Etep: Fontaines DC lead way as season end approaches
As the European festival season comes to a close, Fontaines DC are still riding high on the Etep charts, with five more festival appearances than second-placed Black Midi.
The Irish five-piece, who have led Etep (European Talent Exchange Programme) results throughout 2019, head into the close of the summer with 14 shows to their name, with Britain’s Black Midi and Flohio tied for second place on nine each, and Elderbrook (UK), Pip Blom (NL) and Mavi Phoenix (AT) on eight apiece.
Since Etep 2019 kicked off at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in January, a total of 159 acts from 27 countries have played 371 festival shows at the programme’s 130 participating festivals.
Etep, funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe scheme, is now in its 17th year.
2019 saw Etep’s first shows in Russia and Hong Kong
Some firsts for the programme, which aims to support the circulation of music across European borders, in 2019 include Fontaines DC, Farveblind, Karpov not Kasparov and Say Yes Dog playing the first Russian Etep shows, at Stereoleto, in July, as well as the first ever Hong Kong Etep booking, Boy Azooga, at at Clockenflap in November.
The top Etep festivals by number of bookings, meanwhile, are the UK’s Great Escape (25), Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival (23) and Iceland Airwaves (16).
Fontaines DC, represented in Europe by Sarah Besnard at ATC Live, hold onto their first place despite a string of cancellations for health reasons earlier in the summer. They were previously on course to break the all-time Etep booking record set by Superorganism in 2018.
With just 17 Etep festivals to go, see the full end-of-summer 2019 Etep charts at etep.nl/etep-results.
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Fontaines D.C. close in on ETEP record
The latest European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) results show swift progress for Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C., with 18 festival slots booked including Glastonbury Festival, INmusic Festival, Trnsmt and Roskilde festival.
The results take into account 37 new confirmations over the past month, welcoming newcomers Penelope Isles and Sea Girls into the top ten most-booked artists. The same artists remain in the coveted top three chart positions, as Fontaines D.C. widen their lead from a three-show to eight-show difference.
With 18 festival slots already under their belt, Fontaines D.C. are shaping up to challenge last year’s top artist, UK eight-piece band Superorganism, who were booked at a record-breaking 19 Etep festivals. The Dublin-based band are represented by ATC Live in Europe and Paradigm in the United States.
Following Fontaines D.C. on the Etep chart are London-based artists Black Midi and Flohio, each with nine festival bookings under their belts. Austrian rapper Mavi Phoenix, Dutch quartet Pip Blom and British songwriter and producer Elderbrook remain hot on the heels with seven bookings each.
“As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort”
Now in its 17th year, Etep continues to support the booking of emerging acts at 129 festivals across Europe. Brighton-based showcase festival the Great Escape heads up the Etep festival chart, booking 25 acts through the programme. Iceland Airwaves and Hungary’s Sziget festival also feature a strong Etep representation, with 12 acts booked each.
In an interview with programme organisers, Rembert Stiewe, the director of boutique festival Orange Blossom Special, comments: “As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort.”
Etep, a Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS)-led initiative, has supported the early stages of successful careers for artists including Calvin Harris, Franz Ferdinand, the xx, Idles and Dua Lipa.
See the full chart below:
1. Fontaines D.C. (ie) – 18 shows
2. Black Midi (gb) – 9 shows
3. Flohio (gb) – 9 shows
4. Mavi Phoenix (at) – 7 shows
5. Pip Blom (nl) – 7 shows
6. Elderbrook (gb) – 7 shows
7. The Murder Capital (ie) – 6 shows
8. Octavian (gb) – 6 shows
9. Penelope Isles (gb) – 6 shows
10. SEA GIRLS (gb) – 6 shows
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