top of page

MENT Ljubljana

29.–31. 3. 2023

Festival & konferenca

MENT Ljubljana is one of the leading showcase festivals and music conferences in Central and Eastern Europe and the largest event of its kind in the region. It is an award-winning festival of music discoveries, facilitating, in symbiosis with the conference, the presentation of music performers from all over Europe in front of international music professionals and audiences. At the last edition (June 2022), 78 artists from 24 countries performed across three days on 15 stages around Ljubljana, ranging from independent rock, pop, electronica and folk rock to hip-hop and DJ shows. The eighth edition was attended by 6,000 visitors, the majority of whom were local, though many also came from abroad, mainly from nearby countries – Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and Italy.

The international conference focuses on the music industry and creativity. The conference, which is the largest event of its kind in the wider region, was attended by more than 500 foreign and local music professionals (festival organizers, concert venue managers, publishers, music agents, managers, representatives of promotional agencies, media and other professional delegates). The participating delegates came from 35 countries.

 

In recent years, media coverage has come from all over Europe and beyond. The performing acts have appeared both in various local and regional European media as well as on the world-famous KEXP Radio, BBC Radio, Clash, The Wire, Under the Radar, The Quietus, The 405, Drowned in Sound and others. The event has proven to be extremely successful in terms of attendance as well as the quality of the performances and the positive response.

 

We are preparing the ninth edition of the festival and conference for 2023.

aboutment3.png

They say ...

aboutment1.png

"While showcase festivals sometimes lose a certain energy due to the focus on industry connection, MENT was clearly sculpted by a team of passionate music lovers and truly felt like an event focused on musical discovery and forming new friendships... ...This Clash writer was pushed out of their comfort zone and urges everyone to do the same. For a true adventure in musical discovery and culture, book yourself some tickets and take a trip to the next MENT!"

Oshen Douglas McCormick, Clash Magazine, 2022

"The three day music discovery festival may be seemingly hidden away in Ljubljana, but its connectivity with the rest of the world is something which many larger, global events could learn from, particularly those in the UK… …For fans of fringe genres across the world, MENT is certainly an event worth attending; musicians are free to test the waters and experiment with new ideas and are welcomed to do so. It’s an exciting prospect to imagine the avenues which these sounds may expand to and explore in the coming years."

Maddy Smith, The Line Of Best Fit, 2022

aboutment2.png

“They don't say it explicitly, but MENT's mission is to highlight sounds from outside the Anglo-American circles that shape (too) much music discourse across Europe. The focus is timely, with eyes now trained on Eastern and Central Europe, and Ljubljana is the ideal place to do it, where many histories of power intersect from the Roman Empire to Yugoslavia to rebirth in the EU.”

Derek Walmsley, THE WIRE, 2022

aboutment5.png

The festival focuses on local, regional and Eastern European scene, yet hosts bands from all over Europe. The same goes for music professionals. In recent years, we have hosted representatives of various festivals 
 

Pohoda, Tallinn Music Week, Iceland Airwaves, United Islands of Prague, Les Trans Musicales, Rock 4 People, Waves Vienna, Le Guess Who?, Reeperbahn, Haldern Pop, Taksirat, SuperUho, Europavox, Metronome, Pop-Kultur, Electric Castle, EXIT, INmusic, Glastonbury, Sziget, Eurosonic, MetalDays, Atlas Weekend, Colours of Ostrava, BOL…

record labels :
Sire Records, Warner Music Group, One Little Indian, PIAS, Glitterbeat, Ghostly International, Beggars Group, Hyperboloid, popup-records

music agencies: 
Paradigm, Earth, Toutpartout, Belmont, ATC Live, Pitch & Smith, Charmenko, Ink Music, More Zvukov, Blip, Powerline, Paper and Iron, Scorched Asia, Mentha & Partners…

concert promoters and venues:
Parallel Lines, Go Ahead, Password Production, Yugofuturism, Los Angeles Agency, WORM, A38, Paradiso, 4AD … 

managements: 
Ink Music, 3s Management, Chimes… 

music media: 
KEXP, Under the Radar, The Quietus, Clash, BBC, Loud and Quiet, Intro, Louder Than War, The 405, Drowned in Sound, Full Moon Magazine, IQ Magazine, beehype, GIITTV, Noisey Austria, Ravnododna, Muzika.hr …

sync agencies: 
Thag’s Agent, Lusitanian, Eastaste, musicsupervising.com… 

 

PR agencies: 
Factory 92, Global Publicity, Liberty Music, popup-records …

networks: 
IMPALA, Liveurope, INES, ETEP, RUNDA, Keychange…

distributors:
The Orchard, Bandcamp, Spotify, Phonofile, Believe Digital…

and other music-related companies and representations, as well as many music export offices. The conference is heavily attended by regional professionals – especially from Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia, as well as from nearby countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Germany.

platform

MENT

As a platform, MENT supports and promotes Slovenian performers and authors abroad, doing so in cooperation with the Music Slovenia brand and as part of different EU networks (INES, ESNS Exchange, HEMI).

As part of the activities of the MENT platform since 2014, 56 Slovenian bands and acts have performed a total of 182 concerts at various foreign festivals and venues in 16 different countries. Since 2014, MENT has been organizing lectures and workshops on the topic of the music business in cooperation with SIGIC (Slovenian Music Information Centre), called fundaMENT. At fundaMENT, local and foreign music professionals pass on their knowledge to the interested public. As part of the fundaMENT series, more than 20 lectures and workshops have taken place so far.

Team

Andraž Kajzer / artistic director & festival manager / andraz.kajzer@ment.si
Miran Rusjan / conference manager / conference@ment.si
Jera Topolovec / manageMENT assistant / assist@ment.si
Jaša Bužinel / announceMENT – media relations, translation & proofreading / announce@ment.si
Dominika Maša Kozar / digital marketing
Matic Urbanc / delegate service & receptions
Jure Brglez / visual departMENT
Tina Ocvirk / visual departMENT
Matic Lovšin / web departMENT
Mitja Bravhar / financeMENT
Anja Pia Biščak / marketing
Urška Črnič / administration
Andreja Bolčina / lead production
Matej Ahlin / technical production
Črt Batagelj / technical production
Maša Pavoković / New Faces project manager
Ružica Petrova / production assistant
Marijo Zupanov / volunteer departMENT
Špela Pečjak / appointMENT
Urška Kleindienst / appointMENT
Farah Sara Kurnik / appointMENT

+ the Kino Šiška team, all the personnel at the venues, stage managers, runners, drivers, volunteers and everyone else that lent a hand

Produced by Kino Šiška, represented by: Simon Kardum
Conference co-produced by SIGIC, represented by: Primož Kristan

We reserve the right to change the programme.

bottom of page