It all began with a celebration in 2024. To mark twenty years of Naragonia, Leuven’s 30CC Stadsschouwburg was packed to the rafters: a sold-out venue and an audience that simply couldn’t sit still. At Beleuvenissen, another performance followed that would resonate long after the final note.

The band ventured further than ever before: a brass section joined the line-up, a rhythm section laid down the groove, and suddenly Naragonia sounded bigger, richer and wilder than anyone had imagined.

They wanted to hold on to that feeling. With the support of the Flemish Government (Arts), the expanded anniversary line-up has evolved over the past few years into a fully fledged new production, ready to set sail for cultural venues and festivals across Flanders and beyond: The Ship of Fools.

The band originally took its name from an ancient tale. In the late Middle Ages, ships of fools sailed towards Naragonia, the imaginary land of fools. On board were those who refused to conform, who felt too deeply or thought too differently. They were cast out of the city, sent onto the water, bound for somewhere else. And so a ship emerged, filled with people who no longer belonged anywhere.

Five centuries later, that image feels remarkably familiar. Today, overcrowded boats are once again setting sail, carrying people who have left everything behind, hoping there will be a place for them on the other shore. And closer to home, many of us are quietly adrift in our own minds: overwhelmed, restless, searching for solid ground. The Ship of Fools tells this story not with a wagging finger, but with the tenderness of a song. Who, after all, is the fool: the one on board, or the one standing on the shore, watching?

The music ebbs and flows between two worlds. There are quiet songs of longing and displacement, of the fragile balance of a mind trying to weather the waves. In between, the music bursts with resilience, dancing and togetherness, because even on the roughest seas, people still sing. After all, a ship of fools is also a ship where people hold on to one another.

Naragonia has been performing on international stages for over twenty years and was named Best Live Band at the 2024 Flanders Folk Awards. Their music navigates between folk, jazz and world music: deeply rooted in tradition, yet with arrangements that chart their own course. With trumpet, trombone, saxophone and a dazzling bass on board, their sound takes on a whole new dimension. At times warm and brassy, at others swinging, and sometimes unexpectedly tender.

Nine musicians, one ship, and an evening that invites you to step aboard for a while and discover who is sitting beside you.

Musicians

Robbe Broeckx: drums

Maarten Decombel: guitar

Glen Goovaerts: trombone

Bert Peeters: tenor saxophone

Luc Pilartz: violin

Pascale Rubens: violin

Toon Van Mierlo: diatonic accordion

Chris Vandeweyer: trumpet

Bo Waterschoot: fretless bass

Bookings: shipoffools@merodefestival.be

In collaboration with Merodefestival and Brosella, with the support of the Flemish Government.