Luvcat, Cliffords, Sylvie Kreusch Lead European Talent Exchange Bookings

As the partner festivals participating in the ESNS European Talent Exchange unveil their 2025 line-ups, it once again becomes clear how impactful this talent program is: 110 artists from 29 countries, who performed at ESNS earlier this year, are performing a total of 240 shows at 77 festivals in 30 countries this year.

From Sziget in Hungary to Coachella in the U.S., major festivals across Europe and beyond are locking in fresh talent discovered at ESNS 2025. Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), Ypsigrock Festival (Italy), Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland), Rock For People (Czechia), Rock Werchter (Belgium), Electric Castle (Romania), Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Mad Cool Festival (Spain), Best Kept Secret (Netherlands), and Øyafestivalen (Norway) are all partners of the ESNS European Talent Exchange.

Confirmed artists making their way from the ESNS stage to the international spotlight include Luvcat (9 bookings), and Big Special (7 bookings) from the U.K.; Judeline from Spain (4 bookings); Daufødt from Norway (3 bookings); Erika Rein from Slovakia (3 bookings); Sylvie Kreusch from Belgium (7 bookings); Boko Yout from Sweden (5 bookings); Cliffords from Ireland (8 bookings); Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers from the Netherlands (3 bookings); Carpetman from Ukraine (4 bookings); and Woomb from Bulgaria (4 bookings).

See: Talking The Beating Heart Of ESNS With Managing Director Anna Van Nunen

“This wave of bookings proves how powerful European Talent Exchange is,” a press release from ESNS states, “fueling the rise of emerging artists beyond borders.”

Every artist performing at ESNS in Groningen, Netherlands in January, automatically joins the European Talent Exchange program. Their bookings at a total of 130 partner festivals from all across Europe and beyond can be tracked via ESNS Radar.

European festival association Yourope, as well as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are important partners of the program.

Additionally, European Talent Exchange unites 26 export offices to create a powerful network for talent development. The platform is coordinated by ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), and is co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

The European Talent Exchange originally launched in 2003 as ETEP (European Talent Exchange Program). The essence of the program has always remained the same: hundreds of festival bookers check out new acts at ESNS each year, and book them on the spot.

Founded in 1986, ESNS will celebrate its 40th anniversary January 14-17, 2026, in Groningen, the Netherlands.

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