As an emerging artist, playing showcase festivals is hands down the best way to reach new audiences and progress your career.
Showcase festivals are packed full of industry professionals keen to work with you, and music lovers who will add your music to their playlists!
However, knowing which showcase festivals are right for you isn’t easy and can take a lot of time to research… That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you, and compiled a list of the BEST showcase festivals to play at.
Waves Vienna
Waves Vienna is an international showcase festival that utilises Vienna’s most significant clubs, unique off-locations and public spaces. Numerous international alternative, electronic, rock and club acts perform at the showcase and plenty of industry professionals also attend for the conference.
Applications for Waves Vienna 2023 are not yet open, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so that you can be notified as soon as the festival is open for applications!
Reeperbahn Festival
Reeperbahn Festival takes place every year on the infamous Reeperbahn strip in Hamburg. It is the biggest multi-venue festival in Europe and hosts hundreds of performances every year.
Quiz Question: Can you guess how many gigmit artists played at Reeperbahn festival this year?
Make your guess now and we’ll reveal the answer at the end of the article!
We also hosted a gigmit showcase at the recent Reeperbahn 2022. 3 of our top artists played the showcase and it was all in all an amazing experience. You can read more about the festival and the gigmit showcase here!
We will likely be collaborating with Reeperbahn again next year so make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter so you can be the first to send in your application!
Sharpe
SHARPE is a festival & conference showcasing fresh music from Slovakia, Europe and beyond. Unlike many other showcase festivals, SHARPE festival provides accommodation, PA & Lights, catering and additional fees for their artists. Definitely not a bad deal!
SHARPE 2023 applications are still open! Apply now via gigmit for a chance to play the festival!
FOCUS Wales
Located in the northern region of Wales, Focus Wales is an international, multi-venue showcase festival that gives the spotlight to emerging talent from Wales and the rest of the world.
Returning for its 12th edition, the festival will rival many of the other UK festivals as it provides a jam-packed weekend, with 20 stages, interactive industry sessions, film screenings and more!
Luckily, Focus Wales 2023 applications are still open!
Apply now to join the line-up!
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MENT Ljubljana
MENT Festival is a music discovery festival/conference that celebrates international talent and creativity. Taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the festival celebrates international diversity as well as musical diversity. MENT compiles talent from all over Europe, and as far as the USA and beyond.
Sadly, applications for MENT 2023 have closed! Sign up to our newsletter so you can keep up to date with all the upcoming gigs and deadlines!
PIN Music Conference and Showcase
PIN is the first and only international music conference and showcase festival in Macedonia.
With connecting music lovers at the heart of its purpose, PIN compiles industry professionals and talented musicians from all over the world for a few days of networking, great performances and much more!
The conference has a relatively small capacity, so it is the perfect opportunity to meet fresh faces and really get to know everyone at the event!
Monkey Week
Alhambra Monkey Week is an annual international showcase festival, music conference and cultural event that brings together musicians and professionals from all over the globe.
Monkey Week has consolidated international interest in recent editions, and prides itself on hosting some of the best upcoming artists in the sector.
Sadly, applications for Monkey Week 2022 are closed! Sign up to our newsletter to be notified when next years applications open!
Live at Heart
Live at Heart is one of Scandinavia’s biggest showcase festivals and industry conferences. Taking place in Örebro, Sweden, Live at Heart celebrates a huge variety of different cultures, backgrounds and industries.
Applications for Live at Heart 2023 will be opening soon so make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter so you don’t miss it!
Linecheck
Taking place in the heart of Milan, Linecheck is Italy’s flagship music conference / festival. It is the meeting point for industry professionals across Europe, and hosts an extensive program of talks, showcases and discussions that explore and challenge the music industry.
This is a great way to get your music heard and to network with industry professionals.
This year, gigmit have partnered up with SIXT to offer amazing opportunities that include (but go far beyond) playing a showcase at the event.
If you are a live act or DJ then this is the perfect opportunity to play at a major showcase event.
You can find more information about these opportunities through the gig pages!
Apply now!
Live Acts Wanted for Linecheck Showcase Festival
DJs Wanted for Linecheck Showcase Festival
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Mondo NYC
Mondo is New York’s Annual Music, Arts & Technology Business Conference & Showcase Festival. Bringing together a global community of industry innovators, artists and fans, playing this festival is a huge boost for an artist’s musical career.
This year, gigmit partnered up with SIXT to give artists the opportunity to play at the festival. You can read the full article about this amazing opportunity here!
Iceland Airwaves
Taking place every year in November, this electrifying music festival showcases some of the best emerging talent from Iceland and beyond, as well as popular artists who headline the show.
As the most northerly music exhibition in the world, the festival boasts long daylight hours and a chance to experience the northern lights!
Applications for this year’s Iceland Airwaves are sadly closed, so make sure your artist page is up to date so you’re ready to apply for next year!
The Great Escape
Love the seaside? Well, then maybe Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival is the one for you. Taking place across 30 venues in the beautiful coastal district of Brighton and Hove, TGEF is undoubtedly one of the best UK Festivals for emerging artists. The event is full of networking opportunities, conferences and of course, great music.
At TGE 2022, gigmit had the pleasure of hosting a stage there to showcase gigmit acts! Many gigmit artists played, including Toby Corton, Zimbru, Dutch Criminal Record and Mauvey. You can read the full story of our collaboration with TGE here.
KONTAKT
Taking place in Serbia, this showcase festival aims to bring together local talent as well as artists from Europe and beyond, to play for a mixed audience of music lovers and industry professionals. By connecting promoters, local communities and tourist organisations, this festival never fails to host an electric and vibrant event.
So there it is! The 13 best showcase festivals to play as an emerging artist. It goes without saying that any opportunity you can get to play a show, you should definitely take! Just remember, always have your artist page fully updated. It will increase your chances of being selected for a showcase festival. Also, remember to be persistent and not get disheartened by rejection. It takes a lot of applications to land a gig and we often see that the most successful artists on our platform are the ones that sent out the most applications. So don’t give up! Keep applying and before you know it you’ll be playing in front of a crowd at one of these festivals!
Quiz answer: The correct answer is 81 gigmit artists played Reeperbahn Festival 2022 (That’s around 25% of the entire lineup!)
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