ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the key exchange for emerging European music talent, adds another 52 artists to its programme, including Blanks (nl), Brimheim (dk), Caleb Kunle (ie) Daria Kolomiec (ua), Katie Gregson-Macleod (uk-sco), and Merol (nl), completing its line-up for ESNS 2023. Among these names are eleven Hit the North acts and five acts highlighted by NPO Radio 2 Soul & Jazz.

ESNS will take place from 18 to 21 January 2023 in Groningen, the Netherlands. The festival has proven essential in breaking new European acts into live music scenes throughout Europe and beyond. With a line-up of 290 emerging European artists, ESNS23 is the place to discover new breakthrough acts before they make it big. You heard it first at ESNS!

33 acts added to the Eurosonic line-up.
Andrei Irimia (ro), Ash Olsen (no), averagekidluke (fi/YleX), Benwal (nl / Hit the North), Blanks (nl), Brimheim (fo/dk/DR/P6), Caleb Kunle (ie), Chagall (nl), Clara! (be), Cloudsurfers (nl), Daria Kolomiec (ua), Dylamic (nl / Hit the North), Eloi (fr), Fred Goverde (nl / Hit the North), Hannes (se), Heartworms (uk-eng), Historian (nl / Hit the North), Holly (pt), Intercity 106 (nl), Johnny loves me (nl / Hit the North), Katie Gregson-Macleod (uk-sco), Merol (nl), Metteson (no), Moonloops (nl / Hit the North), renceau (nl / Hit the North), Seb Zukini (nl / Hit the North), Skaar (no), Steeby & the Better Days (nl / Hit the North), Stockdale (de), Toupaz (at), Traversus (nl / Hit the North), Verity (nl / Hit the North), Weval (nl), and Zohar (nl).

Hit the North 2023.
Hit the North is a unique collaboration between festivals and cultural institutions from the north of the Netherlands. Hit the North is established to stimulate professional talent development in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. Northern pop culture is unique, but artists often experience many difficulties that hold them back from breaking through. Eleven acts were part of this year’s Hit the North programme and will play at ESNS23 in January. These eleven acts are; Benwal, Dylamic, Fred Goverde, Historian, Johnny loves me, Moonloops, renceau, Seb Zukini, Steeby & the Better Days, Traversus, and Verity.

Nineteen acts added to Noorderslag line-up.
Amina, Brintex Collective, Bumble B. Boy, Cavolo Nero, Claude, De Toegift, Dopebwoy, Elijah Waters, Ginge, Ir Sais, Joost Van Bellen & St. Paul Present: Love Is All, Kleine John & Chavanté, Mariposa, Nobu, ParHasard, Peter Somuah Group, SIM—OJ, Wodan Boys, and Zoë Tauran

NPO Radio 2 Soul & Jazz stage at Noorderslag.
At Noorderslag, NPO Radio 2 Soul & Jazz will highlight their favourite upcoming artists of the Netherlands. This year the radio station will shine its spotlight on Brintex Collective, ParHasard, Peter Somuah Group, Ginge, and Cavolo Nero.

ESNS previously confirmed 239 artists for the showcase festival. Find all 290 confirmed acts here.

ESNS23 playlist
To get familiar with the artists you will be able to discover in Groningen, a playlist has been created with all the confirmed acts for ESNS23. Listen here.

Focus on Spain.
ESNS23 is thrilled to give the stage to Spain. Focus on Spain is presented in close collaboration with The Spanish Wave and diverse regions of Spain. To get the latest word from this year’s focus country, we spoke to the head of The Spanish Wave, Live Nation Spain, Director of AMF and long-esteemed part of the European music industry César Andión, who describes the contemporary music scene in his country as “exciting, young, fresh, hot, exportable”. The entire interview can be found here.

ESNS Conference.
For the ESNS Conference, a number of new panels and speakers have been added. The sub-programme ESNS Tech will zoom in on the most notable developments in innovation and technology. Andrew Melchior (CTO of Massive Attack) will give a keynote on engaging audiences in the new era of deglobalisation and reduced emission lifestyles. Other panels in this sub-programme, moderated by Turo Pekari (Music Finland), explore Web 3.0 and its (business) applications such as the Metaverse. Other newly announced panels will dive deeper into touring in challenging economic times and the streaming economy.

• Check out all announced panels and speakers here.
• Find more information about the conference programme here.

ESNS23 tickets.
Tickets for the festival are available 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.