Zoë Tauran has been awarded Artist of the Year 2023 at Popgala Noord. The pop singer from Roden made her breakthrough last year, including four performances in the Johan Cruijff Arena as a support act for Coldplay and a well-received album.
The Popgala Noord Awards were presented on Tuesday evening, January 16, in the Grand Theater in Groningen, on the eve of the ESNS pop festival. The awards for Artist, Talent, Festival and Stage of the Year were public awards for the first time this year. In total, more than 6,000 votes were cast.
Zoë Tauran received 43 percent of the votes. The other nominees were Michelle Samba from Leeuwarden and Posij (the Groningen DJ and producer Frank Post). The winner could not receive the prize herself because of her performances for Friends of Amstel Live. Her sister Maxime did the honors.
Also prizes for SPOT, Paradigm and Benwal
SPOT Groningen was chosen as Stage of the Year with 58.5 percent of the votes, while Paradigm Festival was crowned Festival of the Year (with 63 percent). DJ Benwal (stage name of Groningen Gijs van Ringen) was declared Talent of 2023. He received 46 percent of the votes.
The jury of Popgala Noord, the annual party of the northern music world, previously announced the winners of three honorary awards. Groningen Robb Kauffman was awarded a Lifetime achievement award. He organized the city’s first pop festival, Grazige Weiden, in 1970 and was the driving force behind Stars in the Forest and Stars in the Park.
Kauffman also brought artists such as Fleetwood Mac (Korenbeurs), Pink Floyd (Concertzaal Apollo), Captain Beefheart (Stadsschouwburg), The Cure (Sterrebos), The Police, Ramones, Talking Heads and Sex Pistols (all Huize Maas) to Groningen and stood in 1986 at the base of Noorderslag.
Glitch and Muzink
Glitch from Leeuwarden, which organizes club nights for the queer community of Friesland, was voted Best Inclusive Initiative. The Groningen booking agency Muzink (which markets Meau, Blanks and Fresku, among others) was awarded the Backstage Business award.
The professional jury consists of Joey Ruchtie (ESNS programmer and jury chairman), Cor Giesing (teacher at the Academy of Pop Culture), Hanneke Dijkstra (programmer Neushoorn), Lisan van der Deijl (production The Bake Shop), Chris Moorman (marketing Popronde), Inge van Calkar (artist) and Peter van der Heide (journalist).
Popgala Noord is a project of ESNS, Noordstaat, Popfabryk, POPgroningen and Stichting Kunst & Cultuur and is made possible by the municipality of Groningen and the province of Groningen.