ETEP’s Soccer Substitute

Those who miss their weekly diet of soccer statistics and league tables during the close season might get some comfort from the regular figures churned out by the European Talent Exchange Programme.

The latest round shows the UK’s Royal Blood topping the table with 13 festival appearances resulting from the band’s showcase gig at this year’s Eurosonic Noorderslag in the Netherlands.

That’s one point (or one festival) ahead of their fellow countrymen Jungle, which has a dozen shows.

It looks as if this year’s competition could be the proverbial two-horse race as Danish singer-songwriter Mø (or Karen Marie Ørsted), who has dropped off the pace and now has eight shows. Germany’s Milky Chance and the UK’s George Ezra are next with seven shows apiece, followed by Kodaline (Ireland), Wild Beasts (UK), Mighty Oaks (Germany), Birth Of Joy (The Netherlands) and Pional (Spain), who have six festivals each.

Last year ETEP provided 103 artists with 324 shows. So far this year, the programme has delivered 234 shows for 88 artists.