Taking TMW to the
Russian border
With Tallinn Music Week ( TMW ) taking place on the Russian border for the first time , Access witnessed an immensely challenging edition of the international showcase music festival and conference
Words : Joe Gallop
On 24 February , while Estonia was celebrating its 102nd birthday , Russian troops entered Ukraine and the war began . Tallinn Music Week ’ s ( TMW ) team were four days away from announcing the event ’ s line-up , but the war changed everything .
The event organisers reacted swiftly by banning all 25 Russian acts due to play the event , offering housing and facilities to Ukrainian artists , and moving part of the festival to the Russian border city of Narva for performance by acts including British headliners Floating Points and Tirzah .
It may have been a bold decision to move the established festival some 131 miles from its home in the Estonia capital to Russia ’ s doorstep , but for a team that staged the annual event twice during the pandemic , taking risks now appears to be the norm .
“ The desire for optimism , the desire for spending time together – dancing , talking , celebrating – was felt strongly , both by the Ukrainian community , present at our festival events , and our own people in Tallinn and Narva , as well as the international music community ,” says TMW founder and director Helen Sildna .
PHOTO : ANA MARKOVA
“ TMW in Tallinn and Narva reminded us all of the power of culture to bring people together , fill moments with meanings and create the feeling that right here and now we can be the centre of the world .”
The 14th edition of the festival , held during Tallinn ’ s first year as a UNESCO City of Music , hosted 192 artists from 28 countries and drew an audience of 17,425 visitors ; 10,735 in Tallinn and 6,904 in Narva .
The TMW conference began with opening speeches by Sildna and the Estonian minister of culture Tiit Terik at the Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallinn on Friday , and continued at the OBJEKT multimedia centre in Narva the next day .
The conference was attended by 974 music industry professionals from around the world , including Simon Raymonde , founder and owner of UK-based independent record label Bella Union ; music industry PR Jane Savidge ; Live Nation Estonia head promoter Eva Palm ; and tour manager and Back Lounge founder Suzi Green .
Sildna says the decision to take the festival within sight of Russia was driven by a desire to make it clear Estonia would not be divided and to emphasise that Narva is where the EU starts .
“ Strengthening the EU border to me means standing together with our border communities ,” she says . “ Any country in Europe is only as safe as any of our border cities .”
She was inspired by a speech by Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky , delivered at the Grammy Awards , and Ukrainian artists continuing to spread their message through music .
“ Music and culture are a powerful medium . It is about time we stop underestimating it ,” she says .
Along with Russian artists ,
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