If someone asked me what I associate a showcase with, it would be: a lot of friends from the industry, good music from young bands, wandering around the city and after parties. In Gdynia, I found one of these four things, because the band was really good musically. Speaking of the line-up, it was also a bit biased, because on one of the stages, after one of the artists told us to sit down, the audience sat there until the end of the festival.
An interesting format was Song Premiera, during which four bands sang three songs each, which was very showcase-like and, to be honest, just right for me to decide whether I liked something or not.
The first day was definitely the winner in my opinion Izdeb – and musically, and I haven’t been to such a charmingly and naturally conducted concert in a long time. Although a song Hansel & Gretel o one way ticket to Hel will also stay with me for longer.
On the second day, it’s a bit more difficult to decide, but if you don’t take into account the beautiful acoustic concert Micromusicthis gold would go to Reef. Along with a diploma for good texts and smooth movements. and Brushwoodsomething completely fresh on our scene, combining folk with “heavier sounds”.
On the third day, there were panels and I praise it here, and other showcases are probably jealous, because since Spotlight had the first edition, it could touch on the most basic topics, and at the same time the most useful for young artists, such as: how to get on the radio , what to do after recording the material or how to go about booking concerts.
In terms of the efficiency of the stage organization, the fact that you could easily go from one to the next without missing the concert and the arrangement of stages to suit a specific performer – there is nothing to complain about. It’s worse with the other three determinants of showcase.
The location itself limited the possibility of wandering around the city, but it was possible to do so with more places where you could sit down and talk in peace, without worrying that you could hear everything on stage. In terms of familiarity, it is more of a Tri-City showcase than a nationwide one, so the honor of opening the season has not been taken away from Next Fest for now.
Oh, and there was also a sponsor producing throat pills that became an insider meme. It is known that there must be a sponsor and these tablets even fit the theme of the event, because it is a good thing for singers, so I write this with a pinch of salt, but anyone who did not receive two tabs with the words: “Here is your package”.
I’m complaining a bit here, but only so that I can draw conclusions from it. Because you can see both willingness and enthusiasm, but also confusion. A bit of reflection after the first edition, going to other, more experienced events, and next year I will undo everything I wrote here. We even talked behind the scenes that in five years people would be excited about Spotlight, and then we would look at it with contempt and say that we had been here since the first edition. I believe it.