The Hives on the shore of Malsaucy - garage-punk that works best in front of an audience
The Hives are coming to Lac de Malsaucy in Évette-Salbert, as part of the Eurockéennes de Belfort festival day, on July 5, 2026. For a band that has built its reputation on explosive performances, short riffs, sharp choruses, and the theatrical frontman Pelle Almqvist, the open festival stage by the lake is a natural setting: large enough for a massive audience reaction, yet direct enough for garage-punk to remain physical, sweaty, and close.
The Hives are listed in the festival program as a Swedish garage-punk band. That is a short label, but it captures their essence well: songs that do not complicate things, but strike quickly, loudly, and rhythmically. Their concert is not conceived as a calm listening-through of albums, but as an exchange of energy between the stage and the audience. That is why they are most attractive to those who like rock without unnecessary distance - riff, drums, chorus, and a frontman who constantly demands a reaction.
Tickets for this event are in demand.
Why this performance is interesting right now
The Hives are not coming to Évette-Salbert only as a band with a strong catalog from the 2000s. They entered the current phase of their career with the album "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives", released in 2025, and that album gives them fresh material for festival performances. The track list includes "Enough Is Enough", "Paint A Picture", "Legalize Living", "Born A Rebel", "Path Of Most Resistance", and the title track "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives", so the concert can be read as a meeting of the band’s old and new face.
For the audience, this means that only a nostalgic overview of earlier hits is not expected. The Hives have enough recognizable songs to attract a wider rock audience, but also enough new material so that the performance does not feel like a museum tour of their own past. "Hate To Say I Told You So", "Main Offender", "Walk Idiot Walk", and "Tick Tick Boom" remain the songs many remember them for, while the newer singles continue the same principle: short, tense, loud, and ready for collective chanting.
The 2025 album is also important because of its production context. "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives" was presented as the successor to the 2023 album "The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons", and Mike D from Beastie Boys and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age were highlighted in its media presentation. This does not mean that the concert should be expected as a guest project or a change in the band’s identity. On the contrary, what is interesting is how faithful The Hives remain to their own formula: strictly controlled chaos, a black-and-white visual identity, fast entries into songs, and a constant sense that the audience is part of the performance, not merely an observer.
What the audience can expect from the concert
The Hives are strongest live when they play on the contrast between discipline and disorder. Instrumentally, they are very precise: songs start abruptly, end without dragging on, and the rhythm rarely lets the audience catch its breath. On the other hand, the performance is full of communication, jokes, calls for reaction, and the kind of rock theatricality that works only if the band is ready to take risks on stage.
There is no need to invent an exact set list for Évette-Salbert, because festival repertoires can vary. It is certainly wiser to expect a combination of the newer album and the songs that made The Hives globally recognizable. In practice, this means that the concert can attract several different groups of visitors:
- long-time fans who remember the era of "Veni Vidi Vicious" and the early garage-rock hits,
- audiences looking for an energetic festival rock performance without long instrumental digressions,
- listeners interested in the current album "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives",
- Eurockéennes visitors who want a strong contrast between rock, pop, rap, soul, and electronic music on the same day.
In such a schedule, The Hives have a clear function: to raise the physical temperature of the festival space. Their songs are short, the choruses are easy to catch, and the rhythm carries well across large open spaces. This is a band that does not ask for silence, but for a response.
Festival context: Eurockéennes as a broad musical map
Eurockéennes de Belfort 2026 takes place from July 2 to July 5 on the Presqu'île du Malsaucy. The program is set up as a multi-day meeting of different scenes, so The Hives appear in the same Sunday framework in which Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Aya Nakamura, Feu! Chatterton, Curtis Harding, Ino Casablanca, Joe Yorke, Ecca Vandal, and other performers are also announced.
This is an important detail for visitors who are not coming for just one concert, but for the entire festival day. In such a combination, The Hives bring rock sharpness and speed, while the rest of the program expands the evening toward soul, French chanson, pop, R&B, and electronic sounds. For audiences traveling to the festival, a one-day ticket for the day with The Hives can be a good choice precisely because it does not offer just one musical direction.
Places are disappearing quickly.
Lac de Malsaucy - open space, lake, and festival breadth
Lac de Malsaucy is not a classic concert hall. It is a space on a peninsula by the lake, a few kilometers from Belfort, where the festival experience relies on open air, walking between stages, and changes in atmosphere throughout the day. For a rock band like The Hives, this means a different feeling than in a closed club: the sound spreads across a large space, the audience moves, and the energy builds in waves.
At a location like this, the feeling of closeness to the performer depends on how early the visitor positions themselves in front of the stage. Those who want to be in the denser part of the audience should take festival dynamics into account - arriving before the start, moving through checkpoints, and allowing enough time to cross between zones. Those who prefer a wider view can enjoy the space without a feeling of confinement, but with less physical closeness to the band.
The special quality of Malsaucy lies in the combination of a natural environment and a large festival operation. The lake, green areas, campsite, and multiple stages create a rhythm that differs from an urban concert in an arena. The day begins in the afternoon, continues through the evening, and ends as a whole, not just as one performance.
Practical arrival: train, shuttle, bicycle, and car
The festival especially encourages arrival by public transport, bicycle, and carpooling. The location is about 7 km from Belfort, and links between the railway stations, the campsite, and the festival site are provided for visitors. This is useful for travelers coming from other parts of France or from abroad, because arrival can be planned via Belfort-Ville or Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station.
For getting to the location, the following information is especially important:
- free shuttle connections link Belfort-Ville, Belfort-Montbéliard TGV, the campsite, and the festival site,
- the François Mitterrand cycle path connects Belfort with the Malsaucy area,
- a secure bicycle area is planned near the entrance,
- for cars, parking is planned near Chaux airport, with further shuttle connections toward the festival,
- special forms of access are planned for visitors with disabilities, including dedicated parking and adapted shuttle connections.
For this event, it is worth thinking ahead. Open festival spaces require more time than city halls: you need to factor in arrival at the wider zone, security checks, movement between stages, and the return after the program ends. The best plan is not the fastest one, but the one that leaves enough margin.
Campsite and stay for visitors staying longer
Eurockéennes has a campsite that functions as a separate small festival town. According to festival data, the campsite accommodates around 12,000 people during the festival days and is available to visitors with the appropriate ticket and camping equipment. This is practical for those who want to stay for several days, but also for visitors who want to avoid a late return after the evening program.
Camping is not only a logistical decision. At festivals like Eurockéennes, it changes the whole experience: the morning, food, encounters, going toward the stages, and returning after the last performance become part of the same journey. Still, camping requires preparation. You need to check entry rules, item restrictions, and the basic conditions of stay.
On the festival site, among other things, weapons, prohibited substances, liquids, glass containers, dangerous objects, fireworks, and animals are forbidden, except for guide dogs. For the campsite, restrictions are specifically listed such as a ban on open fires on the ground, barbecues on legs, and animals. These are not details for the end of planning, but information that should be checked before packing.
How to prepare for The Hives’ performance
A The Hives concert is not an event for passive standing on the edge if the visitor wants the full experience. The band builds its performance on movement, feedback, and the feeling that every song is a short burst of adrenaline. That is why it is good to arrive rested, with comfortable footwear and a clear plan of where you want to be during the performance.
Several practical tips carry special weight for this type of concert:
- arrive earlier if you want to be closer to the stage, because the audience for energetic rock performances often becomes denser before the start,
- bring protection against changeable weather, because this is an open space by the lake,
- plan your return before entering the festival, especially if you use a shuttle or train,
- do not count on a long break during the performance - The Hives most often build the rhythm without too much dead time,
- check the entry rules before arrival to avoid delays at security control.
It is worth securing tickets on time.
Who this concert is the best choice for
The Hives are a particularly good choice for visitors who like rock with a clear character. This is not a band that tries to sound neutral or pleasant to everyone. Their appeal lies in attitude, speed, and stage control. If riffs, drums that push the song forward, and a frontman who knows how to turn a large space into a conversation with the audience are important to you, this performance has very clear value.
Long-time fans will get the opportunity to hear the band in its current festival phase, after a new album and a fresh series of performances. A wider audience can experience them as one of the most direct rock moments of the festival day. Visitors who follow Eurockéennes because of the diversity of the program can place The Hives as an energetic cross-section between the pop and soul names of the same day.
It is also important that The Hives do not need a long explanation at the festival. Their performance rests on a simple idea: the band enters, attacks the space with songs, demands the audience, and exits leaving a feeling of acceleration. At a time when many concerts depend on large screens, complex transitions, and long production blocks, The Hives still function best as a live rock mechanism.
Belfort and Évette-Salbert as a base for arrival
Belfort is the most practical urban point for visitors coming toward Lac de Malsaucy. The city in eastern France is connected by rail, and the festival organizes transport links toward the location. Évette-Salbert and Sermamagny are located near the Malsaucy site, so the name of the location in announcements may vary depending on the platform, but for visitors the key is to follow signs for Eurockéennes and Presqu'île du Malsaucy.
For travelers coming from outside France, it is useful to plan accommodation or camping early enough. Festival weekends quickly put pressure on local transport and available capacity in the surroundings. A one-day visit can be feasible, but only if arrival and return are aligned with train schedules, shuttle lines, and the end of the program.
What makes this performance different from an ordinary concert
The difference between a standalone concert and The Hives’ festival performance in Malsaucy lies in the breadth of the context. In a hall, the audience enters because of one band. At Eurockéennes, the audience comes into a space where different genres, languages, and rhythms collide on the same day. In that crowd, The Hives do not have to fight for identity, because they have it very clearly: garage-punk, black-and-white aesthetics, speed, and stage communication.
That is why this concert also makes sense for those who may not have listened to the band’s entire catalog. It is enough to know the basic impulse: The Hives are a band that understands rock as a shared physical situation. In an open space by the lake, that impulse can gain an additional dimension - air, the mass of the audience, the light of the late day, and the transition toward the evening festival rhythm.
Ticket sales for this event are underway.
Sources:
- Les Eurockéennes de Belfort - the artist page for The Hives and the program overview were used to confirm the festival day, genre, place in the program, and context of the Sunday line-up.
- Les Eurockéennes de Belfort - the pages "Comment venir ?", "Billetterie", and "Découvrir Les Eurocks" were used for information about arrival, shuttle transport, bicycles, parking, camping, accessibility, and entry rules.
- The Hives - the pages "Discography" and "News" were used for information about the album "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives", the track list, and current video releases.
- Pitchfork - used for the context of the 2025 album, the single "Enough Is Enough", production collaborators, and the band’s touring framework.
- The Hives - the album page "Veni Vidi Vicious" was used to verify earlier songs such as "Hate To Say I Told You So" and "Main Offender".