Interested professionals and press can apply for registration by sending an email to buhl@spotfestival.dk.

International press reviews & music professionals' reactions to SPOT Festival 2011:

"...Spot is exactly the kind of festival we’d like to see happen in Asia — a focus on new talents, a solid variety of music, an urban festival that works with and promotes the city it’s held in, and a fair mix of networking/industry functions along with great parties.  Not to mention the excellent production values and organization we so need in China..."
- China Music Radar (China)

"...The SPOT festival, held in the picturesque town of Århus for the past seventeen years, has proven to be an invaluable tool not only for networking but also for showcasing the surprisingly diverse Danish music scene. It's like a mini-SXSW, albeit smaller and more Danish―an entirely good thing, considering how orderly the festival felt and how much the bands performing adhered to schedule..."
- Anthem Magazine (US)

"... the joy in SPOT festival is not just seeing what Denmark and the Nordic region has to offer musically – quite a lot, we know – and nor is it in meticulously planning who you want to see and where, it's about just seeing what you feel like, when you feel like and as is often the case, surprising yourself..."
- Drowned in Sound (UK)

Whether the many music people plunged into philosophical debates on those issues – we don’t know, but they definitely enjoyed the tho-hour get-together before the more than one hundred concerts.

#SLIDER3#

The SPOT Festival is over, and the reactions from the international guests have been unambiguous. There was a general satisfaction with the festival and a broad consensus that the music was once again on a very high level. Over the next few weeks we shall see the first reactions from the press, but here are the first comments made at the festival.

Jonathan Galkin, executive director of  DFA Records (LCD Soundsystem etc… ), New York (US)
It’s my first time at SPOT, and it’s great to be here. I meet with bands, bookers, festival associates and managers, listen to the music and get a panorama view of where Danish and Scandinavian music is right now. Last might I heard Iceage for the first time – everybody in the US is speaking about them at the moment. It’s great to see a band on their home turf for the first time, instead of in New York. I am really looking forward to When Saints Go Machine, whose last album was fantastically beautiful. I cannot think of anything that sounds quite like them. And then I heard Helsinki Poetry, that might not be in my taste, but who looked like they where born to stand on a stadium stage and play. This is a general characteristic of the bands I have seen. They may be local, but they have global potential.

Ralph Christoph, c/o Pop Festival, Köln (DE)
-This is my first visit to SPOT, but if I compare it to other showcase-festivals, I have to rate it 10 out of 10.Everything fits Stages, communication – the works. I knew a couple of the bands playing the festival, Kiss Kiss Kiss and WhoMadeWho – which both have visited our festival – besides Cody and Alcoholic Faith Mission. But I experiences Vinnie Who, a band that really could be a hit in the Cologne-club-scene. They are really tight. They created a great vibe, and actually quite non-Danish….!? And then Treefight For Sunlight, that was West coast-pop and good songwriting with a big potential. Besides this the collaboration between Akiri and Chinese B6 extremely exciting. All in the entire whole SPOT concept is very interesting.

Henk Kanning, anchorman for the  ’New Music’-show on Dutch Kink FM (NL)
It’s my second year at SPOT, but I have been going to Roskilde Festival for many years, and have always had an interest in Danish and Scandinavian music. I focus on music from Scandinavia in my programs, so in that way it’s great to be here. Scandinavian music is a couple of years ahead of music in Holland and is seldom just a replication of something already existent, but always has its own vibe, especially when it comes to the Danish and Icelandic bands. A artist such as Agnes Obel is gaining popularity in Holland right now – because she has a quite dark and melancholy sound. Another difference is, that it seems ok to experiment on the Danish music scene and the audiences accept this. In general it seems that bands have better opportunities to develop their sound, than in Holland.  SPOT is very cozy, keeps high standards and is exciting to be at, because you constantly can move to new spaces and listen to music you don’t know. It’s awesome!

Dan Koplowitz, Friendly Fire Recordings (US)
I was here two years ago, and must simply say, SPOT is one of the best organized festivals I have ever been to. Everything is within walking distance, and the size of the festival, also means that you have better opportunities when it comes to meeting new business associates, in contrast to the larger showcase-festivals, where you almost only just have time to say your hellos. Denmark is a small country, but there is SO much great music. I can’t really give you a specific reason, besides the way that you support your music industry. It really impresses me and makes me a bit jealous. Name of the year? For me it was Treefight For Sunlight, who have a good ear for melody and pop – while being quite wild. Though The Migrant and Cody also made an impression.

Arni  Matthiasson, music journalist, Morgunbladid (IS)
This is my fifth or sixth time at SPOT, and I must say, that it is one of the best festivals of those I visit regularly. The best thing is, that I haven’t heard most of the music, that SPOT presents, and the main quality of bands has gone risen. There is a larger variety of style – yes I add; the program is more adverse this year. The best thing this year? Norwegian Honningbarna, Faroe Island, Budam and Swedish jenny Wilson – and of course Figurines and F.U.K.T.. – who where live drum ’n’ bass. All in all: This has been my best SPOT Festival so far.

Jean-Louis Brossard, Trans Musicales festival, Rennes (FR)
My favorite must definitely be Vinnie Who, because of the disco-inspired sound. There has also been good concerts with ¤Guys From The Future and F.U.K.T., who played at the exact right time, with their dub step-like sound. I was also very impressed by the energy that Honninhbarna exercised – and the same with Powersolo.
The program is very compact, but there is a great energy here, lot’s of cool people and what a great city. I am here for the fourth time and I love to be here.

Talking music and brands, with Jack Horner from FRUKT Communications.

As a part of the official SPOT program, the festival arranges talks and seminars during the weekend, focused on sharing experience and knowledge in the music business.

Hidden away behind the stages, where the main acts are busy playing and preparing their concerts, the festival delegates are mingling and talking business.

Jack Horner has been invited to talk about his company FRUKT, and how they are managing and developing brands and using their experience in music management, promoting new bands, finding new ways of marketing products.

The setting is a small cantina, which has been transformed into a Turkish coffee house, about 30 people have occupied the room, sipping tea, talking and waiting to hear what Jack has to say. It is a good mix of managers, festival officials, venue promoters, journalists and A&R people.

Frukt is a integrated communications agency /music agency that works with brands such as Nokia, Coca Cola and the British clothes company Topman, besides numeral other consumer brands and technology based companies.

Jack Horner
- FRUKT focuses on content and experience that consumers want to be happy, they want to be entertained, and the opportunity is for consumer brands to play a role in entertaining the people, and in doing that people will be more receptive to the messages that the brands want to communicate.

Jack elaborates about the different strategies and values, that FRUKT work with, one of the key words is longevity, establishing and developing a sustainable bond between the brand and the music.

Jack Horner
- Hanging banners with brand names at concerts is obsolete, the audience doesn’t mind brands, but if they have to be there, they should have a purpose, utility, have a role, which is at the core of music fans accepting a brand.

You have to think out of the box, not only to get the brand out to the consumers, but also to create a sustainable investment for the company’s. Jacks ideas are innovative and very different from the traditional approach to music and brand advertizing. One of their recent activities is the development of Topman CTRL that focuses on the young adult audiences in Britain. Topman CTRL gives the audience an opportunity to arrange concerts themselves, with bands they choose, whilst the brand connects with it current and future consumers through the events and concerts.

It’s bringing together different elements of the music business, creating opportunities for new and upcoming band, and at the same instant making it feasible for company’s to invest money in promoting and using music as advertizing.

The talk last for about 30 min, it’s short and concise, it’s followed by a Q&A, where it’s clear that many of the participants want to know more about, ‘how to do it’, ‘how do we get the companies to invest’, ‘what’s in it for the bands’, and so on.

The seminar is at the heart of the festival, sharing knowledge across boarders, bringing the business together, planting and developing new ideas, new ways of connecting music and corporations, music and technology.

The winners of the 10th anniversary season of the Career Career have been crowned – and will play at the SPT Festival as part of a special Career Canon event.

After listening to the record-high number of submitted tracks (1639 to be exact!) over and over again and seeing many of the bands live, the panel of judges chose The Eclectic Moniker, Kites and Komets, and Boho Dancer. The three bands will play at the Pick-Up Stage on Saturday 28 May in the afternoon from 3 pm to 4.20 pm.

Ok, we managed to squeeze in an extra act in the line-up for this year’s SPOT Festival. Well, there was really no way we could leave out Norwegian Bernhoft, who over the latest years has evolved into one of our sister country’s most talented voices and most original artists!

This year the opening is to take place at Bispetorv in Aarhus as part of a comprehensive Thursday programme called Blue SPOT,
which among other things include eight stages in Skolegade when the music at Bispetorv is over. Both events are free
of charge.

At Bispetorv Faroese Teitur will go on stage together with Scottish KT Tunstall. They have both toured as singer/songwriters on their
own for years, playing international stages, and releasing albums. The two artists have, however, shared the stage before. Teitur has
played support for KT Tunstall on tours in the US and the UK, and together they have among other things played a cover version of
Nothing Compares 2 U on a French TV show.

Teitur was born and bred in the Faroe Islands, but has lived in Denmark for several periods and attended upper secondary school here.
After his 2003 debut he has toured with artists like Suzanne Vega and John Mayer. Many of his songs have appeared on film soundtracks and
in 2007 he won a Danish Music Award as “Best Danish Singer”. Incidentally Teitur began working with his current manager when they met at
SPOT back in the late 90s.

Since her debut in 2004 KT Tunstall has received numerous awards, and several of her singles have found their way to international
charts. Her most famous song is “Suddenly I See” which was the theme song of the TV show “Men In Trees”.
On stage at Bispetorv the two artists will fuse Teitur’s folk sound with KT Tunstall’s poppy alternative rock.

For the first time Blue SPOT takes over Skolegade in Aarhus with 40 underground acts.

SPOT has always taken great pride in giving young and talented, yet still unknown bands a chance to prove themselves. This year
SPOT expands on that tradition and takes over all of Skolegade (street in downtown Aarhus known for its many bars and venues)
under the name of BlueSPOT. 40 new acts from the Danish underground will offer samples of their talent on the festival opening
night on 26h May.

Eight venues are part of Blue SPOT. Six of the stages each represent a Danish city, which will get the chance to showcase some
of its coolest underground acts. The seventh stage will be a singer/songwriter stage (called Song City) with each of the cities
sending its best exponent of that category.

The final stage will present the very best from Bremen (Germany), which will send four bands to Skolegade. Conversely, Aarhus
will send a number of bands to the festival Viertelfest, which is held in Bremen in August each year.

“Whereas normally you say that it is the top growth layer of Danish music that plays at SPOT, we present a great number of acts
from other layers with this event. Upcoming bands who may be part of the actual SPOT line-up next year, more established acts or
strong Bremen bands”, says Jesper Krüger, day-to-day head of ORA the Danish organisation of amateur musicians in popular music,
which together with Underground Music Awards, UMA and SPOT is behind Blue SPOT.