ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the leading international platform for the European music sector is gearing up for its 2022 edition which will take place in Groningen from 19th to 22nd January.  Due to the recent relaxation in the corona containment measures, the event will take place physically and registration for the conference is now open via ESNS.nl.

For the showcase festival, where emerging European talent presents itself to the Eurosonic visitors and the Dutch acts at Noorderslag, the first sixty names have been announced, including Sylvie Kreusch, For Those I Love, Daði Freyr, ascendant vierge, Froukje, Mimi Webb, Meskerem Mees and Travis Birds. 

For the conference, ESNS has confirmed a keynote address with Urgenda director and ‘leading global thinker’ Marjan Minnesma, named most influential person in the field of sustainability in the Netherlands three years in a row. Also confirmed for a keynote interview with ‘the one billion dollar man’ André de Raaff. He is the Dutch music entrepreneur who will invest a billion dollars over the next five years in acquiring copyright and master rights. In addition, there will be a keynote interview with Matt Schwarz (DreamHaus). DreamHaus is part of Eventim Live and organises festivals like Rock am Ring and Rock im Park. Anne Löhr (Mental Health in Music) is a psychologist, working together with musicians and music professionals to help them cope with the mental consequences of the corona crisis and much more.

Focus on Spain
During both the conference and the showcase festival, Spain will be the focus country for the coming edition. César Andión of The Spanish Wave and Live Nation Madrid comments: “We are looking forward to presenting ‘Focus on Spain’ at ESNS 2022, with a large number of panels and artists showing the power, quality and diversity of the Spanish music industry and its plethora of upcoming talents.” First confirmed Spanish acts for ESNS are: Carola Ortiz, Daniel Sabater, Dharmacide, Kai Nakai, Rodeo and Travis Birds.

The first acts for ESNS 2022
European artists will get the chance to present themselves at Eurosonic, and the first names have been announced. Among the first group of names, a selection has been made in collaboration with the European national radio stations who operate under the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) banner. In addition, six acts from the Focus on Spain have been confirmed. The acts are Airbag (bg, BNR), Alba August (se, SR/P3), Albertine Sarges (de), Amason (se), Amelie Siba (cz, CR/Radio Wave), Annie Taylor (ch, SRF3), ascendant vierge (fr/be), Ash Olsen (no, NRK P3), Ba. (lt, LRT Opus), Bel Tempo (lv, Latvijas Radio 5), Błoto (pl), Bruno Pernadas (pt, RTP/Antena 3), Bulp (sk, Radio_FM), Carola Ortiz (es), Charles (be, Tipik), CMAT (ie), Commander Spoon (be), Cyan Kicks (fi, YleX), Daði Freyr (is, RUV), Daniel Sabater (es), Dharmacide (es), Dino Brandão (ch), Duo Ruut (ee), Eydís Evensen (is), Florence Arman (at, ORF/FM4), For Those I Love (ie, RTÉ/2FM), Francis Of Delirium (lu, LUERSL/100.7), Gaia (it, RAI Radio 2), Hauptman (si, RTVSLO/Val202), Ivan$ito (dk), Jazzbois (hu), Kai Nakai (es), Kety Fusco (ch, RSI/Rete Tre), Kynsy (ie), LNDFK (it), Meskerem Mees (be), Mimi Webb (gb), Monsieur Doumani (cy), Naima Joris (be), Priya Ragu (ch, Couleur 3), Rita Ray (ee, ERR/Raadio 2), Rodeo (es), Sana Garić (rs, RTS/Radio Belgrade One), Shelter Boy (de, ARD), Sofie (at), Sparkling (de), Sylvie Kreusch (be, VRT Studio Brussel), Takeshi’s Cashew (at), The Vices (nl, NPO 3FM), Théo Charaf (fr, Radio France), Travis Birds (es), Wet Leg (gb), Wu-Lu (gb), and Yard Act (gb).

The first seven names have been announced for Noorderslag, traditionally the cream of the latest crop of Dutch pop music; Antoon, Bob uit Zuid, Froukje, Goldband, Loupe, Mazey Haze and Nonchelange.

The full lineup is available here. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

Building Back Better Together
The music industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has now lasted more than a year and a half. The pandemic also showed how the music industry, both collectively and individually, needs to reinvent, improve and innovate. We can and must do better. Right now, on the eve of ‘back to normal’, we need to collectively ask ourselves whether we really want to go back to the old routine again. This is the time not only to do it better, but also to do it together; and Building Back Better Together, is the overall theme of the conference programme. With this, ESNS 2022 heralds the restart of a renewed festival season.

ESNS director Dago Houben says: “ESNS is an event representing the live industry in which networking is key. It is therefore inevitable that, now that the restrictions of the pandemic are diminishing, we are going to set up a physical event. We have found that there is a need for this among both artists and delegates. In keeping with this year’s adage, Building Back Better Together, we are organising ESNS in physical form and taking some successful digital elements from the last edition with us.”

ESNS registrations and sustainability
ESNS has already taken a number of steps in recent years in the context of sustainability and intends to intensify this in 2022. For example, the organization has affiliated itself with the Green Deal Circular Festivals, a collaboration with European festivals, with the aim of operating in a circular manner by 2025. ESNS is aware of the fact that this process takes time and presents a large number of challenges, and the event wants to include delegates, visitors, artists and partners in the process in order to inspire each other with new initiatives. ESNS is including a Solidarity Eco Tax for the first time, in the form of an additional contribution for all visitors ESNS 2022, in an effort to offset the CO2 emissions generated by travel to and from the event.

Registrations for ESNS 2022 are open as from today via the ESNS website. There are a limited number of tickets available at the Early Bird rate of €275 (a discount of €150 on the walk-up rate of €450). Delegates who bought a ticket for the digital edition last year will receive a €50 discount, and tickets for Young Professionals (up to 28 years) are available for € 225. The Solidarity Eco Tax is € 12.50.

About ESNS
With over 350 acts, 40,000 visitors and 4,200 participating professionals, ESNS is the leading international platform for the European music sector. ESNS’s mission is to generate more attention for European pop music and to provide European artists with an effective springboard to international success. The main activities are the conference, the festivals Eurosonic and Noorderslag and the two European projects: the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards and the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP).

More info https://esns.nl/