The first artist confirmed for the inaugural Tartu Punch is Estonian band HU? The group reunited this year and will give its only performance of the summer at Tartu Punch. The first international performers on the bill are due to be announced next week.

"The reason for organizing this festival is, firstly, that Tartu lacks a landmark festival like the Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Beach Grind in Pärnu or Saaremaa Opera Days. Tartu needs something like this. Secondly, there is currently no serious alternative pop music festival in the Baltics that is also known on the international scene," said head organizer Tarmo Sikk.

Unlike medium-sized pop festivals, which, according to Sikk, are already plentiful in Estonia, Tartu Punch aims to attract festival-goers from abroad, especially from Latvia.

In that sense, it takes inspiration from other regional festivals such as the Flow Festival in Helsinki.

"Ten percent of visitors to Võnge come from abroad, so we have some experience in this area. Both Flow and Way Out West in Gothenburg are definitely role models for us when it comes to city festivals," Sikk said.

"If we talk about Positivus in Latvia, then this year it will only last one day, so, generally speaking, we could say that festival no longer exists," Sikk added.

Sikk has been thinking about organizing a festival like this for a number of years, with Tallinn also considered as a potential place to hold it.

"We couldn't find a good location because we didn't want to organize a traditional city festival with only asphalt surfaces. Tartu Song Festival Grounds also has seating and grassy areas, which seemed like the perfect place for it," he said.

An additional benefit is that Tartu is also closer to the festival's target audience in Latvia, he added.

Sikk says they are not taking too many risks in the first year. However, negotiations with artists are already underway with a view to them taking part in future editions.

"There are always risks, there's nothing you can do about that. There are never any guarantees, but we have experience in organizing festivals, so we are taking everything into account."

However, Sikk is not planning to bring an end to the traveling Võnge festival.

"We would rather expand our range so we are not only involved in one festival, but can spread out our activities and, to some extent, our risks. The difference is that Tartu Punch is much more ambitious. It is not a traveling festival, and unlike Võnge, Tartu Punch is not directly a family festival."

The 2026 Tartu Punch festival takes place on July 3 and 4.

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