The 8th edition of the music and city festival Station Narva, held in Narva from 4th-7th September last week, filled Estonia’s easternmost city with music, art, community gatherings and visions of the future. Over four days, the festival achieved a record 5,314 visits.
The festival’s music programme took place on 5th and 6th September at Narva Museum in the historic Hermann Castle and Art Club Ro-Ro. Performers included beloved Estonian stars Tommy Cash, nublu and Duo Ruut, as well as British electronic music trailblazers The Orb and Tim Reaper, Danish indie pop band Efterklang and Finland’s rising pop sensation OLGA. Regional talent was represented by modern metal band Pale Alison and DJ crew purpur from Narva, and alternative rock and hip-hop producer BEID from Sillamäe. The festival opened at Rugodiv Cultural Centre with a concert by vocal ensemble Estonian Voices and young singers of Rugodiv’s vocal studio Magic Land, followed by the public debate “Candidates Will Be Counted in Autumn” hosted by local initiative BAZAR.
Daytime city stage performers included Efterklang with Narva Estonian House tandem choir in Narva Castle’s Western Courtyard, and Ukrainian musician Maryana Klochko at Stockholm Square, where her fellow countryman sculptor Ihor Tkatšivskõi’s metal leaf work ‘The Joy of Being Human’ was also unveiled.
“The Station Narva Future Day discussions at the University of Tartu Narva College focused on the creative sector and celebrated the 10th anniversary of both Narva Art Residency (NART) and the British Council’s ‘People to People’ programme in Estonia. NART, also celebrating its 10th anniversary, offered house and exhibition tours, a community party in the Kreenholm Quarter, as well as sunset tours and the season-end party for summer project ‘Narva Venice Annuale’ in Narva ‘Venice’.
Participants in the Station Narva Youth Lab launched with support from the Just Transition Fund, actively contributed to the festival’s preparation and programme, implementing their own creative initiatives from the ‘Diivan’ media project to creating a limited Station Narva-coloured jewellery collection and TikTok channel, as well as to the creation of Station Narva’s new homepage.
The festival also featured the opening of Ida-Viru artists Eduard Zentsik and Vladimir Kopylov’s exhibition ‘TOTAL BLACK’, a ‘Like a Local’ discovery trip with Narva-born superstar ALIKA, a tour discovering Narva’s hidden photogenic corners with the author of Instagram account boringnarva, and Narva Museum guided excursions in Narva and Narva-Jõesuu. Narva’s current status as Finno-Ugric cultural capital was celebrated with lunches of traditional Karelian, Izhorian, Votic, Livonian and Ingrian dishes at Narva House of Ingria, and a traditional Narva-style breakfast took place at non-formal education centre VitaTiim.
The next Station Narva takes place from 3rd-6th September 2026. Festival passes are on sale via shop.tmw.ee .
Among the notable international acts that have performed at Station Narva throughout the years are Echo and the Bunnymen, Tricky, Actress, Roni Size, A Guy Called Gerald, James Lavelle, Gazelle Twin, Ivan Dorn, GusGus, Hatari, Spiritualized and Flowdan, as well as many beloved Estonian acts. Check out the Station Narva 2024 aftermovie.
Station Narva festival is organised by Muusikanädal NGO and Shiftworks in collaboration with the Narva team and many partners and supporters.
