The Importance of Showcase Festivals

If you’ve attended a showcase festival before, you’ll know the tell-tale signs. On every street corner, inside every coffee shop are collections of lanyard-clad figures huddled over their clashfinders. Performers and punters alike are here to do business. Spearheaded by the Stateside forerunner SXSW in 1987, it was British record label owner, nightclub manager, and impresario Tony Wilson who brought the model to the UK. Manchester’s In The City was a groundbreaking music conference that ran for almost two decades. 

Fast forward to 2006 and new music mecca, The Great Escape launched on the Brighton beachfront. The seaside staple has since become Europe’s leading festival for new music, hosting 500 bands across 30 venues throughout the city. By the end of the noughties (and closer to home) award-winning Edinburgh-based convention Wide Days began its programme of talent development, connecting Scottish artists with some of its international counterparts. 

When we approach the team, co-founder Michael Lambert is en route to SXSW for this year’s Scottish showcase which will present an array of emerging talent; Edinburgh-born multi-instrumentalist Iona Zajac, Acid Jazz-signed ensemble Mama Terra and Glaswegian alt-rockers Spyres will all join Lambert in Austin. Meanwhile, co-founder Olaf Furniss is gearing up to attend Future Echoes in Sweden. One of the many benefits of attending an event like Wide Days is the cross-collaboration opportunities, as Furniss explains. “We're the week before FOCUS Wales [9-11 May], so we can share a couple of speakers [and] if anyone's sticking around another week, then they can go to The Great Escape [15-18 May]. We [often] work with festivals and co-curate to give a snapshot of Scottish music.” 

He’s not wrong. In 2022, Wide Days announced a record number of 17 artists would be performing under the Scotland at The Great Escape banner, supported by Creative Scotland. For 2024, the team will return to the Brighton-based weekender with a slew of Scottish artists across two daytime showcases alongside hosting their annual networking reception, connecting Scotland’s music industry with over 500 international delegates. 

But it’s not just cross-pollinating performances that make these events such a hub of opportunity, they’re also the perfect 101 in launching a sustainable music career. “It’s a totally different dynamic to a regular gig,” continues Furniss. “It’s going to secure you an agent or get you a manager, or if you’re more advanced, a festival slot.” From Texas to Tallinn, the showcase festival is about accessing industry linchpins that can advance an artist into the next stage of their trajectory. 

Take Edinburgh indie trio Swim School, who played Wide Days in 2021. The following year, the festival secured them a slot at The Great Escape Festival before signing to tastemaker LAB Records, and they’ll perform at Mad Cool this summer. Gourock fivesome Slix will also appear at the Madrid music experience after their appearance at Wide Days last year. It’s not just European adventures open to the Wide Days alumni though. Lambert and Furniss continue to create international connections and export opportunities, recently adding a showcase for Quebec event M For Montreal. The Great Escape Festival is no stranger to success stories either with artists like Rina Sawayama, Fontaines D.C., and Aitch all having showcased there in the past. 

Whether it’s the early aspirations of Tony Wilson positioning breaking bands in front of music industry moguls to the continuing connections between the Barrowlands and Brighton, showcase festivals have been propelling new artists to fresh terrains for over 30 years. And with another summer of music ahead of us, they just might be responsible for your new favourite band.

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Wide Days takes place in Edinburgh, 1-3 May; tickets and information available at widedays.com

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Four more European showcase festivals for your diary 

Tallinn Music Week
Tallinn, Estonia, 3-7 Apr
Last year marked 15 years for this acclaimed new music and city culture festival taking place every April. tmw.ee

SPOT
Aarhus, Denmark, 3-4 May
Launched in 1994, for three decades this Danish festival has been dedicated to celebrating and platforming local talent first and foremost. spotfestival.dk

Waves Vienna
Vienna, Austria, 5-7 Sep
A yearly international showcase festival for pop music in the country’s capital every September. This year’s Artists’ Applications are open now. wavesvienna.com

Reepherbahn
Hamburg, Germany, 18-21 Sep
Since its first edition in 2006, this Hamburg haven has grown into one of the leading meeting spots for the music industry in Europe. reeperbahnfestival.com

Eurosonic
Groningen, The Netherlands, 15-18 Jan 2025
A staple in Groningen since the late 90s, the event is normally the first of the year for showcase festivals across Europe taking place every January. esns.nl