Europe Day 2016: Puggy and the best of new European talent rocked AB

In order to highlight the achievements of the cooperation within the Liveurope platform and to showcase the best of European diversity, AB organised the second edition of the Europe Day celebrations on May 10th. Follow the links below to watch the videos of this unique night.

This year’s selection consisted of an exclusive interview with Brussels favorite Puggy, followed by shows of three exciting rock’n’roll newcomers from Portugal, the Netherlands and France. 

Puggy members Matthew, Ziggy and Romain first discussed the true European success story behind the band with radio host Lies Steppe, in front of a packed ABclub.

“We come from three different European countries, but the band was born in Brussels, and we consider ourselves to be Bruxellois”, Matthew (guitar and vocals) said.

Romain (bass) added: “We adapted to English quite fast as a working language within the band. Only when Ziggy gets really angry, he yells in Swedish because it sounds so much better!”

“The European idea was an economic and a peace experiment at first. Arts and culture can help preserve that today. We say to European officials: go to shows, got to places where music is played”, Matthew concluded.

Watch the full Puggy Q&A:

Jonathan Hill, speechwriter for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, followed Puggy on stage and played the role master of ceremony at AB for the night.

“I want to thank Ancienne Belgique for this event. The European Commission is very lucky to work with the best venue in the world”, said M. Hill

He continued: “Europe is culture. Europe is not only markets, or a currency. Europe is a way of life”. 

“A project like Liveurope is fantastic, giving young artists a chance to find new audiences. We’re proud to support this initiative”, he added.

Watch his full keynote: 

Travelling all the way from Portugal, Memória de Peixe then took the stage with a full demonstration of their talent, delivering a minimal set of just a guitar and drums.

Watch their set below:

Dutch neighbors Indian Askin played next, nearly blowing off the roof with their exploding live energy.

Check the Dutch band’s gig:

Ending the evening with a bang, one of the promising French bands around, Last Train, took the audience through a full set of awe-inspiring stoner rock. 

“We want to thank Liveurope and Ancienne Belgique for this amazing night”, said Jean-Noël Scherrer (guitar and vocals) before ending the set with crowd-pleaser “Fire”. “And of course thank you all in the crowd for coming tonight!” 

In cooperation with: