Norway has four different showcase festivals, and Trondheim Calling is the second longest running of these. This year was their 10th anniversary. A total of 82 bands/artists with all together 350 musicians and artists plus 900 delegates from the Norwegian and international music business were gathered for three days of concerts, seminars and networking. (Photo above: Agnete Kjølsrud from Djerv)
Bylarm is the Norwegian showcase festival with a Nordic and international focus. The first festival was arranged in 1998, so this years edition was the twenty second. The mix between seminars and showcases is well tested from festivals like SXSW, and it works well for Bylarm, too. (Photo above: brenn.)
Every year since 1994, with the exception of 2001, the SPOT festival has been held as a showcase festival and conference in Aarhus. The initiative came from ROSA, The Danish Rock Council, and they have organized the festival all these years. In 2005 the Danish minister of culture proclaimed it to be the most important musical event in Denmark. I attended the festival regularly from 2004 and on, but I haven’t been there since 2013 until this year. (Photo above: Sigrid)
Last year was my first vist to the showcase festival Trondheim Calling. I liked it so much that I decided to come back this year. The festival took place this weekend in Trondheim, and it has grown to be a good alternative to, or to compliment the Norwegian big brother of showcase festivals, by:Larm. Three days with seminars, debates, concerts and networking means long and intense days, but the quality of everything made it definitely worth while. (Photo above: Sebastian Olsen from Death By Unga Bunga)
By:Larm – the Norwegian showcase festival – is a yearly event in Oslo, located in the center, around Youngstorget. The town square is filled with tents that function as venues for the festival. Yesterday night was the first night of showcases on these and the surrounding venues. Here are some pictures of the acts I managed to see last night. (Picture above: Veronica Maggio and a photographer)
Denmark have had their own showcase festival, Spot, for some years now, just like Norway have by:Larm and the US have SXSW. The festival was held in its home town Aarhus this wekend, and many talented bands performed. The idea about festivals like this is to attract both the best talent and also the music business, to see if there might be any possibilities for both parties to luck out. This means that the festivals have a seminar program at daytime and many concerts at night. All the bands play 40 minutes shows, enough to get a feel of their repertoire and for them to show what they are worth. (Picture above: Kristine Stubbe Teglbjaerg)
Artist Pictures Blog 