At the moment, I’m getting ready for the 17th Tallinn Music Week festival - with excitement!
The feeling is good - a combination of optimism, excitement and thrill, but also confidence that things will be good. We have a fantastic team; we know what we do, and we know why we do it. Our work never runs out or gets finalized. With this goal of ours - for more good music and fresh new culture to reach more people and new audiences - there is no limit to how much more can be done. For more Estonian and Baltic music to reach the world, as well as for new music, arts and culture from around the globe to reach our region. It is a mission that doesn't expire and a goal that never hits a ceiling. The journey of getting ready for the festival has its benchmarks and deadlines of course, but the 17-year drill tells us we are well prepared and ready to welcome all of you in spring-filled Tallinn, bringing the buzz and excitement to Tallinn’s music clubs, galleries and city spaces.
Not only do we need TMW, but we also need the widest range of diverse cultural events, organizations and initiatives.
From the Black Nights Film Festival and Arvo Pärt Centre to small-town music venues, rural museums and libraries, dedicated record shops and edgy art galleries - we need them all. TMW’s role in this layered cultural landscape is to put a spotlight on tomorrow’s talent, give a boost to Estonian and Baltic-Nordic music and contribute to Estonia and Tallinn’s role in the international music scene.
We make an effort to bring the big players of the international music industry together, making them available for local musicians, managers and music scene. TMW brings people together who otherwise may not have access to each other. In cosy Tallinn you might have a casual drink in a bar with Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien or get career counsel from the manager of R.E.M.
TMW is actually very indie in terms of music industry – a grassroots worker, dedicated to the music culture.
We don’t look at whether a band has an agency, a record label, or a certain number of Spotify listens. We like being music detectives - attentive curators, putting the spotlight on brilliance that so far has gone unnoticed - the work of our music programmers team - nearly 30 specialists, knowledgeable in genres from techno to classical, from jazz to punk. We programme across the genres and showcase the diversity of the music culture. Hopefully broadening the musical spectre for both our audiences as well as the music industry experts who come over.
So, sometimes it happens that an brilliant unsigned Danish band gets a booking for the Roskilde through TMW, many others find their first ever contacts in the industry. The core philosophy of TMW is to present the talent of tomorrow, not the headliners of today.
In Estonian we have this saying: “when there’s no way to be seen, there’s always a way.”
(„Kui kuidagi ei saa, siis kuidagi ikka saab“). I subscribe to this idea. If you have a good team and if you know why you are doing this, then obstacles are bumps on the road that make you train harder and find new solutions. I never expected this to be easy. But it's also rewarding, fulfilling, and fun. It's a marathon, and it's an education.
It is very important that we create a system together in which we can learn from each other's experiences, so that every young person who wants to work in the music sector or start a festival or a company, does not have to start from the scratch.
It is important that our knowledge, experiences, and contacts are recorded and accumulated for the collective benefit, so future generations do not have to push through a brick wall and run against the wind, reinventing the same wheel each time. This is precisely why development organizations, such as Music Estonia or Music Latvia, are important – for the system to capture, record and spread the knowledge and networks. This is also why I try to meet with young people whenever I can and why our volunteers and youth teams are super important to us.
Curiosity is the key - the desire to learn, find out, dig deeper, and find pathways and connection points and synergies between them.
Spot the hidden, find the invisible, tell stories and create new narratives. Bring people, artforms, sectors, nationalities, concepts and connections together and see what happens. Create new things, discover new things.
I am grateful for every recognition I have received. Being noticed, however, also means being under the spotlight. We often end up being our own biggest critics. When you can honestly face things within yourself and move towards improvement step by step, and be kind to yourself and others, things will work out.
We are crazy proud to host 204 unique artists at TMW music programme this year. 91 of them from Estonia, 6 from Latvia and 6 from Lithuania.
Presenting the local and regional talent is important to us. At the same time, we are thrilled to host the fresh sounds of Africa and Taiwan, hold up high the music scene of Ukraine, and showcase Canada. Sweden is more prominently presented than ever this year, and Finland is, as always, going strong. Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026 will partner up with UNDA electronic music & arts festival in techno club Hall and UNESCO Cities of Music will showcase cities and their selected sounds. Our contemporary classical night will celebrate the 90th birthday of Estonia’s renowned composer Arvo Pärt. From Finno-Ugric music traditions to arctic sounds and world beats. In addition to music, TMW hosts a music industry conference as well as a city arts programme of galleries, talks, special tours and best restaurants with festival menus, brunches and special dinners. TMW will start with a special collaboration, “God and the Devil,” this year - an overlap between contemporary dance and music, bringing performing arts to the techno mecca of Hall Club at the Noblessner Port.
I would love to continue my education path - perhaps in art history or in business or both. I love that concept of life-long learning.
I love being an entrepreneur - running a company with a small but powerful team of smart, creative, hardworking, talented, good people. Sometimes, I think that our company is like a little scooter, taking curves, turns, jumps, and climbs - choosing tempos and gear. Our own little vehicle to navigate the world. We feel the tide and the waves on our skin, but we know how to ride. We do our part in supporting the values we believe in, and fight for music and culture, diversity and democracy and a stronger Europe - with the tools that we have. It is truly empowering, actually, riding the waves and contributing to the ecosystem around us. I dream of more capital - to invest in new ventures and opportunities, as there are many. In the bigger picture, I think the Baltic-Nordic region should collaborate more and create more joint initiatives and businesses. I have a feeling that the time will come - at the moment, we should all be smart to make Europe stronger.
Silence, slow weekends, long abundant breakfasts, morning baths, books, nature, good people, my sweet beagle-dog Pipar, smiles, warmth, love, joy are my way to refuel the energy.
At home, I listen to quite a lot of classical music. One of my favourite composers is Tõnu Kõrvits - there is a special melancholy, loneliness, and a sense of calm journey in his music that speaks to my soul. “Kõrvits: Moorland Elegies” is gorgeous and is also available on Spotify. There was also a concert lately where his re-work of one of Radiohead’s songs was performed.
I also would like to point out Night Tapes, an Estonian-British band making waves around the globe with beautiful, dreamy-catchy pop songs and fantastic live shows with singer-songwriter Iiris. I’ve had my fingers crossed for her for a decade. Iiris is living proof of not giving up, of reinventing yourself but always staying true to your own voice and your own dreams.
And of course - everyone should check out our beloved trickster Tommy Cash and his full spectrum of creative language, may good old “espresso macchiato” be an inspiration!