- The 15th edition of the international new music and city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) took place from 10th to 14th May in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
- TMW 2023 hosted 188 artists from 41 countries, 173 conference speakers and 1212 music and culture industry professionals from all over the world. The event drew a total of about 18.032 visits.
- 51% of the acts on the music festival line-up had women or queer representation.
From 10th to 14th May, TMW, the festival of “tomorrow’s music, arts and ideas” filled Tallinn with music from around the world, tackled the present and future of the music industry and offered explorations from art to diverse neighbourhoods across the UNESCO City of Music and European Green Capital 2023.
TMW’s 15th edition kicked off in Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion. The music festival from 11th to 13th May reached Telliskivi Creative City, the Old Town, Noblessner Port and Kopli area, showcasing 188 artists of various genres from all over Europe, North and South America, Canada, Africa and the Middle East — from Ugandan Arsenal Mikebe’s powerful percussion set to the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Choir’s premiere of six new works by young composers; from Ukrainian-Welsh queer duo tAngerine Cat, London-based hyper-pop artist and Keychange talent Pyra to Swedish pop’s wunderkind Graham Lake and the whole Made in Canada showcase. The multi-genre programme put emphasis on local manifestations of global music trends, traditional music both in its original form and modern remakes and forward-looking post-genre fusions. TMW also takes pride in the fact that 51% of the acts on the bill had women or queer representation.
Estonian vibrant music scenes and talent were presented, among others, by diverse record labels Estonian Funk Embassy, Porridge Bullet and TIKS rekords; festivals from Viljandi Folk to Üle Heli, venues from Club HALL to Philly Joe’s Jazz Club, Fotografiska Tallinn and brand new Paavli Culture Factory; organisations from Estonian Public Broadcaster Ráadio 2, celebrating its 30th anniversary, Estonian Choral Association, Fenno-Ugria, the newly launched Heavy Music Association and more. Among the 91 domestic artists were the pop producers and singers Karl Killing and Daniel Levi, soul diva Rita Ray, folk innovators Duo Ruut and Tuulikki Bartosik, avant-pop trailblazer Mart Avi, alternative RnB act manna, noise rock legend Shelton San, jazz stars Kadri Voorand and Mingo Rajandi, Estonian-Swiss multi-talent Ingrid Lukas, as well as newcomers such as Borm Bubu and maria kallastu.
The 2-day conference in Nordic Hotel Forum opened on Friday, 12th May with addresses by the Minister of Culture for Estonia Heidy Purga and Director of TMW Helen Sildna and a video greeting by Georg Häusler. Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport in the European Commission. Developed in collaboration with the national music export and development office Music Estonia, the conference addressed topics from human and AI relations to digital literacy and the future of radio and music education. Attended by 1212 music and culture industry professionals, the event hosted the opening dialogue “The age of ecosystems — how to further develop a sustainable European music ecosystem in transition?” of the European Commission’s Music Moves Europe sessions for the next four years.
The highlights of the conference included keynotes and discussions on digital innovation and A.I. and an interview with Ed O’Brien of Radiohead and EOB about the importance of civic engagement and sustainability for musicians. New ‘glocal’ identities were analysed by the panel of festival heads, curators and conceptualists from all over the world. Presented by ArcticSonic, the story of climate change was told through science and indigenous inuit artists. Diversity, equity and inclusion in music were represented at the conference by Keychange’s innovators and special Creative Labs programme.
The TMW city programme featured free daytime City Stage gigs from Viru Center to the sun terrace next to the sea container at Telliskivi Creative City. The art programme featured a gallery tour hosted by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center as well as complex sound art exhibitions within the art festival “I Don’t Understand” and light installations by the students of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The city festival also hosted public discussion series Talks, kids’ mini-festival, Record Fair and a bike tour down the Pollinator Highway. Over 30 restaurants in the TMW Tastes selection introduced Tallinn’s burgeoning food scene. TMW’s green tours and community discussions were supported by Tallinn – European Green Capital 2023.
More detailed overview, including quotes from partners and delegates available on TMW homepage.
