The festival itself is already sold out. This happens every year within an hour of tickets going on sale.

So bad luck? No, not completely. There are also a lot of free concerts taking place all over the city in clubs, shops and coffee bars. Check out my tips for free music so that you can join the music lovers and take over the city next week!

 

Eurosonic Air

A large stage will be situated right in the centre of the city on the Grote Markt for the Eurosonic Air programme. Put on a warm coat or bring your umbrella because it all takes place in the open air. This year, for the first time, it’s being held on a Saturday, so that means you can see bands on Thursday and Friday evening, and on Saturday afternoon. Check out the Spanish ska and rumba band La Pegatina on Thursday at 11.30 p.m. and Dutch rock band De Staat on Friday at 10 p.m.

 

 

Platosonic/Coffee & Music

Groningen’s most famous music store is called Plato and it will host a wide range of acts during the festival together with it’s neighbour,  The Coffee Company. You can see up to 50 (!) acts in three days, all for free, of course. When you’ve finished listening to them you can buy a CD or a nice cup of coffee. How good is that? Highlights  at the Plato are The Strypes on Thursday at 5.30 p.m. and Mister and Mississippi  on Friday at 12 noon, while in the Coffee Company you should definitely see Sumie on Thursday at 3.10 p.m and Melanie de Biasio on Friday at 1.50 p.m. 

Grunnsonic

Grunnsonic is the Groningen version of the Eurosonic Festival. The city’s best bands  get a chance to play a showcase festival and try to attract the attention of  international booking agents who might be in the audience. There are five locations for the festival: Subsonic, De Walrus, Buckshot, Café Koster and Club Lola. Bands you should definitely see are: Avery Plains (Club Lola, Friday, 11.30 p.m.), Fickle Ghost (Walrus, Wednesday 9.00 p.m.) and The Tightropes (Walrus, Friday 11.00 p.m.).

 

Freesonic

More than 75 acts take part in the Freesonic Festival, which is held in the following clubs and bars in the city centre: Warhol, Concerthuis, Pakhuis, Kar, Sigaar, Atlantis, O Malley’s, Benzinebar, EMG Faktors, Peter Pan, Keyzer, El Txoxo and Grand Café Opium.

My tips? Visit the Pakhuis on Wednesday for the Alles Los Agency unofficial Eurosonic showcase with Dutch rockbands BlacboxRed and Zea. On Thursday you should go to the Kar to see The Maureens and Counter Jib. Friday is partytime at the EMG Faktors with a lot of Dutch bands and then the Republiek with DJ’s. Last but not least on Saturday you should hang out at the Concerthuis to listen to bands from Friesland like, Sväva and The Future’s Dust.

 

Energy Stage

During the festival the centre will be at the Ebinngekwartier. You can also find the Energy Stage, which is sponsored by Gasterra and is free. The line-up consists of local bands  Avery Plains, Dudettes, Eisenhower, HoppaH!, Maison du Malheur, Meadowlake, Mongoose, Orange Skyline, Posij, Roberto Tan, Schattenspiel Live, Stuart Mavis, Swinder, The Black Cult, The Tightropes, Town of Saints, Vox Von Braun and WOLVON. Check out the time table right here: line-up.
This is just a small part of everything available. For a complete overview look here:
ESNS Partylist

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