Back in the Baltics from my trip to the UK for the Leigh Folk Festival and after only two days in Riga I jumped on a Lux Express coach to Tallinn to participate in the Culture Dust festival which takes place in a ruined ex-Soviet Prison. Normally open as a museum, the festivals site annually gets turned into a musical node for Estonian and international talent.
Below a few photos from the ex-Soviet Prison which is now open as a museum.
Ultramarine soundchecking.
The view from the stage.
Some ribald entertainment pre-playing.
The stage I was on faced the sea giving me a wonderful view during my set. Afterwards I wandered around with my host, taking in some of the other acts. One group that particularly struck me was Holy Motors, a young shoegaze group from Estonia who were fronted by a lady whose voice was very reminiscent of Zola Jesus. Her almost emotionless tone sat beautifully above the washes of guitar noise.
There was so much going on in various locations, plus a lot of good food on offer, unfortunately I needed to be up at a reasonable hour and having all my gear with me meant that I couldn't totally relax and enjoy the party vibe that was warming up in the Garden area, so at about 1am I caught a taxi to the hostel to make sure I was rested before the next days journey and the show in Tartu.
This is definitely a festival to watch out for in the future, the setting is picturesque and the crowd friendly. There is certainly enough happening to keep you occupied over several days despite the overall area used (in comparison with other festivals) being quite small. Whilst it is in the heart of Tallinn it doesn't feel like a city festival at all, this is because of its seaside location and not being near the Old Town.
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