ESNS proudly presents the full programme of the earlier announced Focus on Spain project, in close collaboration with The Spanish Wave. Focus on Spain features showcases of fifteen upcoming Spanish acts from different parts of the country, a conference programme that explores the music industry in Spain and the ‘Meet The Spaniards! Mixer & Fiesta’.

ESNS traditionally has a focus on one country or region in Europe. This year the festival and conference zooms in on Spain and all the different musical flavours that the country has to offer. The Spanish acts performing at ESNS 2023 are: Ghouljaboy (Andalucia), Irenegarry (Madrid), Kokoshca (Navarra), Go Cactus (Balearic Islands), Maestro Espada (Murcia), Mainline Magic Orchestra (Catalonia), Marina Herlop (Catalonia), Marta Knight (Catalonia), Merina Gris (Basque Country), Mundo Prestigio (Galicia), Queralt Lahoz (Catalonia), Shanghai Baby (Madrid), Tanxugueiras (Galicia), Yo Diablo (Valencia), and Zetak (Basque Country).

Listen to the ESNS ‘Discover Spain’ playlist here. Check out the timetable here.

Focus on Spain at ESNS Conference.
Learn all you need to know about the amazing and varied Spanish music sector. Panels, workshops, keynotes and networking will show the diversity and unique insights from top professionals from Focus on Spain. Meet and network with all the Spanish partners at “The Spanish Lounge” and the delegates during the ‘Meet The Spaniards!’ mixer at ESNS.

Keynote interview with Robert Grima, President Live Nation Spain by Gordon Masson, IQ Magazine. Presented by IQ. Thursday, January 19, 13:30 – 14:30.
From his early days playing guitar in psychedelic pop band Los Negativos to promoting the  first Spanish shows of acts such as Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Oasis, Sonic Youth, Blur, Pixies and many others, Robert Grima’s life has revolved around music. He has been one of the pioneers in helping Spain become one of the must-visit destinations for international tours. With more than 30 years experience in live music, Robert sits down for his keynote with Gordon Masson, editor of IQ Magazine, who will delve into Robert’s life and career to explore what still drives his passion for live music; his unfaltering determination to care for his artists; and his unique vision and creativity that has helped Live Nation Madrid become one of the powerhouse promoters in the global business.

Pollstar presents: Spain: Land of many & different markets – Thursday, January 19 – 12:00 – 13:00.
Seventeen autonomous communities are the frame of Spain, each of them with their own culture, history, own autonomous governments, industry and local, national and international cultural strategies. This makes Spain one of the richest and most culturally varied countries in the world. Brij Gosai of Pollstar will present data on Spain’s music industry power and diversity before talking to local, regional and national cultural official representatives of different autonomous governments and the national government. They will explain to the international delegates this rich diversity, how they work individually, their goals nationally and internationally and the cultural and industry impact of their regions without forgetting about the super exciting, fresh and exportable talent from every part of Spain that is very well represented this year at ESNS.

Fundación SGAE presents: Spain: Record labels, publishers, distributors and artists right societies, local and global cases of success – Thursday, January 19 – 16:30 – 17:30.
Presented by the Spanish Copyright Society foundation (Fundación SGAE) and moderated by its general manager Rubén Gutierrez, this panel will be showing and explaining the latest (and more to come) amazing local and global cases of success of Spanish record labels, publishers-syncros, record distribution and Spanish leadership in artists rights collection. Top notch professionals from all these sectors will be bringing the process and the light on the past-present-future of Spanish successes in their homeland and overseas.

Spain: The State of a Festival Nation – Friday, January 20th, 13:30 to 14:30.
Spain is a festival nation by nature, with one of the largest numbers of festivals happening in Europe and the world. The impact of festivals in the national, regional and local economy is massive and the variety of regions and experiences makes Spain one of the most attractive countries to visit for festivals. Nearly all seventeen autonomous communities have important festivals, some big, some medium and some small or boutique. The Spanish festival experience is unique, most of them start in the evening so the touristic experience prior to the music is a plus for any visitor and for the country itself.

 “The Spanish Lounge” presented by The Spanish Wave – Thursday & Friday 10:00 – 18:00. The official spot where to meet, network and trade with the official Spanish partners of Focus On Spain. Find time to meet with the official partners, learn what they do, network with them and make business while you have a coffee or refreshment thanks to The Spanish Wave.

Check out the conference programme here.

Meet The Spaniards! Mixer & Fiesta + The Spanish Wave Showcase.
Focus on Spain will close with a Fiesta and mixer reception for all international ESNS delegates, Meet The Spaniards! Meet and greet with all the Spanish delegates with Spanish tapas and wine. The official cocktail party will end up high with The Spanish Wave Showcase presenting two live bands to be announced shortly, expect big games! This is a RSVP event.

ESNS23 tickets. Buy ESNS festival tickets here. Get your registrations for the ESNS conference here.

About ESNS.
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is the key exchange for emerging European music talent, with a proven track record of helping to break new acts on the international music scene, with now well-known names such as Altin Gün, Arlo Parks, Alyona Alyona, Daði Freyr, Dua Lipa, Fontaines D.C., Hinds, Go_A, girl in red, Meduza, Meskerem Mees, MYD, Priya Ragu, Pip Blom, Pongo, Sigrid and Wet Leg.

Each January, ESNS showcases 350 emerging European artists to over 40,000 visitors. The festival and conference attract over 4,000 music industry professionals, including 400 international festivals. By day, the front-running conference hosts over 150 panel discussions, interviews, keynotes and more that take on urgent subjects and the need for social change in the music industry. By night, European acts perform across 40 locations in the heart of Groningen from Wednesday to Friday, and Saturday presents upcoming Dutch artists in concert venue De Oosterpoort.

H/T N.M.