Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) 2027 — Showcase Open Call

ESNS — Eurosonic Noorderslag — is the showcase festival and conference where European acts play to the people who book them. The 2027 edition runs 13–16 January in Groningen, the Netherlands. By night, dozens of stages across the city host around 40,000 music fans; by day, roughly 4,000 industry delegates gather for the conference — bookers, agents, festival programmers, labels, export offices. This open call is the way in if you don't already have a contact there.

Eligibility is simple and strict: performing artists must hold a passport from one of the eligible European countries, and only acts from European countries can play. ESNS books across the continent to keep the programme broad and proportionate, so where you are based is part of the selection picture.

Applications go through an online form and close on 1 September 2026.

There is no cash award here. What you get, if selected, is the room — and automatic enrolment in the European Talent Exchange, the scheme that has led to ESNS acts being booked at festivals including Sziget, Dour, The Great Escape, Primavera Sound and Colours of Ostrava. The open call does not publish selection criteria, and it does not say what, if anything, is covered in travel, accommodation or performance fees, so plan to fund the trip yourself unless you are told otherwise.