Next week, from 25th to 31st March the new music and urban culture festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) will take over the Estonian capital. In addition to the music festival in the evenings TMW adds to the buzz with free daytime concerts that bring music to the more hidden corners of town.
The TMW 2019 City Stages will pop up at an intriguing range of locations: Viru Keskus, the Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA), the Telia shop at Kristiine Keskus, Tallinn Arts Gymnasium, Humalakoda restaurant at Balti Jaama Market, Velvet design office, bookshop Puänt, Põhjala Tap Room and Leila bar.
The TMW City Stage programme will kick off on Wednesday, 27th March in the atrium of Viru Keskus with the jazz-funk orchestra JT Conception. This will be the venue for seven other performances from Wednesday to Saturday. Among the performers are Estonia’s new “It” gal Maian and dubstep producer Bisweed, the Swedish indie pop band Melby, the Canadian R’n’B group Port Cities, Finnish folk-pop duo Karina, Danish punk rock band Little Fury and the Russian adventurous free-pop ensemble Super Collection Orchestra. The TMW info desk will be open in Viru Keskus from 25th to 30th March to exchange festival passes for wristbands, general assistance, and to share programme recommendations.
For the first time, this year there will also be a city stage at the new venue of the TMW Creative Impact conference, the Estonian Academy of Arts. On Thursday, 28th March the EKA city stage will send the audience to the other side of rock’n’roll with the racket made by Estonia’s noise-rock kings Zahir – a band that called EKA’s rehearsal room, Heven, their home in the 1990s. The warm-up will be delivered by Diana Burko—aptly, an alumnus of Rodchenko art school in Moscow—with her interdisciplinary electronica project rosemary loves a blackberry. Friday offers a unique audio-visual spectacle by the famous Finnish musician Jimi Tenor and students of EAA’s interior architecture students on DIY instruments created at the special Tenor-mentored workshop “Hombla Kjurr”. The info desk at EKA atrium is open from 27th to 30th March.
TMW will also stretch to the district of Kopli this year with the free concert of Estonian R&B and trap newcomer YASMYN at Tallinn Art Gymnasium on Wednesday, 27th March. The gig will follow a public talk “How do I know if it was a joke?” by students of the gymnasium and EKA, and representatives of Telia addressing the subject of good manners—on the internet, and in real life. The Telia shop at Kristiine Keskus will host live shows by Maian, and Estonian alternative rock trio Sibyl Vane and Duo Ruut.
The pub-brewery Humalakoda at Balti Jaama market will host the Estonian accordion experimenter Tuulikki Bartosik, the antithesis of an old-school “pop-act-with-microphone” Galina Ozeran aka Chikiss, the rapid-fire Japanese noise-duo MOJA, English dream-pop trio Wyldest and two Canadian artists – indie rock band Hello Delaware and singer-songwriter Nick Faye.
Design office Velvet, located in the thriving Telliskivi neighbourhood, hosts the stage for Estonian Gram-Of-Fun and YASMYN, and the LA-based Russian new wave band Pompeya. The bookshop Puänt at Telliskivi creative city will host Russian producers Åmnfx and Alex Kelman and the audiovisual duo Vera Vice by Ave Vellesalu and Helen Västrik.
The newly opened microbrewery Põhjala Tap Room at Noblessner port city also presents three city stage episodes, featuring Latvian producer and finger drummer Rick Feds, Czech electronica duo Bratři and the Ukrainian rap sensation alyona alyona. The legendary Leila Bar on Kopli Street serves sounds by the Estonian neo-zombie-post-folk duo Puuluup and Lithuanian beatboxer GON to go with your shashlik.
The city stage concerts are free of charge and open for all age groups.
TMW 2019 City Stage Concerts
Viru keskus (Viru väljak 4/6)
Wednesday, 27th March
12.00 JT Conception (EE)
Thursday, 28th March
12.00 Melby (SE)
12.45 Port Cities (CA)
Friday, 29th March
15.00 Karina (FI)
15.45 Maian (EE)
Saturday, 30th March
14.30 Bisweed (EE)
15.15 Little Fury (DK)
16.00 Super Collection Orchestra (RU)
Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) (Põhja puiestee 7)
Thursday, 28th March
12.00 rosemary loves a blackberry (RU)
12.45 Zahir (EE)
Friday, 29th March
18.00 Jimi Tenor (FI) and EKA students of interior design: „Hombla Kjurr“
Tallinn Art Gymnasium (Kopli 102A)
Wednesday, 27th March
17.00 Yasmyn (EE)
Kristiine Keskus Telia shop(Endla 45)
Saturday, 30th March
12.00 Maian (EE)
12.45 Sibyl Vane (EE)
13.30 Duo Ruut (EE)
Balti Jaama Market Humalakoda (Kopli 1)
Thursday, 28th March
14.00 Tuuliki Bartosik (EE)
14.45 Nick Faye (CA)
15.30 Moja (JP)
Friday, 29th March
13.00 Hello Delaware (CA)
13.45 Chikiss (RU)
14.30 Wyldest (UK)
Puänt bookshop (Telliskivi 60a-1)
Friday, 29th March
15.00 Amnfx (RU)
15.45 Vera Vice (EE)
16.30 Alex Kelman (RU)
Leila bar (Kopli 4/6)
Saturday, 30th March
15.00 Puuluup (EE)
15.45 GON (LT)
Põhjala Tap Room (Peetri 5)
Saturday, 30th March
17.00 Rick Feds (LV)
17.45 Bratri (CZ)
18.30 alyona alyona (RU)
Velvet (Telliskivi 60a-5)
Saturday, 30th March
13.00 Gram-of-Fun (EE)
13.45 Yasmyn (EE)
14.30 Pompeya (RU)
More info and event in Facebook.
TMW 2019 Festival Passes cost €65, and the Conference Pass is €125 (rising to €150 from 19th March). A Conference + Festival Pass is €225 (rising to €250 from 19th March). A Supporter Pass is €150. All are on sale now at the TMW online shop.
TMW 2019 Single Tickets are on sale at Piletilevi and online shop.
TMW 2019 press accreditation deadline is 25th March. More info.
TMW is presented by Telia Estonia, main supporters Nordic Hotel Forum, Enterprise Estonia, partners Music Estonia and Estonian Academy of Arts. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Tallinn Culture Department, Estonian Cultural Endowment. The conference venue Estonian Academy of Arts is the only public university offering higher education in arts, architecture, design in Estonia.