Eurosonic success for Norwegian acts
The Eurosonic/Noorderslag festival turned out to be quite a success for many of the Norwegian acts that hit the Groningen stages last weekend.
The strong roster of Norwegian acts at last weekend’s Eurosonic included Dadafon, Thomas Dybdahl, Gåte, Helldorado, Sondre Lerche, Janove Ottesen and Niko Valkepää. The first reports from the Norwegian delegation indicate that the acts from up north were warmly welcomed by the Dutch audience and the music industry reps at the Eurosonic/Noorderslag weekend.
Says head of Stavanger based indie Checkpoint Charlie Audio productions (CCAP) Tom H. Brekke of his Eurosonic experience: “The way I see it, the Norwegian acts went in very well with the audiences. There was a good turn-out at the concerts and the mix of the regular concert crowd and the music industry attendees was good. I believe that quite a few reps ticked Thomas Dybdahl off on their lists of must-haves at their respective festivals and clubs. Helldorado was another act that gave us immediate feedback from the attendees. All in all, I believe that we’re going to reap some serious benefits from this trip.”
Brekke is pleased with the strong attendance at his artists’ gigs: “The last of our concerts was completely packed and at several other gigs it was difficult to get access to the venue. The interest for our acts seems to be strong. Such festival attracts a big crowd of industry reps but at the same time Groningen is one of Holland’s biggest student towns, representing a large potential concert audience. This mix of genuine music fans and music industry reps is what makes Eurosonic so good.”
As a double festival and business seminar in one weekend, the Noorderslag Weekend serves as platform for the European live music industry, management, European radio professionals and (online) media. With over 150 new European artist showcases, 1500 music industry professionals, a seminar with over 35 panels and meetings and a pan European radio broadcast, the Noorderslag Weekend is both a good way to connect to the live music industry and a great way of seeing the most promising new rock, pop and electronic bands and acts from Europe.
Last year more than 13 000 visitors flocked to the concerts while the seminars and networking opportunity attracted 1 500 professional representatives from music industry and media. 24 radio stations were present as were representatives for 35 festivals.
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