Looking for fertile grounds
As a city of music, Ghent has rich fertile ground. To ensure that this remains the case, this spring we are supporting Troika vzw in their mission to sharpen curious ears with adventurous music.
Their spring program at the Arca Theater in Ghent
2 MAR'26 Eric Thielemans-Chris Joris-Bert Cools trio
6 APR '26 Henrik Norstebø solo + Norberto Lobo-João Lobo duo
4 MAY '26 Heidi Kvelvane-Tollef Østvang-Nils Vermeulen trio
1 JUN '26 Ghazal Faghihi solo + John Dikeman-Nicolas Field duo
Their manifesto
Since 2009, Ghent has proudly held the title of UNESCO Creative City of Music, a recognition of its vibrant and diverse music scene. This title refers to a city where music has long been carried by the boundless enthusiasm of musicians and students, where live music could be heard almost daily through self-organized jams and concerts. Artistic ideas were given the space to emerge, take shape along the way, and be presented to an audience at every stage. The work process was shared, creating not only depth, but also a tangible, living body.
Increasing professionalization and the tendency to show mainly finished, polished works have inevitably reshaped the landscape. A superficial layer emerged: as long as the exterior is convincing, there seems to be less need for body, depth, or tangibility. It is enough for something to look rough without actually being so. A rendering of a fictional building, placed above a photo of the real one.
Yet there is also an invitation in this: to search anew for what really brings music—and, by extension, a city—to life. Not the appearance of friction, but allowing it to happen. Not the simulation of adventure, but real risk, spontaneity, and the unknown.
Quietly, part of that fertile ground—let's call it the “underground”—where naivety, small scale, and DIY initiatives were the norm, disappeared. But at the same time, it became clear how essential that breeding ground is for a sustainable future. More and more players are recognizing this importance and rolling up their sleeves once again. Ha Concerts is one example of this, actively providing space and support to projects that arise from that foundation.
One such initiative is Troika, a collective of musicians that creates space for adventurous music. Within Troika, fixed genres are abandoned and music is approached as a continuous process of becoming. Each musical experience forms its own world, inextricably linked to place, moment, listener, and social context.
That is why the focus is not on the end result, but on the content and potential of musical transmission. What space does it require? What can it say or question? How can it deepen the listening experience? Based on these questions, Troika builds concerts, conversations, projects, and albums—and thus a living, breathing music scene in which experimentation, attention, and encounter are once again central.
