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Born on the festival grounds of Pukkelpop in Kiewit in 2024, The Atomic Orchestra owes its legacy to Pukkelpop and its director Chokri Mahassine, who gave TAO the opportunity to start their trajectory. The orchestra and Pukkelpop follow their own paths, yet stay true to one another, reuniting every August for a fixed appointment at the Marquee.

After a successful first show in 2024 came a second in 2025 and an upcoming show in 2026. With the entire festival still waking up and no other bands playing at that moment, TAO loves its unique spot at Pukkelpop and became, in no time, a certainty for many festivalgoers.

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The Atomic Sessions distill the orchestra to its purest form. Where the full ensemble overwhelms with forty-seven musicians, the Sessions pare that down to just nine: a stripped-back format that carries the heart of the TAO concept into smaller rooms and closer encounters.

Where the full orchestra performs in a half circle, the Sessions stretch that arc into a complete circle. The musicians stay exactly where they are, but the empty chairs are filled with audience, placing listeners in the very midst of the ensemble, close enough to practically read the scores. The result is one of the most intimate orchestral settings imaginable.

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With Live Live Live, VRT brings an ambitious music programme to public television, hosted by Bart Peeters. At the heart of the show stands The Atomic Orchestra: the forty-seven-piece ensemble led by Jo Hermans that, week after week, backs a new line-up of Belgian artists.

Live Live Live is part music programme, part live session, part musical voyage of discovery. It introduces a new generation to a full orchestra, to its different instrument groups and how they sound together, and leaves viewers wanting to make music themselves. And it is The Atomic Orchestra that brings all of it to life, as the engine behind every episode.

Episodes include Bazart, Mentissa, Warhaus, Pommelien Thijs, Belle Perez, Glints, Novastar and Brihang, among others.

For The Atomic Orchestra Live Live Live is a confirmation of what the orchestra does best: connecting musical worlds, lifting artists to a higher level and showing a broad audience what an orchestra can be.

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