is gaining traction. In the normally quiet seaside town of Šibenik, which boasts beautiful views, historical sights and seafront restaurants, the music industry suddenly arrives in force. Local and international bands, expert delegates set to feature on the informative panels, booking agents, label owners, journalists – if you can name a music industry profession, they were at SHIP festival. It is no surprise, given the fantastic layout of the festival – two stages inside a medieval castle – St Michael’s Fortress, named The Hull and The Deck, paying reference to the town’s routes in the maritime tradition, provide most of the early evening entertainment. The morning and early afternoon panels are hosted in the theatre setting of House of Arsen and Azimut – a brilliant local venue with unbelievable live sound, where most of the festival’s attendees gravitate towards as it hosts the later acts of the night. The late-night parties are provided a venue which, in a past life, was a WW2 bunker. The aptly named Tunel features electronic artists, wonderful light shows, and revellers who must just be high on life. 

On the Deck stage, plays a dad rock-adjacent set which calls back to some of the most well-known rock artists of the past 30 years. Shades of Jack White and Weezer are noticeable when watching the group, who seem to have matched their hairstyles – all sporting long curly locks. Tongue-in-cheek lyrical highlights include ‘you are boring me too ’, and the group use extreme dynamics in their performance, keeping you on your toes. Speaking of which, the group are next on the standout stage of the weekend. The Hull, the jazz improv group, are absolute gobschmacking musicians (haha) and absolutely vaporise the audience with their tight tempo changes, breaks, speed and performance. The crowd are immediately reminded of the wide range of music the festival provides – this is not just a place to go to listen to the same kind of middle-of-the-road pop. SHIP festival will not disappoint you, but it will not enable lazy listening either – this is a place where you can expect genre boundaries to be broken, new ground to be established and musicians to make their name (more on that later). Next, hailing all the way from Lisbon, Portugal, the brilliant noise rock band Maquina. made their festival debut, blowing the crowd away with track after track of unbridled madness. It’s not uncommon to find bands from all over Europe at SHIP festival – this year’s edition featured artists from South Wales to Slovenia and everywhere in between. 

That night down at Azimut, which features a brilliant basement stage, a pizza kitchen and hundreds of music fans and professionals networking and making friends at both its indoor and its outdoor bars, performed. It is hard to know quite how to describe Gliste. Genre-wise, they are best described as Hyperpop, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Wearing a costume featuring oversized Teletubby-style masks over their heads, they start with some nursery rhyme-style melodies before suddenly descending into speaker-blasting EDM, complete with beat drops, Slovenian rap, and bone-vibrating bass. They describe themselves as ‘existential children’s pop’. You really had to be there. That night over the Adriatic Sea, the most wonderful lightning storm could be witnessed by those who had stayed up late enough. As if all the words, energy, electricity and excitement had come to SHIP to create a literal storm of music. Obviously, this kind of extreme weather was (probably) a coincidence, but it did make for an otherworldly and beautiful ending to the first day. 

The next morning, the conference section of SHIP began. This year attended by some of the biggest names in the music industry, including (music supervisor for Breaking Bad Better Call Saul and ), from and a brilliant selection of delegates from the U.K., coming from 6 Music, , , , and so many more. The panellists did not hold back when talking about some of the most pertinent issues in the music industry today. The use of AI, the merits of long-form content, music discovery and sustainability all feature prominently, with some of the best minds coming together to discuss how to make a better future for musicians and music lovers. 

Back to the action, a young group of musicians from Zagreb are about to play The House Of Arsen, which has thus far on that day only held panels as part of the conference. They do not know it yet, but this will be the biggest gig of their lives so far. , a five-piece, new age art rock band complete with the standard rock band set-up + a saxophone, played to a room of in-the-knows who had heard the buzz surrounding the group. Considering the expectations were pretty high, they blew it out of the water. They are so sure of their roles in the band and their performance, effortlessly sharing the spotlight, singing beautiful harmonies and moving around the stage. They are massive fans of the scene, and it’s easy to see that if they lived in the area, they would become centrepieces within weeks. Towards the end of the set, vocalist lets out a metal-style scream, completely taking the crowd off guard and leading to an eruption of noise. The moment calls back to , but it is more of a surprise – Fargo are from a metal band. “The riff called for it”, they explain after the show – it was the only thing to do”, “I’ve never done it that well before” adds Julija excitedly. If this was the best set the band have ever performed, then they sure picked their moment with half of the world’s music press in the room… One to watch for sure. 

Up at The Deck, a St Michael’s Fortress , a visual electronic collective centred around two drummers, gets the crowd dancing. The relentless kick drums, the wall of synths and the matching, flashy stage attire really feel like something from the future. Around this time, crazy winds descend on the castle; it feels like aliens may be about to abduct the audience. No one minds. Everybody dances. Back down at Azimut, a Welsh rock band featuring two sets of siblings, continues the incredible array of performances on the Friday night. The set gets heavier and heavier as it goes on. is the band’s frontman, displaying great stage presence across the set, gripping his mic stand as if he has disdain for it, yet it is the songs led by that are the standout moments. Her voice wonderfully complements the instrumental, and the crowd at Azimut is sent into delirium at all of the bassist’s vocal moments. “I Watched You as Your Mind Slipped Far (Away from Me)” Is a particular standout of the set.

To close out Saturday night’s incredible roster of artists, produce a fantastic display of musicianship. They call back to particularly in the vocals, as their songs give a tortured quality – one that can only be achieved by someone who has truly lived. 

SHIP festival is fast becoming one of the places to be for musicians and industry folk alike. It is the perfect retreat after a hectic summer for many in the industry. A wonderful and eclectic selection of artists across the festival has the effect on your ear that a Michelin-star tasting menu has on your palate. SHIP festival: if you don’t know already, you will soon…