A new year means new music, and that’s exactly what Netherlands festival Eurosonic Noorderslag sets out to showcase. Acting as a snapshot of the music year to come, the Groningen-based mid-January four-dayer offers performances from hundreds of genre-hopping bands and artists: it’s a sort of European incarnation of Bristol’s Great Escape. Running from Wednesday 17 to Sunday 20 January, the action takes place each evening across dozens of venues dotted around the city, while in the daytime there are conferences, talks and workshops. Dork’s heading there to try and take in as much of it as possible, so we’ve created a handy guide of twelve must-see performances spanning pop, rock, electronic, indie and jazz.
Superorganism
Quite possibly the most exciting buzz band of 2018, this eclectic and experimental eight-piece make kaleidoscopic hook-laden weird pop that sounds like nothing else out there. With a debut album out in the next few months, and having just released the brilliant ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous’, it’s the perfect time to catch them before they go stratospheric.
FRI 19 JAN
MACHINEFABRIEK
20:00 – 20:40
Pale Waves
It’s no secret that this Mancunian four-piece are Dork favourites – and recent cover stars – so catching them in the Netherlands for a show that’s bound to be one of the hottest tickets of the festival before they return to the UK for an almost sold-out tour is on the top of our list. The Matty Healy-approved quartet are known for putting on some amazing live shows, and how better than to forget the January blues than sing along and lose your mind to euphoric indie anthems ‘There’s A Honey’ and ‘Television Romance’?
FRI 19 JAN
ESNS PLAY
21:20 – 22:00
Off Bloom
Each year at Eurosonic, the festival picks a focus country – and this year it’s Denmark’s turn to shine, with Off Bloom leading the charge. Throwing out the rulebook to create unconventional, eccentric and future-proof pop music that’s influenced by Hudson Mohawke, Major Lazer and AlunaGeorge, the trio have already supported LANY and Dua Lipa on tour. We don’t want to spoil anything, but Of Bloom’s live shows are definitely not to be missed. Trust us.
THU 18 JAN
GRAND THEATRE, MAIN
23:00 – 23:45
Goss
Another exciting yet elusive Danish artist that’s already toured with Mura Masa and contributed to MØ’s forthcoming album, this Copenhagen-based soloist and producer makes boundary-crossing pop for fans of Liss and Glass Animals. Check out his stunning debut EP, ‘Healthcare’, to hear why.
THU 18 JAN
DOT DOME
20:30 – 21:10
Vera
Copenhagen really is a hotbed of musical talent at the moment. As well as being a member of alt-pop trio Liss, Vera is a songwriter, producer and DJ delivering ‘divine electronic pop’. He combines androgynous pop vocals, smooth saxophone and bossa nova guitars with future electronic beats. On stage, the Danish DJ is backed by live sax, Spanish guitar and a light show that sets out to leaves the audience in a dreamy state of mind. The jazzy escape of ‘In and Out of Love’, below, is our favourite of his so far.
FRI 19 JAN
MACHINEFABRIEK
21:05 – 21:45
Alma
This 21-year-old Finnish songwriter is on her way to becoming pop’s new princess in 2018. Having won two Finnish Grammys and comparisons to Rihanna, worked with Charli XCX on ‘Out of My Head’ and now working on her debut album, this is a chance to catch ALMA before she’s a household name.
THU 18 JAN
ESNS PLAY
21:20 – 22:00
HMLTD
The enigmatic six-piece, whose origins lie somewhere between the UK, Greece and France, are one of the most confounding on the London scene in recent memory. With equally galvanising music and visuals, stories of chaotic and incendiary live shows to packs of mosh-pitting followers, as well as art installations where the lines between performers and audience are ever-blurred, this is not ‘just another’ band.
THU 18 JAN
VERA
23:45 – 00:30
Yonaka
Rising fast in the UK band scene, the quartet fuse throbbing beats and adrenaline-drenched guitar riffs to create anthemic rock in the vein of Royal Blood. They’ve already played The Great Escape, Reading, Leeds and Download Festivals, but now they’re are hungry for more.
FRI 19 JAN
VERA
22:15 – 23:00
IAMDDB
By mixing jazz and trap, this Manchester vocalist describes her music as ‘urban soul’ and ‘Shade’, the standout from her ‘Hoodrich’ mixtape, is a future hip-hop anthem.
THU 18 JAN
PLATFORMTHEATER, MAIN
21:30 – 22:15
Skott
25-year-old singer-songwriter and musician Pauline Skött comes from a tiny village just outside Stockholm, and her dreamlike folk, warm electronics and ethereal vocals conspire to draw you closer. Her early singles ‘Porcelain’ and ‘Wolf’ were praised by Lorde and Katy Perry, but the rallying cry of ‘Glitter and Gloss’ is our favourite.
THU 18 JAN
STADSSCHOUWBURG
22:50 – 23:35
IDER
Transfixing audiences into stunned silence with their glacial twin vocals, Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville emerged first with their smoky R&B-tinged debut ‘Sorry’ in April 2016. Since then, the U.K-based duo have sold out their debut London headline show in four days and signed to Glassnote Records, home to Childish Gambino, Daughter and CHVRCHES.
WED 17 JAN
LUTHERSE KERK
00:00 – 00:40
Yungblud
Emerging from the north of England, the 19-year-old brings an explosion of raw energy and thought-provoking lyrics. Check his killer single ‘King Charles’ and just try to stay out of the infectious, riotous groove.
FRI 19 JAN
HUIZE MAAS, MAIN
22:15 – 23:00
Tickets for this year’s Eurosonic are still available: eurosonic-noorderslag.nl And with flights to Amsterdam around £70 return, there’s really no excuse but to catch some of the most buzz-worthy names on the scene.