Pictures: Tallinn Music Week 2026

Four days, thirty-five concert nights and thousands of music lovers filling the streets of the Estonian capital. From 9 to 12 April, Tallinn hosted the 18th edition of its international music festival, drawing 203 artists from 37 countries and over 22,000 visitors.

The festival brought people to stages, clubs and concert halls scattered across the city — from Telliskivi Creative City to the Old Town and the Rotermann Quarter — covering a programme that ranged from folk to metal, jazz, digipop, club beats and contemporary classical.

The opening conference, held at Nordic Hotel Forum explored two central themes: the impact of music and culture on the development of cities and regions, and the mental health and wellbeing of the creative sector. Among the highlights, a public debate on the future of Linnahall — Tallinn’s landmark brutalist seafront complex — and appearances by figures including Magne Furuholmen, founding member of a-ha, and representatives of some of Europe’s leading music organisations. Andrea Forlani followed the festival through the streets and venues of Tallinn.

Tallinn Music Week is, above all, a reminder of what music can do to a city — and to the people in it. For four days, Tallinn was something more than a capital: it was a meeting point, a creative hub where artists, professionals and audiences from across the world found themselves sharing the same stages, the same streets, the same conversations. As Magne Furuholmen, founding member of a-ha, put it during the conference, TMW is a testament to what passionate optimism and relentless perseverance can achieve — without ever losing sight of the reason for doing it: the joy and immeasurable value that creative artists bring to our lives. The next edition is already on the horizon, scheduled for 8 to 11 April 2027. It’s worth marking the date.