“Riga Music Week”

On 4 and 5 November, the second "Riga Music Week" will take place in the Tallinas ielas kvartāls, bringing together European music industry professionals and more than 50 bands and artists in Riga. Alongside the industry conference, the two-day programme will also include a city festival across seven stages.

The conference programme will address issues that are currently also changing the way we discover and listen to music. Do the algorithms of Spotify, TikTok and other platforms help new music reach listeners, or do they increasingly determine what we notice at all? European concert agents and festival representatives will also talk about how they find new artists and what is needed for a local band to reach an international stage. A separate discussion, in turn, will focus on why the Baltics have no shortage of talented artists, but still lack strong companies that could develop them in the long term beyond the local market.

Participation in "Riga Music Week" has already been confirmed by "SubmitHub" partner Dylan Heneck, "ESNS" director Anna van Nunen, "First Music Contact" director Angela Dorgan and Fernando Bittencourt Hersan, director of the European concert venue network "Liveurope". The list of conference participants will still be expanded.

"Latvia has no shortage of strong artists, but good music alone is not enough on the international market. It is important that the people who make decisions on a daily basis about artist development, festival programmes and the circulation of music in Europe meet the Latvian industry right here in Riga. The aim of "Riga Music Week" is to create a place for such conversations and contacts," says Agnese Cimuška-Rekke, founder and CEO of "Riga Music Week". "This event broadens the horizons of Riga's cultural events, while at the same time educating listeners, reaching out to foreign guests and promoting the international recognition of Latvian artists. Such events strengthen both the brand of the festival itself and the name of Riga in the world, affirming the city as a dynamic meeting place for culture and creative industries," emphasises Fredis Bikovs, director of the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency.

The programme of the city festival's seven stages, in turn, will be shaped by Latvian music industry organisations and curators. Among them will be the festival "Summer Sound", the record company "I Love You", the Baltic media outlet "Bobe", the international concert platform "Sofar Sounds", the music management agency "Still Figure" and the music company "Every Little Thing".

From approximately 1200 applications, a programme with more than 50 bands and artists has been selected, among whom there will also be Latvian performers who will use "Riga Music Week" as an opportunity to introduce themselves to foreign music professionals. The city festival will also be open to the wider public, offering a separately attendable concert programme in the Tallinas ielas kvartāls.

Tickets for "Riga Music Week" are available at "Biļešu Serviss" box offices and online. The "Delegate PRO" ticket provides access to both the conference and the city festival, while a separate festival ticket is also available for the concert programme. A ticket price change is planned for 22 September.