who wanted to get the chance to get a glimpse of the songs of her easy-listening album “Mijn huis”.  It was not just a glimpse…the fans got spoiled by a well-made setlist and a very good performance of Eva and the band.

Hope you can get a bit of the atmosphere of the concert with the pictures I made…

Thursday April 28, Admiral Freebie was performing solo at the Bourla theatre in Antwerp.  It was a very intimate and pleasing concert.  Sometimes it was so quiet and easy-going the the “clack” of my D3′s shutter was embarassing me in front of the audience… I decided to keep quiet and wait for the louder parts of the concert to take my pics

After all it was a nice experience to see the Admiral doing his thing all by himself in such a nice surrounding!

Yesterday the stage at Trix music centre (Antwerp) was reserved to Gabriël Rios and Jef Neve (on piano and keyboard).

Before the were to start their set, Sherman, a promising Belgian artist, had the chance to warm up the public for the main artists.  He had the chance…  and he succeeded, big time!

At 21.00h the audience was there for the main act and they did what they were expected to… Gabriël and Jef took the audience on a journey through the best of their work and the people loved it!

Another great experience in a nice and very cosy music hall in Antwerp.  I’d love to come back!

Today the press-release of the concert “Forest & Friends” of 3 & 4 June 2011 was held. This concert will be a celebration of 40 years of Vorst Nationaal.

A very nice line-up of belgian artists (among others: Hooverphonic, The Scabs, Tom Dice, Tom Helsen, Kate Ryan,….) will bring a homage to greatest artists who ever performed at Vorst Nationaal.

A small preview was given today by Tom Dice and The Tellers, who both brought two songs.  More info on the concert and some very amusing anecdotes were given by Paul Ambach (Boogie Boy) and Franky De Smet – Van Damme (Channel Zero), who brought an impressing series of tickets of the concerts he visited at Vorst Nationaal.

To give you an impression of the release, you can find a small picture-review of this afternoon.

More info on this very promising concert can be found on the site of Vorst Nationaal

Yesterday I was witness of a great performance by Jamiroquai at Vorst Nationaal, Brussels.  Jay Kay and his band stood up and entertained the public in a great setting with a fantastic light show!

A joy for every photographer!

Materiaal nagekeken, alles netjes ingepakt en vol goeie moed richting Vorst!

Daar aangekomen liep alles goed, 21u afspraak aan de inkom voor de richtlijnen van ‘t management… no probs!

Eindelijk zover… we mochten naar ons plaatsje! Toen was het enthousiasme al iets minder, gezien we ergens helemaal achteraan aan de rechterkant van het podium mochten plaats nemen… maar geen probleem… op alles voorbereid en dan maken we’r gewoon het beste van…

Zoals steeds… 3 song policy… dus zorgen dat je de goeie shots op het goeie moment maakt!

Makkelijk was anders… weinig licht, ver van het podium én een superactieve Seal die volop in zijn show opging! een afgeladen Vorst vroeg ook niets anders dan dat. Duizenden fans die opgingen in de noten van zijn muziek. Vanaf het eerste nummer zat de sfeer er perfect in, dus dat kon niet meer stuk!

Voor de foto’s was het een klein beetje moeilijker, maar goed… voor mij was het een geslaagde avond… goeie muziek en een reeks geslaagde shots!

Hierbij een klein overzichtje…. enjoy!