This Wednesday the Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) music festival will be returning to Groningen.
The four-day event in the city will be held from 15 to 18 January. However, due to budget cuts, it will all look a little different this year: the large stage on the Grote Markt has been left out.
In recent years, the stage on the Grote Markt has hosted free concerts by major artists during the ESNS. Last year, a performance by Joost Klein led to a long queue, and extra barriers had to be installed. But that scenario will not occur this year.
Organiser Joey Ruchtie told RTV Noord budget cuts meant they had to scale down the main stage and they would also like to focus more on Northern talent rather than big names in music.
Songs for Freedom Contest
Instead of the large tent, there will now be two small stages on the Grote Markt where Northern artists will perform. They will also host the final of the Songs for Freedom Contest on Friday evening. Five artists are competing for a spot at the Liberation Festival Groningen 2025. The finalists are: Moira (All Hallows Days), Marieke Schenk (Verward Persoon), Sabine Koch (Ongehoorde stemmen), Suze Schoenmaker (Rustig Slapen) and Skai (Freedom).
The finalists will get the chance to present their song live for a jury and audience. The winner of the contest wins a cash prize of €1000,- for coaching and/or studio recording and a spot in the line-up of Bevrijdingsfestival Groningen 2025.
BUSsessions
There will also be so-called ‘BUSsessions’: Intimate musical performances on a bus on the Grote Markt on January 16 and 17. The event is part of Grunnsonic 2025 and ESNS.
The regional music scene is well represented with artists such as singer-songwriters Bogi Smalls and Marit Nygård; alternative sounds by MAYA MARIA and The Last Mandrill; electronic music by Frogs; and R&B and hip hop by Matoya and Jadi D.
In addition to the acts, Spot TV will be running a live interview programme from the bus with artists from Eurosonic. The full programme can be found here.
Popprijs 2024
The prize for the greatest contribution to Dutch pop music will be awarded on the last evening of the festival during Noorderslag in the Oosterpoort. Anyone who wants to attend one of the paid performances of ESNS has to be quick as tickets usually sell out. For tickets and more information, you can visit the ESNS website.