Brussels festival replaces headliner Avishai Cohen after performance in Russia

The Walden Festival, taking place on 13 and 14 July in Brussels' Leopold Park, is replacing renowned double bassist Avishai Cohen as headliner because he played a concert in Moscow.

Cohen is an Israeli jazz double bassist, singer and composer. He was scheduled to be a headliner at Walden Festival, to close the programme on Saturday 13 July, with his group Banda Iroko.

However, on 15 June, Cohen played a concert at the Moscow Jazz Festival, an event co-supported by the ministry of culture of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Fund. As a result, Walden Festival’s organisers have decided to replace him. "We see no other option than to cancel the planned concert at Walden Festival 2024," said spokesperson Joost Fonteyne.

The festival is replacing Cohen with South African jazz singer Tutu Puoane, who lives in Antwerp. She will perform with Flemish jazz trumpeter Bert Joris. “With Tutu Puoane, one of today's most charismatic voices, we have found a great closing act for Saturday,” the organisers said.

People who have tickets for Walden Festival will be informed of the change. The festival offers a programme of classical, contemporary, non-Western music and jazz.

_{Avishai Cohen at the Vannes Jazz Festival in 2015 © PHOTO BELPRESS}