Tallinn Music Week 2022 festival line-up revealed with 175 artists from 28 countries
The international music and city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) has revealed the music programme line-up. TMW 2022 is scheduled to take place in the Estonian capital Tallinn and the border city Narva from 4 – 8 May, showcasing 175 artists from 28 countries. The joint event starts on 4 – 6 May in Tallinn and continues on 7 – 8 May in Narva.
TMW 2022 will team up with the Station Narva festival for a unique cross-country experience, celebrating collaboration and solidarity.
Single tickets for TMW 2022 showcase nights are on sale at Piletilevi from today, 30 March.
TMW 2022 starts on 4 – 6 May in Tallinn and continues on 7 – 8 May in Narva. The festival will feature 28 showcase nights spread over 21 venues in both cities, presenting 175 artists of various genres from all over Europe as well as from Canada and Africa. Concerts in Tallinn will take place from the picturesque Old Town to the hip Telliskivi Creative City area. In Narva, the programme reaches from the beloved Art Club Ro-Ro to the main stage presented by the Station Narva festival in the grand industrial complex of Kreenholm Manufactory.
A free concert by Ukrainian star Ivan Dorn, who will greet his compatriots who have fled the war, will open the music festival in Tallinn at Telliskivi Creative City Square on Thursday 5 May.
Thursday night will also feature a special collaboration of Swedish composer Maria W Horn and the Tallinn University of Technology Academic Female Choir, performing Horn’s acclaimed composition “Dies Irae” in St. Catherine’s Church in the Old Town.
Jazz club Philly Joe’s Tallinn will kick off its two-night showcase marathon on the opening night that runs from the dreamy, synth-filled sounds of Estonian Alfa Collective to the powerhouse jazz-rock of Australian Brekky Boy.
An exciting meeting of cultures will take place on the two stages of Vaba Lava Tallinn where the AFRICA NOW! showcase shines a spotlight on the new sounds from the African continent and its diaspora, and the Viljandi Folk Festival presents top folk performers from Estonia and beyond. The double-bill line-up ranges from the neo-soul voice of Tanzanian Tofa Jaxx to the Ethiopian-Ukrainian hip hop sister trio Fo Sho and the Estonian-Ukrainian “fire-folk” ensemble Svjata Vatra.
The TMW Fenno-Ugria Night at the Club of Different Rooms reveals the charms of the musical heritage of Estonians and other Finno-Ugric peoples, creating connections between the past and the present – from RÜÜT’s interpretations of Estonian chants to the echoes of endangered languages by Sámi musician Katarina Barruk and Latvian singer Elīna Ose. The Fenno-Ugria Night will also introduce the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) in Estonia.
Breaks, glitches and ideal pop formulas will be presented at the TMW Soda Pop Night in Uus Laine – from the PC Music’s signee, Caro<3 from England to the art punks The Bubble Gum expLOTION from Latvia and Estonia’s own eccentric auteur Florian Wahl. Sveta Bar will showcase the array of talent from Icelandic Kaelan Mikla, the faves of The Cure’s Robert Smith to Estonia’s rising alternative R’n’B force manna. The Indie Shuffle line-up at Telliskivi’s F-hoone features players from all over Europe, including the local sound artist Liis Ring and the Italian electroacoustic producer effe effe.
Friday, 6 May will see 13 showcase nights in Tallinn. Naapurivisa Night at D3 Club reunites the legendary Estonian and Finnish indie bands Röövel Ööbik and 22-Pistepirkko. Way ahead of its time then and now, Röövel Ööbik was formed in Estonia under Soviet rule in 1987, managed to secure a spot at a New York Seminar alongside Sonic Youth by 1990. and to record a legendary John Peel session in 1993. 22-Pistepirkko, one of the most well-known Finnish bands abroad in the 1990s, are back after a 7-year hiatus with a new double single “Snakecharmer” / “Kind Hearts Have A Run Run”.
Tartu’s premier music and video production house Ö Studio curates the showcase by Tartu 2024 – European Capital of Culture at Uus Laine, where institutional collides with experimental, including “Hum of Tartu”, a co-operative project between Mari Kalkun, who has toured the world with his home-based folklore and Martin Kikas, the founder of Ö Stuudio. The live stream of ÖTV will also take place on the spot, hosted by Lee Scott, the main man at London’s hip-hop label Blah Records.
PopSpot Stage at Vaba Lava unites culture and technology and the hottest names in Estonia and South Africa, from the chart-topping local rap phenomenon nublu to South African rapper and TV presenter Moozlie. Estonian Warner Music Live agency presents ambitious homegrown players, from young producer and singer Karl Killing to Raul Ojamaa, the master of swirling synth and atmospheric guitar.
At St. Catherine’s Church, The Chamber Choir Musamari performs an engaging programme of folk-tinged works by Estonian composers Mart Saar and Veljo Tormis. At F-hoone, the Latvian Skaņu Mežs festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary with adventurous sound-searchers from Estonia’s innovator Maarja Nuut to Latvian guitarist Edgars Rubenis, known for his brutalist noise works. Presented by CIMA, in partnership with BreakOut West, Made in Canada showcase at the Club of Different Rooms will star six solid Canadian acts, including Juno Award nominated and Polaris Prize long-listed soul singer Tanika Charles.
Púr Múdd and Daniel Levi, the beloved Estonian pop acts, will perform at the showcase night presented by Estonia’s only travelling cultural festival Võnge. Folktronica Stage in Fotografiska Tallinn, curated by Estonian band OOPUS, presents the future of folk in an immersive audiovisual setting, starring, among others, the “one-man-orchestra” of Tõnu Tubli, best known for his drumming in power-folk trio Trad.Attack!. TMW newcomers, the Dark Disko event series will offer a selection of darker muzak from post-punk to nu-beat in Sveta Bar, featuring proudly unconventional French DJ Djedjotronic in the line-up.
Von Krahl’s metal stage will feature both Estonian noise rock legend Zahir, soon to release their new full-length, and the Finnish electro-metal group Khroma. The World Clinic record store brings different shades of rock to the KPK locale – from the Estonian Music Awards Best Rock Album 2021 winners The Boondocks to the Norwegian Sex Judas feat Ricky, who have released their unique brew of punk, funk and African music on the Scottish Optimo label. Resident DJ-s Micaela Saraceno and Katja Adrikova, along with the Italian techno-wiz Neel, will greet the restless ravers at Noblessner’s Club HALL.
On Saturday, 7 May, TMW will travel to Narva where the music programme will open in the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral with the concert programme “Da pacem Domine” of Arvo Pärt’s compositions by The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste.
The festival centre in Narva will be Vaba Lava at the LINDA 2 cultural complex, where Estonian premier folk artists Trad.Attack! and Mari Kalkun as well as Norwegian instrumental trio Orions Belte will take to the stage. Uku Suviste who represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 will perform with the Narva City Symphony Orchestra in the Rugodiv Culture House, the former trade union committee office of the Baltiets’ factory.
The audience will also be offered an extraordinary opportunity to visit the Narva Gate office in the Kreenholm industrial complex and enjoy the performances of Estonian folksters Duo Ruut and Tuulikki Bartosik against the backdrop of the waterfall view. As a follow-up to the great Tallinn soundtrack presented at the TMW last year, the new international collaboration “Themes For Great Cities: Tallinn & Narva”, based on the city sounds of Narva and Tallinn will be premiered at the Narva Art Residency, located in the historic Kreenholm Director’s House.
Saturday’s programme as well as the entire TMW 2022 music programme will end in the riverside Art Club Ro-Row with an afterparty hosted by Ida Viru County’s festival Mägede Hääl. Featured among more than a dozen artists across two stages are Estonian audiovisual duo Vera Vice, Slovenian noise rock band Lelee, and Raul Saaremets, legendary radio and club DJ and promoter.
The TMW 2022 main stage at the majestic Kreenholm Manufactory, presented by the Station Narva festival, will be announced separately.
In addition to the showcase programme, music will play in Narva also during the daytime – from courtyards to skate parks and riverside promenade, Additionally, the city festival in Narva will offer art experiences, public talks and excursions. The joint festival will end on Sunday, 8 May in the community gardens and city parks with a long table brunch, music and planting.
The special night train will run from Narva to Tallinn on Saturday, 7 May. Shuttles between cities will also be provided to festival visitors.
Single tickets for TMW 2022 showcase nights are on sale at Piletilevi from Wednesday, 30 March.
TMW 2022 passes are on sale at shop.tmw.ee. The PRO Pass, which grants access both to the music festival and the conference, is on sale for 175 euros. The selection of passes also includes Festival Pass, which provides access to the music festival events, and DigiPRO Pass, which provides online access to the conference.
TMW and Station Narva festivals are founded and run by Shiftworks. TMW 2022 edition unites the teams, partners and funders of both festivals,
TMW 2022 showcase curators are the Estonian Choral Association, Damn.Loud, Dark Disko, Fenno-Ugria, Club HALL, Mägede Hääl, Philly Joe’s Jazz Club, PopSpot, Skaņu mežs, Station Narva, Sveta Bar, Tartu 2024 and Ö Stuudio, Viljandi Folk Festival, Võnge Festival, Warner Music Live, World Clinic, CIMA and Break Out West.
The joint festival is supported by the cities of Tallinn and Narva, the Government Office, the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment, Integration Foundation, Nordic Hotel Forum and Visit Estonia.
TMW’s diversity partner is Telia Eesti, strategic partner in the field of music is Music Estonia, partners and supporters Telliskivi Creative City, Viru Center, Go Travel, Ida-Viru Tourism Cluster, Tallink, Go Hotel, Meresuu and British Council. Media partners are Postimees, Kanal 2, Põhjarannik, Raadio 2 and Raadio 4.
Additional information
TMW 2022 artists
Programme schedule