TMW has reconfirmed 88% of artists for the postponed festival edition. TMW 2020 takes place on 26 - 30 August | Tallinn Music Week

TMW has reconfirmed 88% of artists for the postponed festival edition. TMW 2020 takes place on 26 – 30 August

The international new music festival Tallinn Music Week has reconfirmed 88% of artists for the postponed festival edition. TMW 2020 is scheduled to take place on 26 – 30 August

The new music and city culture festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) has confirmed 140 artists, which constitutes 88% of the original line-up. The festival has been rescheduled from March to August due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Europe. A new addition to the programme is renowned Swedish folk artist Sara Parkman. 

The TMW 2020 festival will take place in Tallinn, Estonia on 26 – 30 August. 

The music programme of TMW 2020 on 27 – 29 August, set to take place mainly at the Telliskivi Creative City and Port Noblessner areas of North-Tallinn, features some of the most exciting new acts from around the world, as well as established artists from Estonia and abroad. Some of the best-known artists from outside Estonia include the US noise rockers A Place To Bury Strangers, Swedish-US sound artist Kali Malone, German pianist Kai Schumacher, Finnish jazz innovator Tapani Rinne and Russian art-punks Shortparis. A new performer added to the line-up is an acclaimed Swedish folk artist Sara Parkman, known also for collaborations with her famous compatriots Fever Ray and Bob Hund. The nearly 70-strong Estonian artist line-up includes internationally acclaimed folk bands Trad.Attack! and Puuluup, jazz musician Kadri Voorand, Collegium Musicale Chamber Choir, singer-songwriters Anett and Anna Kaneelina, avant-pop mavericks Mart Avi and Kreatiivmootor, electronic producer Nikolajev, soul singer Rita Ray, R’n’B princess YASMYN and young trap act manna.

Sara Parkman (SE). Photo by Frida Edlund
Sara Parkman (SE). Photo by Frida Edlund

All TMW festival partners, venues and programme curators are contributing to organising the festival, which was postponed until August due to risks and restrictions related to the spread of the coronavirus. The majority of the content planned for March will also be carried over to August. At the moment, the festival is also working on finding similar replacements for those artists and conference speakers, who will not be able to perform at the festival in August.

“We are very happy with the results,” Roman Demchenko, head of the TMW music programme, explains excitedly. “When we decided to postpone the festival until August, we could not even have dared to hope that we would be able to keep almost 90% of the line-up. But this result shows that TMW really matters to artists both at home and abroad.”

Demchenko is thankful to all the artists, co-organisers and venues, who were very understanding towards the postponement of TMW, and also calls on the TMW audience to contribute towards making the festival happen. “If possible, we recommend not returning the tickets and passes that have already been bought,” he says. “At this time, the cultural sector is in a complicated situation, and this is one way that you can support not only our festival but the entire sector. To all those, who don’t have a ticket yet – this is the perfect moment to get one, to help us get to August. TMW is going to be awesome and we are super excited about the opportunity to have this big celebration of music at the end of summer!”

The TMW 2020 programme also includes a conference at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), public talks, an art programme, music-themed workshops for children, excursions to Lasnamäe district, and the special Paldiski Sunday programme, which will wrap up the festival. The complete music line-up, most of the conference speakers and the city festival programme will be announced on 31 March.

Already purchased Festival Pass, Conference + Festival Pass, as well as tickets to single showcases, are all valid for the new TMW dates in August. Showcase tickets will be valid on the same weekdays (Thurs, Fri, Sat), mostly in the same venues.

TMW would like to call on visitors for their understanding and, if possible, not return tickets that were bought before the decision to postpone the festival was announced. In this situation, the whole music industry is under extraordinary economic pressure, which is why the festival is also offering the option of exchanging single showcase tickets (one evening for another) or a festival pass for a gift card, which will be good for the 2021 festival or any other event organised by Shiftworks. Requests for the exchange and return of the passes and tickets will be accepted during 1 – 12 April. Detailed instructions will be published on 31 March.

The TMW 2020 Festival Pass is available for 65 euros, the Conference + Festival Pass for 175 euros, and the Conference Pass for 150 euros at the TMW webshop. The webshop now also offers a 500 euros Supporter Pass for those, who would like to make a contribution to support the development of the festival, as well as the entire Estonian music industry. Telia clients receive 20% off regular prices of the TMW passes and tickets purchased ahead of the events. Additional information 

The TMW 2020 Festival Pass is also available for 65 euros through Piletilevi. Starting on 31 March, Piletilevi will also sell single tickets to showcases.

Take a look at the confirmed TMW 2020 artists

TMW 2020 is presented by Telia.

The TMW festival is organised by Shiftworks OÜ in cooperation with many partners and co-organisers. The TMW 2020 conference music industry programme is created in collaboration with the Estonian music development and export office Music Estonia.

The TMW 2020 music programme is organised in cooperation with the Damn.Loud agency. Music festival’s co-curators are Jazzkaar & Estonian Jazz Union, Viljandi Folk Music Festival,  GROM, Intsikurmu Festival, Sõru Saund, Üle Heli, Manka Boutique Pop Festival, Station Narva, Made In Baltics & Sony Music, IDA, Estonian Choral Association, TIKS Rekords, LAGI, 311.ee, House of Acid,  Funk Embassy, Kivi Paber Käärid and international partners Tampere Hall, Tampere 2026, Sevkabel Port, Stereoleto Festival, CIMA, Nova Scotia Music Week.

Partners: Telia, Nordic Hotel Forum, Telliskivi Creative City, Visit Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), Viru Keskus, Noblessner, Go Travel, Go Bus, Go Hotel Shnelli, Hektor Container Hotel, Hotell Economy, British Council, Embassy of Finland, Embassy of Canada, Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, Fotografiska Tallinn, PROTO Invention Factory, Kai Art Center, Lasnamäe Municipal Government, Lasnaidee, Baltic Station Market, Raadio 2, Postimees, Edasi, Velvet, IDA, Moe 1886, Tanker, Vita Pictura, AKU, Velvet, Festivality, Soundhouse, RGB, Meeskond Security, Piletilevi

Partners abroad: Tampere Hall, Tampere 2026, Sevkabel Port, Stereoleto, ETEP, Keychange, EMMA, Classical: NEXT, Bime, Radio Helsinki, Noise Unit PR, Ebba Lindqvist PR, Doing Great Agency

Festival supporters: Ministry of Culture, Tallinn Culture Department, Cultural Endowment,  Tallinn City Enterprise Department, and Enterprise Estonia (EAS)

The international activities of TMW, aimed at introducing Estonia as an attractive destination for those interested in music and culture, are supported by funds from the European Regional Development Fund.

TMW 2020 Paldiski Sunday is organised at the initiative of the Lääne-Harju Parish municipality and in cooperation with Alexela, Port of Tallinn, PAKRI Science and Industrial Park, and the event series Paldiski Fusion. Paldiski Sunday contributors also include G4S, MV Wool, Ecomari and ELMO Rent.