Thursday

On Thursday 24th the festival kicks off with ‘Kortemark Congé’, a free event. For your pleasure we’re starting extra early this year. On Thursday from 1pm onwards, Cease & Sekkle’s Groove Street HiFi will be playing a home game at the festival campsite. A smooth warm-up to prepare those muscles and dancing feet as the evening promises to be hot with concerts by Giant Tree, Mystère and Atomic Spliff. DJs on duty are DJ Desperado and FLPSTR, who will be blessing the festival ground with his mobile 12V sound system.

Friday

On Friday, our focus turns to traditional Jamaican Sound System culture. The campsite will be woken up by Redemption Soundsystem and Mycelic Records. Later on, East End Rock and Skylarkin’ will guide us through the Jamaican music history with their ‘Jamaican History Night’, a set exclusively prepared for Irie Vibes.

Meanwhile, dub lovers will get their money’s worth in our festival tent, also known as the Lion’s Den. Satta Soundsystem will stack its speakers and invite Irie Vibes bredren Dub-Up HiFi. After this friendly meeting, Satta hands over the controls of his sound system to none other than living legend Aba Shanti-I, who will bless us with a 5 hours (FIVE HOURS!) session, digging up the best tunes from his record crates. Big tings a gwaan!

Saturday

On Saturday Irie Vibes continues with live concerts at the Lion’s Den and sound system pressure at the Inner Lion stage. A nice mix of local and international artists, young talent and established names.

What about the mighty Echo Minott & The Hot Peppers? An established name in reggae history with
a career spanning over 45 years. Make way for major hits such as ‘Man In Love’, ‘Lazy Body’, ‘What The Hell’ and ‘Murder Weapon’. Last year he thrilled us with his latest album ‘Mango Tree Showcase’, a collaboration with Dub Shepherds. The Hot Peppers are Dub Shepherd’s rhythm section, expanded with top-class musicians.

Irie Vibes is very proud to be able to offer you Abakush. This predominantly female band had its heyday in the ’90s, but recently returned to the forefront after their hit ‘Rackattack’ became a Tik Tok anthem and dance challenge. Their last concert in Belgium dates back to 1999, when they completely overwhelmed the Reggae Geel crowd.

From Lille we welcome The Liquidators, who bring a mix of ska, rocksteady and early reggae. The live shows start off with Phillidub who recently won our Irie Vibes Roots Rally 2025 contest held at the 4AD Club in Diksmuide.

In between live concerts our Inner Lion Stage continues to pay tribute to sound system culture with sessions by Giraffe Soundsystem, celebrating their 20th anniversary. Giraffe stand for a strictly vinyl selection with a positive and militant message through the music. On their sound system they host Leuven’s Rejoice, who will play a “Label and Studio Showcase”; and South London’s Finest Wassie One, crowned Sound System Champion this year.

For the closing of the festival we will return to the Lion’s Den, where French Power Dread Sound System will play a fine selection of rootsreggae.

More than music alone

Irie Vibes is more than a music festival. For the little ones there is the children’s village, shopaholics will enjoy our festival market and foodies can dig into a wide range of healthy dishes from all over the world. You’ll find plenty of additional entertainment spread across the site, including by Dubmaster T. Ecology, honesty, respect and tolerance are highly valued, as is local involvement.

In short

• Kortemark Congé (free) takes place on Thursday 24th July from 6pm to 1am.
• Irie Vibes Roots Festival: Friday 25th July from 5pm to 4am and Saturday 26th July from noon to 4am.
• Our campsite is open from Thursday 1pm to Sunday 11am.
• Location: Koekelarestraat, Kortemark, Belgium.
• All info and tickets can be found at www.irievibes.be