The artist application round for Tallinn Music Week 2018 music programme is now open at artist.tmw.ee. The 10th edition of the city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) will take place in Tallinn, Estonia from 2nd April to 8th April 2018.
Held each spring in Tallinn, Estonia, TMW is a city festival with an extensive music and arts programme and a new business conference – a weeklong celebration of talent, curiosity, creativity, freedom and equality.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018, TMW’s core is the new music festival that offers a multi-genre mix of around 250 artists from the Baltics, across Europe and beyond. The line-up, spanning from outsider mavericks to chart-pop acts and from folk innovators to classical musicians, is put together on the basis of artist submissions by a broad team of Estonian music experts and event promoters.
Applications from all regions and music genres are welcome until 1st November 2017 at artist.tmw.ee.
The festival’s role as a significant platform for emerging acts around the world has grown steadily. TMW 2017 received an all-time record number of nearly 1,500 applications from 59 countries with over 250 acts from 30 countries confirmed to perform at the festival.
Among the notable acts that have performed at the festival throughout nine years are British folk legend Vashti Bunyan, Scottish master of elegiac sound, C Duncan, Finnish synth-pop troubadour Jaakko-Eino Kalevi, the tandem of Einstürzende Neubauten’s Alexander Hacke and film-maker Danielle de Picciotto, and the piano experimenter Hauschka from Germany. Among the artists who have successfully tested their international breakthrough potential at TMW are Danish dark rockers Get Your Gun, Belorussian cold-wave group Super Besse, Russian postpunk flag-bearer Motorama, Estonia’s very own folk innovators Maarja Nuut and Trad.Attack!, electropop act NOËP, and many others.
Besides showcases presented by local promoters TMW2017 featured the border-crossing showcase curated by Estonia’s Üle Heli festival, international C3 Festival, and Japan Sound Postcard project, a special Canadian programme, and the 15th anniversary of Finnish Fullsteam Agency.
TMW will once again fill the entire week from 2nd to 8th April 2018. In addition to the music festival line-up and two-day industry conference, TMW offers a series of free City Stage concerts, a selection of eateries within TMW Tastes, TMW Arts programme, Design Market, TMW Talks series with topics from music to science and societal issues, City Space activities and the comprehensive two-day conference programme.
Throughout the festival’s nine-year existence, TMW conference has hosted numerous high-profile speakers from international music industry experts to global game-changers from business to science and policy-making. Music industry experts that have participated in TMW conference throughout the years, include the founder of Sire Records Seymour Stein, influential managers Simon Napier-Bell and Peter Jenner; artists-turned authors Viv Albertine of The Slits and Bob Stanley of St Etienne, the acclaimed music critic Simon Reynolds, and many others.
TMW 2018 artist application round is open until 1st November (included) at artist.tmw.ee.
The full line-up of around 200 acts will be announced in February 2018.
TMW 2018 Festival Pass for €45 and TMW 2018 Festival + Conference Pass for €150 are on sale at TMW web store.
Festival Pass grants access to all concerts and offers discounts at the TMW Tastes’ restaurant festival.
Festival + Conference Pass grants access to the conference seminars and priority access to the music festival.
TMW 2018 conference schedule will be gradually published from December 2017.
Tallinn Music Week 2017 in numbers:
250 artists from 32 countries
36 823 festival visitors
1193 conference delegates, 879 international delegates
132 international press
80 venues
250 000 website visits from 150 countries
Comments by TMW 2017 delegates:
Vanessa Reed, Chief Executive, PRS for Music:
“Tallinn Music Week is unlike most other music industry conferences I’ve attended because it’s pushing the definitions of what an event of this kind can be in the 21st century. It embraces art, politics, tech and urbanism in a bold and intelligent way. It crosses genres and sectors in easy to find spaces, which give you an insight into Estonia’s past and present. It breathes the energy of a city where smart young leaders are using music & the creative industries to drive social and political change. I’ll definitely be back in 2018 for TMW’s 10th anniversary.”
Ivan Novak, member of Laibach:
“The West is dead, it has lost its mojo! If you want to hear some really good new music, discuss relevant things about music and culture and get a blast of life from the young and beautiful city, come to Tallinn Music Week!”
Simon Reynolds, music critic and author:
“I had a fabulous time at TMW 2017 – saw many interesting bands, met many interesting people, had many interesting conversations – and all in the setting of one of Europe’s most charming cities. I’ve been to great number of music festival/conferences over the years and this was one of the very best experiences.”
John Robb, musician and journalist:
„Way more than just a music conference, the boundary breaking TMW is in the premier league of music events not just by its sheer ambition and scale of music. Culture and creativity that it celebrates. It’s also this open minded spirit and genre breaking ideal of collaboration that not only sees the myriad of stages in the beautiful Estonian capital full of music from classical to hardcore from hip hop to left field and sometimes all merged into one but a genuine positive spirit that seems to be infusing the forward thinking of the government and society of its host country. In a world were the doors seem to be closing and borders coming down TMW is bucking the trend and inspiring the real future for music, culture and the kind of lives that we want to lead. TMW knows that a broken world needs a culture hug!”
Stepan Kazaryan, head of Moscow Music Week and BOLь:
„TMW is growing both in popularity and in terms of professionalism every year. And I’m happy to mention that young bands from the New Russian scene that I support so much back home and that were selected by TMW curators this year managed to enjoy success among both professionals and the audience in such controversial times. TMW showed once again that it is truly independent and politically unbiased event, which became very rare in our todays common European home.“
Moddi, musician and activist:
“At Tallinn Music Week, I met people who truly care for music, and who understand that we are in this together. Good things happen in the beating heart of Europe.”
Kimmo Pohjonen, musician:
„I was pretty amazed what has happened to the Estonian music scene. So many interesting acts with really wide music range. I felt cool self-confidence and professionalism which was followed by all the Estonian acts I heard. Many different and great venues with good technical conditions all around the town and the overall feeling very positive. And I really mean this. Can’t wait the next year which is 10 years celebration to TMW and 100 to Estonia.“
Damien McGuinness, BBC:
“This festival is a stimulating mash-up between innovative music, ancient folk songs, international politics and human rights — a Baltic speciality that is a natural fit in this fascinating region. That’s because music in Estonia is about more than simply listening to something funky. Throughout Estonia’s history song has been political. During centuries of foreign oppression music safeguarded a unique national identity. And in the dying days of the Soviet Union, song galvanised the opposition movement that led to national independence. Today Tallinn shows that artists can still help save the world.”