Eurosonic Nooderslag and the joy of arriving

The hot topic of this year’s conference didn’t stem from one of the many panel discussions, nor was it one of the three-hundred-plus showcasing acts. At this year’s Eurosonic, everyone was talking about their flight delays.

A staple of the industry calendar, the four day gathering kicks off each year with a focus on rising European talent, filling the central Oosterpoort venue with promoters and booking agents from across the continent. The European Talent Exchange Programme helps introduce new acts to the international market, while the annual Music Moves Europe Awards platforms fifteen rising artists via the acclaimed Grand Jury Award, and the Public Choice Award.

The festival also has a consistent focus on their green responsibility, with all the artist catering vegetarian and a bursary offered to any artists who choose to travel by train. With some attendees reporting delays of over twenty-four hours, and one flight rumoured to have been diverted to a German airbase, it’s likely more attendees will take that ground travel option in the years to come.

This edition’s focus country was Italy, bringing a large contingent of artists which included one of the festival’s highlights. Sardinian singer and instrumentalist Daniela Pes completely awed a hyped crowd at the stunning Stadsschouwburg theatre, melding impactful harmonies, intricate arrangements and deep electronica. Flanked by two fellow vocalists and choreographed to striking lights, her set went far beyond the often stilted showcase routine.

Bending traditions for 2025, the festival’s opening night was centered in the Oosterpoort venue, the hub for all networking and daytime panels. Side rooms were spun into stages to increase capacity alongside the conference centre’s halls, while the main room was seconded to host the annual European Festival Awards.

With the main thoroughfare closed off, the building became a maze of venues, often difficult to navigate. There’s something quite charming about running through the streets of a pretty, canal-lined city to find your next venue. Running around a stuffy complex of delegates, less so.

But not even the low ceilings and carpeted floors could take from the quality of the programming. Iceland’s Sunna Margrét was utterly captivating, her Björk-leaning vocal resonant across the pulsing electronica and dynamic bombast of her band. On one of the larger stages, Iceage frontman Elias Rønnenfelt brought his acerbic Americana to an uncomfortably packed room, walking the line of ferocious chaos and composed cool.

Leaning on the pop side of American-folk, celebrated Norwegian guitarist Fay Wildhagen filled her stage with musicians, from silky lap steel to a scintillating saxophonist. With a huge sound, infectious charm and impeccable talent, it felt unfair her career hadn’t yet found success across the atlantic.

Alongside artists who favour the English language, ESNS also well represents those who choose their native tongue. Ele A is from Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region. Her 90s production and bouncing rap delivery transformed her basement stage to high spirits and even encouraged some folded arms to be thrown into the air.

Thursday night’s programming revolved around the nominees for the Music Moves Europe Awards, expanding across the city’s tight-knit network of venues. The Grand Jury Prize winner was French-Cameroonian singer and pianist Yamê. Blending silky RnB with jazz-infused hip-hop, he moved seamlessly across the dynamic shifts of his set, captivating the packed audience and proving his award-winning talent.

The prize is also awarded to five general winners. One of the recipients was Austrian vocalist and guitarist Uche Yara. Her set was a masterclass in captivating performance. On stage shortly after the awards ceremony, she commanded the slowly filling room with a joyful charisma and punchy bursts of hook-fuelled pop-rock before silencing the crowd with a heart-rending solo cut, her register powerful and expansive.

Ghanaian-English singer-songwriter Nectar Woode’s showcase seemingly followed the same playbook, charming the crowd with her buoyant soul-pop before stripping things back for a direct hit of solo solemnity. Similarly, Bella Union-signed Irish singer-songwriter Sophie Jamieson’s performance was a forty-minute reprieve from the hustle outside. Joined by a cellist, her soft delivery and careful craftship felt breathtakingly intimate, resounding in its quiet beauty.

As well as the evening programming, some of the showcasing artists were invited to perform at local record store Plato for short sets in the day. A long-running series with free entry and a decent PA, it felt like an elevated instore and made for a great way to further integrate the festival into the city. Irish alt-rockers Search Results delivered a powerful mid-afternoon set of intelligent punk and dynamic influence, their discordant delivery addictively arresting.

By Friday night, the festival side of ESNS was in full swing. Selling out completely to their forty-thousand capacity, queues outside in the nippy cold got longer and crowds inside louder and less reverent.

The central venue Vera played host to a couple of bands who fit the party atmosphere and played as the soundtrack to the bar’s pull. Iceland’s Supersport!, a slightly awkward ragtag group of underground art-schoolers looked a little nervous at first, but soon found their feet, busting out their bright and completely charming DIY pop-rock.

English indie rising star Chloe Slater had none such trouble, bursting the venue’s PA with her sassy, bright and instant rushes of 90s inspired guitar-pop anthems. Emanating confidence and flanked by an assured band, she drove through her set with a polished aplomb.

Bringing together artists from thirty-three countries and spanning genre, dynamic, language and approach, ESNS celebrated a successful thirty-ninth edition. Platforming some of the brightest new talent from the continent and helping them grow through the connection of the festival, it still felt like one of the most important events in the industry calendar, even if it took a lifetime to get there.