“We come every year, and it just never gets dull,” enthuses a Dutch woman who is queuing outside of Groningen’s Grand Theatre, one of the key venues at annual showcase festival Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), which is taking place for its 38th time in early 2024.
It’s a good point. The four-day festival is packed with surprises, and there’s a proper buzz about the idyllic city of Groningen, which is a well of cultural richness in January. There’s more to this charming student city than meets the eye, and what’s on offer feels tempting enough to deal with the biting cold January temperatures.
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Eurosonic is a quintessential part of Groningen’s identity. Its latest edition is, as it happens, bigger and bolder than anything that has come before, and as the number one destination for emerging European music, ESNS 2024 attracts 40,000 fans and industry professionals with an offering of close to 300 acts. As with every year since its launch in 1986, Eurosonic takes over numerous venues throughout the city, offering a hand to grassroots spaces.
