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ESNS 2023 – Eurosonic Noorderslag (Groningen, Netherlands)

Apply here: esns.nl/play-at-esns
Deadline: September 1, 2022

European artists can apply to play at ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) 2023 now!  ESNS highlights the very best emerging acts from a different country every year, showcasing the diversity of musical talent across Europe, including our very own Luxembourgish bands and ESNS Exchange 2022 bands, Francis of Delirium and TUYS. The artist applications for the upcoming edition – for all European artists – are open now.

ESNS is the key exchange for emerging European music talent, with a proven track record of helping to break new acts on the international music scene, with well-known names such as Altin Gün, Arlo Parks, Alyona Alyona, Celeste, Dua Lipa, and Wet Leg. Playing at ESNS not only means playing at the festival in January. Acts that played at the festival also are a part of the ESNS Exchange programme. ESNS Exchange, the European Talent Exchange Programme, was introduced in 2003 to make the ‘exchange’ of European artists across Europe possible on a greater scale than ever before. An initiative of ESNS, ESNS Exchange facilitates the bookings of European acts on festivals outside their home countries and generates extensive media exposure for these artists in cooperation with Euroradio, export offices and local media. This way, ESNS Exchange aims to give a boost to the international careers of European artists.

Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg, Germany)

Apply here: reeperbahnfestival.com/en/info/band-application
Deadline: July 23, 2022

For four days every September, the international music community meets in St. Pauli district. The eponymous festival takes place on and all around the Reeperbahn strip. As colourful and diverse as the area is the choice of locations and international performing artists: concerts will be hosted in places as different as Molotow music club and the St. Pauli church.

With more than 360 different concerts, readings, art happenings and movie screenings, the festival is packed with highlights for every music lover. From heavy metal and punk to indie, hip-hop, jazz and soul: visitors and artists alike will have plenty of opportunity to broaden their musical minds beyond genre boundaries.

Iceland Airwaves (Reykjavik, Iceland)

Apply here: icelandairwaves.is/apply-en/
Deadline: June 30, 2022

Situated halfway between North America and Europe, Iceland Airwaves brings together the country’s brightest emerging musical talent and forward-thinking international acts each November for four days and nights. For two decades Airwaves has shone a spotlight on new talent, with early appearances from the likes of Mac DeMarco, James Blake, Sufjan Stevens, Young Fathers, Sigrid, Florence and The Machine, and many more. 

Iceland Airwaves aims for acts who they feel will have a good chance of successful outcomes from their performance (good attendance to their show, good media and industry interest). They do receive some applications from new talent that while very good, are not always relevant to the audience and market. In those cases, it’s less easy to justify putting those artists on the line-up. Please be mindful of this before applying to the festival (or any music festival for that matter) and reach out to your respective project manager should there be any doubts.

MIL Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal)

Apply here: millisboa.com/playmil2022
Deadline: June 15, 2022

Happening in Lisbon on September 28, 29 and 30, MIL Lisboa focuses on the discovery, promotion, valorisation and internationalisation of current popular music. In a showcase and convention format, MIL anticipates future trends and sparks the debate around the issues that will shape the future of music and cultural sectors.

For three days, Lisbon will become the meeting point for hundreds of artists, music and cultural professionals coming from all over the world for a wide variety of networking and training opportunities. More information is available at millisboa.com.

MaMA Festival (Paris, France)

Apply here: mama-musicandconvention.com/en/play-mama/
Deadline: May 31, 2022

From the 12th to the 14th October 2022, MaMA Music will give the chance to agencies, label, publishing or management companies to have their artists – wherever they come from – to play in front of an international audience of music professionals, media and Parisian festival-goers. MaMA Music will showcase over 120 bands taking place across 10 emblematic venues and unusual places of Paris’ Pigalle and Montmartre districts.

With more than 6, 500 attending professionals, MaMA is the greatest French gathering of the music industry. By day, MaMA suggests a conference program featuring over 400 international speakers and 170 panels, keynotes, workshops, match-making sessions and cocktails for music industry actors. Music industry highlights will be covered such as: women in the music industry, sustainability and ecological issues, streaming, finance and values, marketing and communication, innovation and data, entrepreunership, brands and media, international markets, publishing, cultural policies, synchro, creation and autoproduction…bringing together +400 french and international speakers.

WAVES (Vienna, Austria)

Apply here: https://bit.ly/3w1DbRq
Deadline: May 31, 2022

Waves’ motto is “East meets West.” Numerous international alternative, electronic, rock, and club acts will be performing around Vienna’s 9th district. Additionally local artists and sophisticated musicians from Eastern Europe form an essential part of the festival’s programme. Every year, Waves Festival welcomes two countries as special guests. There will be a focus on acts from these countries in the live programme while the Waves Festival Conference devotes a part of its programme to the respective music markets and scenes of these two countries.