This blog post was written by our student ambassador Connor, a Geoinformatics for Urbanised Society programme student at the University of Tartu.
Tallinn Music Week (TMW) is a period where musical artists, industry professionals, and music fans meet in Tallinn for an opportunity to share and experience musical performances and other networking opportunities.
Technically, this is my first Tallinn Music Week as last year I only attended one concert. This year, I decided last minute (Friday night) that I would buy the full festival pass so I could experience more than one genre in concert for the weekend. Even though I dropped 85 euros for a quick weekend of music, I don’t regret it. Considering I missed Thursday night's festivities, my takeaways revolve around my experiences on Friday and Saturday.
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Friendly Environment
My friend and classmate from my bachelor years lives in Berlin, Germany, and is a project manager for several artists, including musicians. Attending TMW was a no-brainer for him, a chance to experience baltic performers, network with other industry professionals, and have a reunion with me. It was a no-brainer for me as well, as I love visiting the Telliskivi neighborhood of Tallinn.
A selfie of the small group we created over the weekend. Matt (in the center with long hair) and Anto (far left) are the only ones I knew beforehand. Photo: Connor Mahon
I’ve never been a big concertgoer. I appreciate small, intimate spaces where conversations can emerge and percolate. However, attending this year’s festival has completely changed my mind. Bouncing around from venue to venue was made easy and enjoyable because of the friendly atmosphere. There weren’t fist fights or loud arguments - just people enjoying music. Because everyone there was there for the music, it was easy to strike up conversations with strangers. Not only the concertgoers but also the staff and musicians were incredibly engaging. After the Curly Strings, a legendary Estonian musical band, performed at Von Krahl on Saturday night, I had a chance to congratulate their lead singer, Eeva Talsi, and thank her for a wonderful performance. Talsi, in her gorgeous and bright sequin dress, stopped, smiled widely, thanked me, and wished us a lovely evening. In my limited concert-going experience, the artists rarely engage with you, so that small interaction solidified my opinion on how friendly the TMW environment was.
Curly Strings performing live at Von Krahl, Tallinn Music Week 2024. Photo: Connor Mahon
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Buy Your Ticket Early
Don’t be like me and wait until the week of TMW to purchase your ticket. I would’ve saved 40 euros if I had bought the ticket months prior.
There are multiple options. If you’re interested in the different venues and listening to music, it’s best to purchase the festival pass. However, if you’re interested in networking or befriending like-minded individuals, purchasing either the PRO Pass or Supporter Pass is in your best interest. Since I only bought the festival pass, I cannot speak about the benefits of the other passes. However, I will say that the TMW staff is friendly and great at responding (in my case via email) to questions about the event, even during TMW. I would suggest reaching out to them to help guide you for your pass selection.
NB! The prices listed are the prices during TMW. If you book early, you will save almost half the price. My friend purchased the PRO Pass for only 100 euros as part of the early bird special.
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(Baltic) Punk Music is Better Live
AKLI performing live at Kivi Paber Käärid, Tallinn Music Week 2024. Photo: Connor Mahon
Tallinn Music Week had an amazing lineup of various musical artists from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). It was a surprise to me how many great musicians are rooted here, yet I hadn’t heard most of them. While some of the acts are newer, therefore I hadn’t heard of them, the other bands, like AKLI from Lithuania, and Oranžās Brīvdienas from Latvia, stole the show. Before the evening, I would listen to recordings of the bands to understand if I would like the vibe. When I heard AKLI on spotify, I wasn’t sold. However, My friend Gabrielus, who is from Lithuania and plays in a band in Vilnius, where Akli is rooted, told me that they’re great guys and even greater performers live. A bit weary but interested, I headed over to Kivi Paber Käärid (Rocks, Paper, Scissors in English) to check out their performance. Only a few chords and powerful vocals were enough for me to be invested. My friend eventually joined me at the venue and also enjoyed their performance. Had it not been for their stellar performance, we may have left. However, the next act, Oranžās Brīvdienas, was also amazing, so we stayed there for the closing show of the night, punktò.
TMW was a great show of various musical artists and brilliant minds in the industry, as well as those with a love for music. I will definitely be returning in 2025. Not only has this experience drawn me into another TMW, but I also purchased a ticket for Station Narva, happening in Narva, Estonia, from September 5-8, 2024. My friend and I already bought our festival pass (only 35 euros before the program announcement). Hope to see you there!
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