Music Latvia is participating in the Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) festival and conference, taking place in the Netherlands from January 15 to 18, 2025.
Founded in 1986, Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) is considered one of the most significant music industry events in Europe, greatly contributing to the career development of artists. ESNS traditionally serves as a platform to showcase new European music projects, both within Europe and beyond. The festival combines live music showcase events with an extensive conference and panel discussion program, which is an integral part of its offerings.
Since 2023, Music Latvia has been involved in the ESNS initiative ESNS Exchange. This program promotes opportunities for European music groups and artists to perform at festivals outside their home countries while ensuring broad media attention. It is implemented in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), music export offices, and local media. Representing Latvia in the ESNS Exchange program are also the festivals Positivus and Summer Sound, which take part in its activities. In total, the ESNS Exchange program includes 130 festivals, 31 media outlets, and 26 music export offices, fostering greater collaboration and artist visibility on an international level.
As part of the ESNS Exchange program, Music Latvia has also provided two young Latvian music industry participants with free access to attend and participate in the Eurosonic Noorderslag conference.
Agnese Cimuška-Rekke, Executive Director of Music Latvia, commented:
“The Eurosonic Noorderslag conference marks the start of the year for the European music industry – a place where leading festival organizers gather to discover and support the next European music stars. It offers equal opportunities to all European countries, emphasizing inclusion and diversity. However, countries with less developed support systems and weaker industries often lack the resources to fully utilize these opportunities, making participation in such initiatives particularly important.”
This year, Latvia is represented at the ESNS festival by the indie band “Sudden Lights,” performing today, January 16, at 7:30 PM at Forum Rabostudio.
“Sudden Lights” began their international career in 2023 by representing Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest. The band has performed solo concerts and participated in festivals in Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. To date, “Sudden Lights” has released three albums.
Linda Āboliņa, representative of the management team for “Sudden Lights,” commented:
“As a manager, I have been attending the Eurosonic Noorderslag conference for several years, but this year, for the first time, I am also participating with a band performance. It is a great honor – we are the only Latvian musicians at this major event this year. The work involved in participating in Eurosonic differs significantly from a regular concert, as the main focus here is on inviting conference delegates to the performance. Among them are organizers of the world’s largest festivals, concert agents, and media representatives.”
The Latvian delegation attending the conference includes:
- Agnese Cimuška-Rekke (Music Latvia)
- Guna Zučika (Every Little Thing)
- Katrīna Liene Bičus (Very Cool People)
- Bruno Roze (I LOVE YOU records)
- Uldis Pabērzis (Summer Sound Festival)
- Ģirts Majors (Positivus Festival)
- Irina Alescenko (Positivus Festival)
- Elva Lorence (Positivus Festival)
- Linda Āboliņa (Sudden Lights)
Music Latvia’s activities are supported by the Ministry of Culture and LaIPA.
