Congratulations to the 20 clubs and festivals, the winners of MOST Music’s second round for the Festival & Club Exchange project! These parties and venues were among the most colourful, exciting and high quality ones we have ever seen.

Put on your bucketlist:

• Arte Feastival (Bulgaria)
• Balkan Trafik (Belgium)
• Bánkitó Festival (Hungary)
• ESTAM World Music Festival (Serbia)
• The Festival of Street Performers (Albania)
• Gardens of Sounds (Poland)
• Globaltica World Cultures Festival (Poland)
• Goulash Disko Festival (Croatia)
• Haapavesi Folk Music Festival (Finland)
• Kvaka22 (Serbia) club
• Lokum Fest (North Macedonia)
• Music in Village – Estensioni (Italy)
• Old Town Street Fest (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Resonator (Denmark)
• Șaraimanic Festival (Romania)
• Sargfabrik (Austria) club
• Špancirfest (Croatia)
• Tivat World Festival (Montenegro)
• Trefpunt (Belgium)
• Viljandi Folk Music Festival (Estonia)

The international jury took many factors into consideration. They also looked at the background of the festivals, as well as its music programme quality. The quality of the application was also important to them.

One of the deciding factors was location. In MOST Music, the jury focuses on diversity, to have talented organisers from as many countries as possible. Especially for the Balkans festivals, diversity of representation really matters. Apart from country of origin, the jury looked into the social groups and cultural traditions the applicants represented.

The most important factor was the quality of the lineup. The jury focused the name recognition and also on diversity of performers. Additionally, a variety of musical genres was also a plus. Among the winners, one can find jazz, electronica and also classical music in the lineup.

In the MOST Music Festival & Club Exchange programme there are twenty winners each round. Ten winners come from the Balkan region, and ten from the rest of Europe. The jury creates pairs between them. These pairs receive mentoring, funding, and can also exchange best practices. The highlight of the programme is the artist exchange and mutual visitations. Read more about the project here.