The 8th edition of the Emergente Festival is at risk!
This year, we don’t have the financial support that made it possible all these years, and we need all of you to help us keep it going.
“Let’s keep Emergente Festival alive!”
The Emerging Festival's mission is to support the newest generation of independent Portuguese music. Its impact on the sector is much greater than its current physical size, ensuring a window of visibility and a growth platform for artists, bands, managers, producers, photographers, and other music professionals at the beginning of their careers.
The program brings together on stage artists and bands selected through an Open Call with guest artists and bands who are a reference for the Portuguese independent music community and who make particular sense in the curatorial proposal of each year.
After the sold-out 2025 edition, paradoxically, this year we are faced with a lack of financial support as a result of unsuccessful applications. We want to continue our mission, but for that we need the support of everyone and the wider Portuguese music community - artists, managers, bookers, programmers, venues and friends of the festival.
The program for the 8th edition, in addition to the 8 artists to be selected through an Open Call (to be open in October), includes 8 confirmed guest artists: Calcutá, Kalashnicoles, Ana de Llor, Rossana, Acid Acid, Them Flying Monkeys, Cat Soup and Travo.
Two prizes are awarded to the bands selected from the Open Call: Best Musical Project, as voted by the festival jury - support for the release of an EP or album; Best Concert, as voted by the public - a national tour, playing in various renowned venues throughout the country.
Throughout the 7 editions, more than 400 bands competed in the Open Call (134 lust last year), of which 51 were included in the festival's lineups, alongside the 47 bands and artists invited to date. 16 were awarded the Best Concert, Best Musical Project and Honorable Mentions prizes, which highlight and recognize the enormous talent that has appeared each year: In 2020, Lana Gasparøtti and Meta_(Mariana Bragada); in 2021, Los Chapos, Falso Nove and Humana Taranja; in 2022, Javisol and O Marta; in 2023, Marquise, Malva and marianne 3.0; in 2024, Líquen, Catarina Carvalho Gomes and IBSXJAUR; and in 2025 Adoro Protocolo, Parque Império and Beatriz Madruga.
After 7 editions of organic growth alongside artists and the Portuguese independent music community, this year we don't want to settle for less. That's why we're going all in with this campaign. If the goal isn't reached, all donations will be returned.
For now, we have the support of BOTA, which has hosted Emergente for the past two years, and all our media partners: Antena 3, Música Sem Capa, Altamont, Headliner and Vox Pop Music Zine.
With everyone's support, we will succeed!
About the author
Transiberia was founded in 2015 by Carlos Gomes, a cultural producer, programmer, and filmmaker.
Transiberia's vocation and mission is to foster and develop cultural projects that stimulate and promote new approaches to production and programming, creating opportunities and forming and developing new audiences.
In 2018, Transiberia created its first festival - Santos Pecadores - which had 3 editions until the pandemic. A "musical island", from jazz to dance music, in the courtyard of the Mouraria Innovation Center, in Lisbon, on Saint Anthony's Day. Twelve (12) hours of quality music in the whirlwind of the city's festivities.
That's where the idea for the Emerging Festival was born.
The A Estrada Festival, which had three editions (2021, 2022 and 2023), operated at the intersection of cultural programming with the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the territory where it took place, between the village of São Francisco da Serra and the beach of Costa de Santo André. In its very first edition, it won the Iberian Festival Awards in the category of Best New Festival - National Winner 2021, and was shortlisted in the category “Contribution to Sustainability”.
The Emerging Festival, held in Lisbon since 2019, never stopped taking place during the pandemic, having held its 2nd and 3rd editions in 2020 and 2021 at the Capitólio. It was clear to us that if our mission was to support musicians, it made no sense to give up at the first difficulty, especially in a year when live performances were almost impossible. After being postponed 5 times, on December 3, 2020, we held a one-day festival, simultaneously via live streaming, for about 100 seated people, managing to comply with all the contingency rules in force that year.
https://www.publico.pt/2020/12/02/culturaipsilon/noticia/quinta-festival...
In 2021, in the same venue, we had around 250 people who, between masks and relieved smiles, found in Emergente a space of liberation and enjoyment of the pleasure of being back at a live concert, standing up!
Emergente, which celebrated its 7th edition in 2025, is currently a nationwide festival, with award winners ranging from Algarve to Trás-os-Montes. The Emergente Tour travels to venues and events throughout the country, from North to South of Portugal, on the coast and inland.
As guest artists, they performed at the Emergente Festival, among many others: Filipe Sambado, Pedro Mafama, Cave Story, Sunflowers, Chinaskee, Bia Maria, Hause Plants, Cíntia, April Marmara, Solar Corona, Sfisistikated, Unsafe Space Garden, A Sul, Bandua, Surma, Maria Reis, Baleia Baleia Baleia, Agressive Girls, Inóspita, Divã, Chat GRP, bbbhairdryer and Maquina.
Budget and due dates
BUDGET
€7,500.00 - Artist Cachets
€7,400.00 - Artistic Direction, Production Team, Communication, Recording (Video and Photography) and Social Media
€1,755.00 - Dinners and equipment rentals
€1,500.00 - Best Musical Project Award / Support for the release of an album or EP
€1,845.00 - PPL campaign costs
SCHEDULING
PPL Campaign - September 1st to 30th
Open Call for Emerging Markets, October 3rd to November 1st.
Announcement of the complete lineup for the Emergente Festival 2026 - November 9th
Dissemination and promotion of the festival and participating bands - November 9th to December 20th
Emerging Festival - December 18-20
Awards announcement - December 22nd
Images
Documents
Ade Ekundayo
Helping Emergente Festival Reach More Supporters Before Septembe
Dear Festival Emergente,
I spent some time reading about the 8th edition of Emergente Festival, and what really stood out to me is how much the festival has already contributed to Portugal’s independent music scene.
Seven editions, more than 400 bands entering the Open Call, 51 artists making it into festival lineups, and 47 invited artists is a meaningful track record. It would be a shame for a festival that has created opportunities for so many emerging musicians to struggle simply because this year’s financial support did not come through.
I also like that the campaign is not only about keeping an event running. It is about giving new artists a place to be discovered, perform, grow, and build connections within the Portuguese independent music community.
I work as a Crowdfunding Growth Specialist, primarily through Upwork and Fiverr, helping campaigns improve visibility, reach the right audiences, and build momentum through promotion, PR, targeted advertising, community outreach, social media, SEO, content strategy, and campaign optimization.
For Emergente, I would focus on reaching independent music fans, Portuguese music communities, artists, bands, managers, producers, venues, festival supporters, and people who have followed or benefited from the independent music scene.
With the campaign running until September 30, there is still time to put a stronger promotional push behind the story and bring more attention to what is at stake.
If you are ready to move forward, I would be glad to help promote Emergente and make the most of the remaining campaign period. I cannot guarantee a specific fundraising result, but I can bring a focused strategy and serious effort toward helping the festival reach more potential supporters.
If this is something you would be open to discussing, you can reach me at **[adekemiekundayooo@gmail.com](mailto:adekemiekundayooo@gmail.com)**. I would be happy to share a few ideas specifically for Emergente.
Warm regards,
**Adekemi**
Crowdfunding Growth Specialist
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