Inmates Find ‘Moment of Freedom’ at Mons Prison Rock Concert
On the eve of Belgium’s nationwide Fête de la Musique, approximately thirty inmates at Mons prison experienced what they described as “a little freedom” and “a moment of escape” — a live rock concert performed inside the facility by the Mons-based band Fortune Tellers, as reported by RTBF.
A Visiting Room Transformed
The concert took place on Thursday, June 18, in a visiting room that had been converted into a makeshift concert hall. Male and female inmates sat together as the band played classic rock covers by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jacques Dutronc. Security protocols required inmates to remain seated throughout the performance — no moshing allowed.
“For security reasons, you’ll understand that we can’t let just anything happen,” explained Sébastien Kucaj, a prison guard at Mons, as quoted by RTBF.
Voices from Inside
For the inmates, the experience was profoundly meaningful. One male detainee told RTBF: “It’s a good band. It’s already better than being in a nine-square-meter cell.” A female inmate added: “It brings back memories, it’s an escape, for us.” Another simply said: “A little freedom.”
The band itself was moved by the experience. Patrick Ruelle, singer and guitarist of Fortune Tellers — a group formed in 1969 — noted: “There’s an emotion today that I don’t feel at every concert.” This was the band’s first performance inside a prison.
Culture as Rehabilitation
The event was organized by CAAP Culture (Concertation des Associations Actives en Prison), a non-profit association dedicated to promoting cultural access in the 19 penitentiary establishments of Wallonia and Brussels. The initiative operates under Article 6 of Belgium’s 2005 “Loi de principes” (Principle Law), which guarantees incarcerated individuals the right to culture.
Marie-Eve Merckx, project manager at CAAP Culture, emphasized the rehabilitative power of such events: “Music is connection, it’s contact with the outside world, it also rehumanizes, in a way.” In a broader RTBF interview, she elaborated: “Culture is connection, it’s a way of confronting the outside world, it’s remobilizing skills, it’s offering expression, it’s rehumanizing people who are mostly locked up 23 hours a day.”
Justine Penninck, Deputy Director of Mons prison, echoed this sentiment: “Culture is important because it brings people together, it allows an open-mindedness and seeing reality differently.”
A Growing Initiative
The Mons concert was part of a much larger effort. During the 2026 Fête de la Musique celebrations (June 18-21), CAAP Culture organized 18 concerts across multiple Belgian prisons — a significant expansion from the 7 prisons that participated in the initiative’s first edition in 2024. The organization has secured funding from the Conseil de la Musique (Music Council), signaling growing institutional support for cultural programs behind bars.
A Prison Under Strain
The concert offered a rare bright spot in a facility that has faced severe challenges. Mons prison has experienced chronic overcrowding, with reports of inmates sleeping on floors. According to union reports, up to 80% of prison staff have been on sick leave at times. The building itself is described as aging and dilapidated. In February 2026, a 27-year-old inmate died in his cell shortly after returning from a hospital consultation. In 2025, a demonstration outside the prison involved management, guards, and inmates protesting conditions.
What’s Next
The expansion of CAAP Culture’s prison concert program — from 7 to 18 participating institutions in just two years — suggests a growing recognition within the Belgian justice system of the value of cultural rehabilitation. However, questions remain about whether such programs can be more than temporary respites within a fundamentally strained system. For the inmates of Mons, however, the rock concert offered something invaluable: a moment of connection, memory, and freedom, however brief.
As one female inmate put it, the music brought back memories. “It’s an escape, for us.”