Skaņu Mežs Festival reveals first names for 2025 programme

SHAPE+ affiliated festival Skaņu Mežs Festival returns to Riga, Latvia, from 3-4 October.

After their most successful year in 2024, Skaņu Mežs brings a selection of artists spanning hyperpop, jazz, experimental rock, hip-hip, and more to Latvia’s capital city Riga. Taking place from 3-4 October, Skaņu Mežs will take over the Hanzas Perons, a warehouse reborn as a concert hall with over a century of history. 

Across the two days, Skaņu Mežs will see audiovisual performances from the likes of Sega Bodega, while British experimental rock band These New Puritans will present a live show based on their new album Crooked Wing. New Jersey rapper Fatboi Sharif is also set to bring his unique experimental take on hip-hop. 

Other highlights include a collaborative performance by free jazz drummer Hamid Drake and multi-instrumentalist and former Crack Magazine cover star Shabaka Hutchings, as well as a live performance from composer, vocalist, and innovator Joan La Barbara. 

Brooklyn-based industrial electronic artist Kilbourne is set to close out the first evening, while veteran of the Palestinian underground scene Muqata’a will close out the second evening with layered textures, rattling bass, and broken beats in an immersive set. 

Skaņu Mežs is part of the SHAPE+ platform for innovative music and interdisciplinary art and sound art project “tekhnē”, both supported by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. SHAPE+ is also supported by Pro Helvetia.

Visit the Skaņu Mežs website for tickets, with further acts, workshops, and installation to be announced soon.