Tallinn Music Week celebrates Baltic collaboration at inaugural Riga Music Week
Tallinn Music Week (TMW) hosts a showcase night and reception at the debut edition of Riga Music Week (RMW) next week on Thursday 6 November, featuring a lineup of TMW favourites from each Baltic country. The night at Ezītis Miglā venue brings together Estonia’s Alonette, Latvia’s Elizabete Balčus, and Lithuania’s Plié, capturing the breadth of Baltic talent from tender confessional songwriting to theatrical flair and avant-pop boldness.
This presence at the debut edition of RMW, taking place on 5–6 November, marks both a celebration of longstanding Baltic partnerships and a commitment to building sustainable pathways for regional artists within the European music landscape. Since its inception in 2009, TMW has served as the Baltic region’s primary platform for music industry networking, and now RMW will boost the regional talent springboard and export pathways that have developed through years of cross-Baltic collaboration.
The night at Ezītis Miglā in Riga’s buzzing Tallinn Street Quarter begins with a TMW reception for international music industry representatives and media, followed by live performances. Estonia’s Alonette opens with her heartfelt folk-pop, her voice carrying echoes of Karen Carpenter’s crystalline demeanour and Joni Mitchell’s vulnerability as she performs her acclaimed debut album Compass with guitarist Erki Pärnoja. Latvia’s Elizabete Balčus follows with alluring neo-psychedelic soundscapes, weaving looped flute, vocals, and theatrical surrealism. Lithuania’s Plié closes the night with their relentless hardcore meets avant-garde influences that has earned them presence at premier European festivals and tastemaker media.
Across two nights, RMW will feature over 50 acts, with other Estonian artists including mariin k., NOËP, ALIKA, Erki Pärnoja, OOPUS, and Andreas.
Agnese Cimuška-Rekke, CEO of Music Latvia and Founder of RMW, says: “The festival was created as a hub where Latvian and Baltic artists and industry professionals meet colleagues from across Europe and beyond, creating new collaborations. For us, Tallinn Music Week has been both mentor and partner—we’ve been there since 2009, attending, learning, and watching our artists perform year after year. Our collaboration with Estonians has grown beyond the Baltics to Ireland and Slovenia, side by side. Welcoming TMW to Riga for our debut feels like the most beautiful full circle and a moment for new beginnings.”
Founder and Director of TMW Helen Sildna comments: “We are extremely pleased about the launch of Riga Music Week. This is proof that the TMW format works – it benefits both the local music scene and audiences alike, and we’re delighted to see the format being adopted as a model. We also hope this will help us discover even more exciting Latvian music. We have always believed that closer Nordic and Baltic cooperation benefits our entire region, and we are taking steady steps towards this shared vision.”
TMW representatives also participate in the RMW conference discussions. On Wednesday 5 November, Helen Sildna joins a panel exploring how showcase festivals can drive tangible artist success and strengthen music ecosystems. On Thursday 6 November, TMW Head of PR & Communications Ingrid Kohtla moderates a discussion with programmers from European festivals examining pathways for artists from smaller markets to reach international stages.
The inaugural RMW will transform Riga’s Tallinn Street Quarter (Tallinas ielas kvartāls) into a vibrant festival zone. Over two days, more than 50 artists from the Baltics and beyond will perform across six stages, curated by I Love You Records, Summer Sound Festival, Bobe.me, TMW, and many more. The event also brings together speakers from world-renowned festivals and organisations, including Lisa Nasta (Glastonbury), Mark Bona (Sziget Festival), Robert Meijerink (ESNS), Fruzsina Szép (Lollapalooza Berlin and Superbloom), Martin Schuhmacher (Nettwerk Europe), Darek Mazzone (KEXP), and others.
Riga Music Week is organised in cooperation with Music Latvia and Company NA, with support from Riga City Council, Biļešu Serviss, LaIPA, and AKKA/LAA.
Tallinn Music Week is one of Europe’s most acclaimed new music and city culture festivals and a key networking event for music and creative industry professionals, held annually in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, since 2009. The next edition of TMW takes place from 9–12 April 2026.
TMW reception at RMW is supported by Visit Estonia and the Estonian Embassy in Riga.
TMW at RMW timeline, conference and artist introductions
Wednesday, 5 November
16:15–17:15, Angārs main stage
Conference panel: How to Make Showcase Festivals Work for Artists and the Ecosystem
Leading European festival and export office representatives explore what determines successful showcase performances and how these events strengthen music ecosystems through international collaboration, professional networking, and positioning cities as vibrant cultural hubs.
Moderator: Egīls Šēfers (Latvian Music Information Centre)
Panellists: Robert Meijerink (ESNS), Helen Sildna (TMW), Franz Hergovich (Austrian Music Export), Bruno Roze (I Love You), Michaël Spanu (Cultural strategist and researcher)
Thursday, 6 November
10:00–11:00, Angārs main stage
Conference panel: From Dream to Stage: How to Get to International Music Festivals?
A discussion with programmers from Glastonbury, Sziget, Lollapalooza Berlin, and leading booking professionals, examining pathways for artists from smaller markets to reach prestigious international stages.
Moderator: Ingrid Kohtla (TMW)
Panellists: Liza Nasta (Glastonbury Festival), Fruzsina Szép (Superbloom, Lollapalooza Berlin), Mark Bóna (Sziget Festival), Marlon Burton (ROAM Agency), Ruud Berends (International Festival Forum)
Thursday, 6 November
TMW Reception & Showcase
Ezītis Miglā
Tallinas iela 10-3, Centra rajons
17:30–18:30 TMW Reception by invitation
18:30 TMW Showcase doors open to public
19:00–19:40
Alonette (EE)
Alonette charms with tenderness, letting her confessional songs and odes to day-to-day existentialism flow with an ease reminiscent of a child’s fantasy play. She conjures heartfelt folk-pop with a nod to the ’70s, her voice carrying echoes of Karen Carpenter’s crystalline demeanour. Yet her music doesn’t shy away from experimentation, creating songs full of unexpected twists and bittersweet sentimentality—establishing herself as an Estonian counterpart to Jessica Pratt and Aldous Harding. Acoustic guitar, strings, and soft-footed electronic sounds embrace each other empathetically. In March 2025, Alonette released her debut album Compass, praised for its maturity, rich sonority, and ability to balance vulnerability with wit. At Riga Music Week, Alonette performs it with guitarist Erki Pärnoja.
20:20–21:00
Elizabete Balčus (LV)
Elizabete Balčus is a Latvian musician and performance artist who creates neo-psychedelic dream pop from surprising, collaged genre juxtapositions that are simultaneously melodic and experimental. Her visual aesthetics draw upon modern surrealism, contemporary fashion, and geometric imagery. Elizabete studied classical and jazz flute at Latvian Academy of Music as well as opera singing at Rome’s Santa Cecilia Academy. Anything is permitted in her musical cosmos: looping flute and voice, clicking electro pop beats, and playing vegetables as a synths, leaving the listener in a blissed-out trance-like state, somewhere between waking and sleeping.
21:40–22:20
Plié (LT)
Lithuanian Plié bring a relentless onslaught to the everyday chaos of the 21st century. The band’s hardcore framework is embellished with industrial, electronic, post-rock, and avant-garde influences, awakening animalistic energy in their hypnotic live performances. Having performed at major European showcases including ESNS, Europavox, and Tallinn Music Week, and opened for acts such as Xiu Xiu, Plié was nominated as Rock Band of the Year at the Lithuanian awards gala M.A.M.A.