With the conclusion of the 40th anniversary edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) – the most significant showcase festival for European music, Bulgaria marked a historic moment with its most extensive and successful presence to date. For the first time in the history of the festival, our country was represented by four Bulgarian projects in the official showcase program, which presented themselves extremely strongly to the international music industry.

This year’s edition of ESNS also had a special format, created especially for the 40th anniversary of the festival as a space for meetings, exchange and presentation of European music scenes. United and presented in the special space House of Europe, Bulgaria was one of the four official focus partners within this platform, together with Germany, Italy and Catalonia, which placed our country among the key European scenes, purposefully presented to the international industry.

On the stages of ESNS in Groningen, PISTAMASHINA, LUNIKK, IZABEL and Me And My Devil presented their music, meeting festival selectors, booking agents, managers, labels and media from all over Europe. The concerts were attended by a strong professional interest and confirmed the potential of the contemporary Bulgarian scene to be recognizable and competitive in a European context. The participation of Me And My Devil, who played in front of a packed club and received an extremely warm reception from the audience, caused a strong response.

The participation of LUNIKK, who were among the nominees for the prestigious Music Moves Europe Awards 2026, one of the most important European awards for emerging artists, also attracted particular attention. As part of the special program for the nominees, the duo participated in a series of professional meetings and networking formats with leading international managers, festivals and music companies, which further strengthened the international interest in the project and the Bulgarian scene as a whole.

During the festival, there was also increased interest from international media, including representatives of Rolling Stone, who paid attention to Bulgarian artists and their presence at ESNS, a clear sign of the growing visibility of Bulgarian music on the European map.

In parallel with the showcase performances, the Bulgarian Music Association also implemented one of its most successful networking events to date, Bulgaria Spiced UP! Reception & Spicy Hot Challenge, which brought together over 100 representatives of the international music industry. Artists, managers, festivals and professionals from different countries joined an informal meeting dedicated to the Bulgarian scene and opportunities for future partnerships.

After the networking part, guests were invited to participate in the Spicy Hot Challenge, an unconventional experience that presented one of the most characteristic features of contemporary Bulgarian culture: the cult of hotness. Implemented with the support of Chilli Hills, the challenge became a memorable highlight of the program and contributed to the strong and recognizable presence of Bulgaria within the framework of ESNS.

The participation of the Bulgarian artists and delegation is part of the project “Export and sustainable positioning of the Bulgarian music scene on the international market”, through which the Bulgarian Music Association consistently works to expand international opportunities for Bulgarian music professionals and for the sustainable integration of Bulgarian music into the European cultural ecosystem.

The 40th anniversary edition of ESNS will also go down in history as a moment when Bulgaria clearly declared its place among the active and developing music scenes in Europe with strong artists, an active industry and increasingly tangible international interest.

The project is funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU instrument, Export and sustainable positioning of the Bulgarian music scene on the international market.

This publication has been produced with the financial support of the European Union – Next Generation EU. The sole responsibility for the content of the document lies with the “BULGARIAN MUSIC ASSOCIATION” and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official position of the European Union.

photo credits: Emma Pot, Linde Dorenbos, Shali Blok & Jessie Kamp