Tallinn Music Week draws 22,271 visits to the Estonian capital Tallinn

• The 18th edition of the international music and city festival and music industry conference Tallinn Music Week (TMW) took place in Tallinn, Estonia from 9–12 April. The festival drew a total of 22,271 visits.
  
• The TMW music festival featured 203 artists from 37 countries and the conference brought together 169 music and culture professionals from around the world. 
  
• The next TMW festival takes place from 8–11 April 2027. TMW 2027 passes are now on sale at an early bird price until 30 April.

The 18th edition of TMW, the festival of “tomorrow’s music, arts and ideas”, filled Tallinn with music from around the world, explored the present and future of the music industry, and showcased the city’s cultural life from Telliskivi Creative City to Kopli and from the Old Town to the Rotermann Quarter. The central themes of TMW 2026 were the impact of music and culture on the development of cities and regions, and the sector’s mental health and wellbeing.

To kick off the festival, TMW and the City of Tallinn co-hosted a public debate on the future of Linnahall — the landmark brutalist concert and sports complex and one of the defining works of Estonian modern architecture on Tallinn’s seafront.

In the words of Merilin Piipuu, Chancellor of the Estonian Ministry of Culture, TMW is an important platform that animates Estonian cultural life: “It supports the international visibility of our creators, while also bringing societally significant topics into public debate. TMW’s role in shaping the conversation around the future of Tallinn’s Linnahall and in foregrounding the mental health of the creative sector shows that this is not merely a festival, but a vital partner in developing sustainable cultural policy.”

The TMW conference opened on Friday, 10 April, at Nordic Hotel Forum, with addresses by Minister of Culture Heidy Purga, leading Nordic cultural strategist and Executive Director of the Swedish-Finnish cultural centre Hanaholmen Gunvor Kronman, Director of Music Estonia Ave Sophia Demelemester, and Founder and Director of TMW Helen Sildna.

The opening panel placed Estonia’s current debates around the development of a new arena and the future of Linnahall in an international context. Amongst the speakers was Robert Fitzpatrick, President of the European Arenas Association, who commended TMW’s willingness to open up debates that reach beyond the music industry: “When a city has resolve and people who believe in their dreams, great things become possible. TMW is proof of what can be achieved. It is rare that the ingredients for positive development are so powerfully present in one place at one time.”

The conference featured 169 specialists and trailblazers from the music and cultural sectors, among them Paul Clement, Co-Founder of Resident Advisor; Ian Huffam, Partner at X-Ray Touring; Katariina Uusitupa, Executive Director of Flow Festival; Patrik Tengwall, Head of Event Strategy for the City of Stockholm; and Magne Furuholmen, founding member of a-ha, who gave a public interview at the event.

In Furuholmen’s words: “Tallinn Music Week is a testament to what passionate optimism, relentless perseverance, attention to detail, and smart professionalism can achieve — without losing sight of the reason for doing it: to create an inspiring arena for the joy, randomness, and immeasurable value that creative artists bring to our lives through music and art. It should serve as a shining example for all music industry gatherings around the world.”

The TMW music festival brought 203 artists from 37 countries — from Europe to Canada, and from South Korea to the African diaspora — to the venues across Tallinn. The programme ranged from folk to digipop, jazz to metal, and from club beats to contemporary classical. New Estonian co-curators included festivals I Land Sound and KIKUMU, FM station Legendaarne Raadio, record label and artist collective Glitch Please, and management and publishing company Tier Music.Two concerts were presented in collaboration with Estonian Music Days, and a special Night Shift x TMW x Fabrica Femme performance took place at Fotografiska, inspired by the Anton Corbijn exhibition. The TMW afterparty was presented by KIKUMU festival. Returning international curators included Europe’s leading contemporary music showcase Classical:NEXT, Latvian music and art festival Skaņu Mežs, Swedish talent platform Talentcoach, and nomadic platform Yugofuturism with its Vikendica series.

The Estonian Heavy Music Association treated TMW audiences to both a showcase night and the final of the Heavy Music Band Battle competition. Association founder Ott Evestus comments: “With the help of TMW it’s possible to go from zero to major goals in just a couple of years — you just have to get on and do it. Thanks to the connections made here with world-leading names — from Century Media to Dropout Media and the scene’s bible Metal Hammer — the export prospects and the professional level of our bands have made a leap forward. TMW is like the Olympics for musicians, where all that prior training can lead to a life-changing moment. It’s remarkable that a festival as world-opening as TMW happens in Estonia every single year.”

“TMW is a young adult now,” says Helen Sildna, the founder of TMW. “It has been a beautiful journey of learning and growing together with the sector and we believe there is still a lot that we can achieve and aim for. All of which is possible thanks to our brilliant team, musicians and partners, who have faith and trust in us. Professional teams are the most precious asset we have in the sector. By investing in the wellbeing and growth of the people and the teams, we put faith in the joint efforts that will take us to our next goals and dreams as a society.” 

At the TMW opening reception at Kumu Art Museum, the international gender equality initiative Keychange presented its Inspiration Award to Erin Barra, Director of the Popular Music Programme at Arizona State University and Executive Director of the non-profit We Make Noise.

The TMW city festival’s art programme centred on the 20th anniversary of the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art (EKKM), marked by the opening of the Köler Prize 2026 exhibition; the TMW 2026 opening reception and exhibitions at Kumu Art Museum, also celebrating its second decade; and a retrospective by Anton Corbijn at Fotografiska.. Tours curated by the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art (EKKAK) led visitors to galleries in the Old Town, Noblessner, and Telliskivi Creative City. Free city stages took place at Kohvik Nihe, the EKKM courtyard, and the Telliskivi Creative City courtyard, with the latter stage presented by European Capitals of Culture Oulu 2026 and Liepāja 2027.

The city festival also offered culinary discoveries, alongside public talks, kids and youth festivals, a film programme in collaboration with Kino Sõprus, and a Record Fair x Music Bazaar.

For the third consecutive year, TMW partner Telliskivi Creative City, in collaboration with Selektor Studio, is awarding a studio prize to a TMW artist interested in recording new music at Telliskivi Creative City. Applications are open until 27 April.

TMW 2026 in numbers

• 203 artists from 37 countries
• 169 conference speakers
• 150 journalists
• 1,600 PRO delegates / music industry representatives
• 35 concert and club nights
• 22,271 festival visits

The next TMW festival takes place from 8–11 April 2027.

TMW 2027 passes are on sale in the festival’s webshop. Until 30 April, a festival pass costs €55 (end price €99) and a PRO pass (conference and festival access) costs €150 (end price €250).

TMW 2026 and 2027 PRO pass holders can rewatch conference panels on the TMW PRO platform.

Artist applications to perform at TMW 2027 are now open on the TMW website until 26 October.