Eupen Musik Marathon

Early Saturday evening my buddy Wiebke, a friend of hers and I hopped in the Volvo and drove over to Belgium. Only 15 kilometers from Aachen's doorstep is the endearing Belgian town of Eupen, home to less than 19,000 people and the Eupen Musik Marathon, which was our point of interest this weekend.

Singing along to our (new) favorite bands.

The festival always takes place during a weekend in May and has been an Eupen tradition since 1992. Not only is Aachen's vicinity to Belgium pretty convenient for it, but the whole event is free admission. Juhu! And to add to it all, the music is top notch. There was a wide variety of music ensembles playing there this weekend. I mean, at one point we were swaying back and forth while an Adele cover band belted out Skyfall. Then a few minutes later we're getting down to French rappers dressed like pilots. And later on the same stage we watched some sort of light show as this electronica band worked their DJ boards.

Looking like Pan Am but sounding like Belgium.

One of my favorite bands was indeed the pilot-clad French-speaking rappers, better known as Old Jazzy Beat Mastazz. The pianist could sing al a Bob Marley and there was a dash of classic jazz for good measure. They're a group from Belgium who have great personality. Not only did they do backflips on stage, they even invited this five-year-old kid in the audience wearing lederhosen on stage to dance along. Click here to see a clip of their performance Saturday.

Who's who at the Eupen Musik Marathon.

Speaking of audience members, there was a very diverse group of people at the festival. Plenty of Eupeners were in attendance alongside all the Germans. The age range was everything from toddlers wearing giant, noise canceling headphones to a man who I swear was Albert Einstein. Yes, that means he looked 135-years-old. Both seemed to be having a rocking time, though. The toddler kept running away from her parents laughing and squealing while Albert was getting jiggy wit' it to the Old Jazzy Beat Mastazz. 

What's better than an electro-swing group featuring a trumpet solo? That's right-- nothing!

The final act late Saturday night was [dunkelbunt], an electro-swing band with an Eastern European gypsy music sound.  The audience was like an ocean-- everyone was dancing to the sweet sounds of filtered vocals, jazz clarinet, screaming trumpet, rhythmic piano and ridiculously catchy beats. I'd say without a doubt the Eupen Musik Marathon was a success. I look forward to experiencing some Pacific Northwest music festivals in the near future, but it won't be quite the same. I mean, where else can you rock out to gypsy music surrounded by your neighbors from Aachen, Belgium and the Netherlands singing along together with varyingly exotic and beautiful accents.