Brussels' Parc des Étangs sits under the E19 viaducts in Anderlecht, concrete overpasses running above a stretch of park and water. It's an odd place to stage a festival, and that's exactly why Fuse picked it. For the third-plus edition of XRDS Crossroads Festival, the promoter behind Belgium's oldest surviving techno night is building three stages, The Bridge, Outskirts and Viaduct, into the gap where the city's infrastructure meets its green space.

What makes XRDS different from a standard festival?

The organizers call it a spot where "concrete meets nature," and the booking backs that framing up: this isn't a single-genre lineup stacked for maximum name recognition, it's Fuse's own taste laid out across two days. Expect the sound to move from leftfield house into hard techno, then sideways into breaks and drum and bass, often within the same set. That range is Fuse's signature going back three decades: the club built its reputation importing Detroit techno to Brussels in the 1990s, and it has never limited itself to four-to-the-floor purism since.

Who's actually playing?

The headline names carry weight on their own. Ben Klock and Ryan Elliott represent the Berghain lineage of stripped, rolling techno. SHERELLE and Ben UFO pull the weekend toward jungle, footwork and bass music, while drum and bass originator Goldie adds a genuine legacy booking most techno festivals wouldn't touch. Italian minimal architect Donato Dozzy, Berlin duo FJAAK and Australian breakout Mall Grab round out a bill that reads more like a Fuse residency night stretched to 50-plus acts than a festival built by committee.

"Concrete meets nature" is how the organizers describe the setting, and the booking is built to match: no single lane, just Fuse's own taste writ large.

Why does Fuse's name on the poster matter?

Fuse opened in a former cinema on April 16, 1994, under Peter Decuypere and Thierry Coppens, and it's still running as Belgium's longest-standing techno club, a rarity in a scene where venues routinely fold within a decade. That history is the real draw here: a club that has weathered three decades of Brussels nightlife curating an outdoor weekender under its own name is a different proposition than a generic festival brand renting a park and a booking agency's roster.

The event runs 18+, with tickets through tickets.xrds.be and a dedicated shuttle service (event-shuttle.be) connecting the site to central Brussels for both days.