29 June 2026 – 05 July 2026
Not sure where to be this week? Every week, in partnership with Gamma, we present a hand-picked selection of the five most compelling events taking place in and around Tallinn – it’s time to plan your week with purpose.
New Jersey Youth Symphony
The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Concert and Theatre House, Tallinn
Monday, 29 June, from 7pm
Founded in 1979, the New Jersey Youth Symphony has long been a magnet for some of the finest young musicians in the state. This is no school-hall orchestra: the ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Wiener Musikverein, the Kennedy Center and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and has toured widely across Europe, Asia and North America.
Its repertoire ranges from classical symphonic heavyweights to contemporary works, including pieces written specially for the orchestra. Add rigorous preparation to the raw electricity of young musicians playing at full tilt, and the result is the kind of concert worth clearing an evening for.
The performance is conducted by Helen H. Cha-Pyo, the internationally recognised conductor who has been a driving force behind much of the orchestra’s recent international acclaim.
No ticket required and free access.
AI Show & Tell for Designers
Volta 1, Tallinn
Thursday 2 July, from 6pm
AI Show & Tell for Designers is a new meetup landing in Tallinn with a premise that is hard to argue with: the fastest way to learn right now is to learn alongside others who are figuring it out too.
The first edition brings together designers from Pactum, Lightyear, Katana, Modash and Found to show, not just tell, how they are actually using AI as a design tool and inside their teams. Expect practical examples, snacks, conversation and the sort of new connections that tend to matter more than another slide deck.
The ambition is bigger than one evening. This is the start of an Estonian product design community, a recurring space to share what works, swap ideas and grow together.
ShawtyFM with Mari-Anna Miller and Paula-Stina
Terminal, Telliskivi 60/2, Tallinn
Friday, 3 July from 9pm
ShawtyFM takes over Terminal for a night of proper 90s and 2000s R&B and hip-hop, the real stuff, as the organisers are keen to stress. Which suggests they have strong opinions about what has been passing for nostalgia lately and are prepared to do something about it.
DJs Mari-Anna and Paula-Stina will be working through certified bangers and overlooked gems that deserved far more plays the first time around, with tracks your mum probably would not have approved of and may still have reservations about now.
Dust off the durag, locate a flip phone and let Red Bull’s cocktail selection carry you through the later stretch of the evening.
Free entry, just bring your best dance moves.
Styleva and Lasnamäe dance battles
Paepargi 9, Tallinn
Saturday, 4 June, from 12pm
The centrepiece is the battle floor, where world-class dancers from Belgium, the UK, Switzerland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia go head to head in real time. No choreography, no safety net, just everything decided in the moment in front of a live crowd. Once you understand what you are watching, it becomes genuinely difficult to look away.
Live DJs and MCs keep the energy moving throughout the day, while special showcases break up the battles. The Styleva pop-up shop brings exclusive merch and on-site clothing customisation for anyone who wants to leave looking slightly different from how they arrived.
There will also be food, drinks, seating areas, games, giveaways and the kind of small, chaotic moments that tend to define a summer afternoon rather than merely fill it.
Bring your favourite Saturday person.
Nervous System First Aid Day & Liquid Bloom
Viimsi Artium, Tallinn
Sunday, 5 July from 1pm
Nervous System Summit is a full day for people who have tried harder for long enough and are ready to try something else entirely.
The premise is simple: most people are not broken, they are overwhelmed, by too much information, too little real rest and a body that has been trying to get a word in for months. The day brings together five practitioners, each approaching the nervous system from a different angle.
Laura Põldvere uses improvisation as a practical tool for building flexibility in uncertainty. Alar Tamming, psychologist and author, draws on the teachings of Gurdjieff to examine the unconscious patterns quietly running the show. Elina Kadaja guides breathwork and trauma-release tools for the moments when thinking your way out simply is not working. Alex Cobos brings practical techniques for releasing physical tension stored in the shoulders, back and fascia. The day closes with Liquid Bloom, whose soundscapes are designed to slow brainwaves and open emotional states.
Spots are limited. If your body has been trying to get your attention for a while, this might be the place to finally listen.
Brought to you in collaboration with Gamma. Want more like this? Get Tallinn’s best events delivered straight to your inbox – three times a week, totally free. Just hit subscribe to join the Gamma newsletter.
