ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) has now announced the full artist line-up for the 2025 edition taking place from January 15th to 18th in Groningen, Netherlands. ESNS is a non-profit organisation and independent platform dedicated to the promotion and discovery of new European and Dutch music. Founded in 1986, ESNS hosts an annual four-day showcase festival and music conference giving attendees the opportunity to discover emerging European (Eurosonic) and Dutch (Noorderslag) acts ranging from mainstream pop to the experimental and innovative. The conference aims to expand knowledge of industry-led topics and innovation, geared at driving the music industry towards a sustainable future.
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.
In addition the festival also awards a number of prestigious prizes, including the Music Moves Europe (MME) Awards. This is organised in Partnership with Reeperbahn Festival and co-funded by the Creative Europe program. Each year, 15 emerging artists are nominated and eligible to win an MME Award. As a nominee, they have the opportunity to perform at the Eurosonic Festival (ESNS) in front of major festival bookers and industry professionals. A selection of nominees and winners will also be invited to play at another showcase festival, Reeperbahn Festival in Germany. There are three ways to win an Award – there’s an MME Award, a Grand Jury Award and a Public Choice Award.
The nominees are selected through a complex selection process based on the amount of airplay, music streams, live performances in Europe, as well as via music industry recommendations to reflect the vibrant diversity of the European music scene. The selection committee works with data from SoundCharts enriched with data on bookings in venues and festivals. The data is then supplemented with recommendations of more than 300 European music industry professionals, who name their favourite emerging artists in the country they live in and from another European country. After this, the selection committee has a complete list of artists from each participating country in the Creative Europe Program Artists will then be investigated to decide which fit best in terms of career growth trend, social media following and their current status of still emerging.
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Here are just some of the highlights that CLASH is looking forward to seeing at Eurosonic 2025…
Antony Szmierek (England)
Manchester-based poet, writer, and producer Antony Szmierek will release his debut album, ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’ on February 28th. Cutting his teeth on the Manchester spoken word scene and gaining notoriety for his seamless flow skewering everything from the hardships of contemporary British life to finding the unexpected beauty in the everyday, it was the 2023 release of his single ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy’ that kicked off his meteoric ascent. Antony Szmierek combines dance beats with his poetic flow, and his debut album is already highly anticipated.
Brògeal (Scotland)
Blending a passion for both folk and indie music, the five piece from Falkirk are named after an ancient group of travelling mercenaries, who in the winter turned to playing music for food: the Brògeal. They have had a remarkable couple of years with notable support slots for Paolo Nutini, The Mary Wallopers, The Lathums and Wolfe Tones, plus releasing their second self-titled EP and touring across the UK and Ireland. Inspired by both Scottish and Irish folk music and with instruments including banjo, mandolin and grandad’s accordion, this is a party not to be missed.
Cardinals (Ireland)
Cardinals may have started as a joke between two sixteen-year-olds in a town on the southern coast of Ireland but their eclectic gothic amalgam of shoegaze, Irish trad folk, and rock incorporating 60s Wall of Sound elements for a punk-inflected noise with unashamedly elements of pop has garnered the band much attention over the last twelve months. Fresh from supporting Been Stellar in the UK and Ireland, and two headline dates in New York, Cardinals are primed to grab 2025 with both hands.
The Family Battenberg (Wales)
The self-produced four-piece garage/psych rock band based in Cardiff, South Wales indulge fully in their DIY ethos. The band delivers their brand of 70s rock and roll flavoured guitar riffs amidst a blend of driving Motorik rhythms, percussive flair, and curious lyrical content.
Freakin’ Disco (Hungary)
The electronic world of Freakin’ Disco is a place to lose yourself in – no question. Their third album ‘TOTEM’ was released in July 2023, and first single, ‘Face Yourself’, was produced by Steve Dub (The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy) which gives some indication of the danceability of their music.
Indian Wells (Italy)
Indian Wells is the electronic music artist Pietro Iannuzzi whose creativity draws inspiration largely from his own cultural background, referencing elements of geographical, social and political isolation. His emotive electronic music ebbs and flows, as with life itself, carrying the listener along. His fourth album ‘No One Really Listens to Oscillators’ is released on Max Cooper’s Mesh imprint, reason enough to check out this intriguing artist live.
Jordan Adetunji (Northern Ireland)
Jordan Adetunji is breaking all the rules by merging rap, R&B and post-punk feels. The artist from Northern Ireland grew up with the Afrobeats of artists like Wizkid and Burna Boy. He blends his Nigerian roots with the raw punk energy of hometown Belfast, post-punk and his love of hip-hop and R&B creating a visceral, exciting melting pot.
MAQUINA (Portugal)
The opening bars of their track ‘desterro’ was enough to grab my ears. MAQUINA take their inspiration from minimalist Krautrock repetition and pounding industrial techno. Thrilling and exuberant, the soundscapes are perfect for the dance floor and will no doubt pull in a crowd hungry for their pulsating beats.
Real Farmer (The Netherlands)
The quality of bands and artists coming out of the Netherlands at the moment is extraordinary and Real Farmer have already made waves on their recent tours of the UK. Their punky funky vibe coupled with off-kilter rhythms make them one of the most exciting bands to come out of Holland out of a high quality field.
Smag På Dig Selv (Denmark)
A drummer and two saxophones, what could possibly go wrong! With descriptions including “techno inspired energy” I am definitely hooked. Add in the possibility of Nordic throat singing, powerful poetry readings and industrial props during their set which ranges from death metal to hip-hop to Afrobeat, SPDS are high on my “Must See List” at Eurosonic.
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Eurosonic Noorderslag 2025 runs between January 15th – 18th. For more information on Eurosonic including tickets, artists’ details, venues and timetable please check the website.
Words: Julia Mason
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