2016 was an active concert and photo year for me. I attended twelve festivals through the year mostly in Norway, but also the SXSW in Austin, Texas. I also saw thirty other concerts though the year. Metal, singer songwriter pop, rock, hip hop, punk are some of the styles I have heard in 2016. Here are #16-35 of my personal favorite photos from 2016. (Photo above: The audience at the Bruce Springsteen concert in Oslo in July)

My favorite photos #16-35 are here

# 16 Bruce Springsteen with friends 

I saw Bruce Springsteen in Oslo, in the Vigeland sculpture park late in July. 35.000 people attended the concert, and true to form, The Boss gave the fans a great evening. Here he sings with his fellow musicians Max Weinberg, Nils Lofgren and Little Steven.

#17 Gorgoroth 

Blastfest is a favorite festival of mine. It is held in Bergen in February, and I had a great time there, seeing several good bands. One of them, that I haven’t seen before, was Gorgoroth, and here they spread their discomfort to their fans.

#18 Aarabrot 

Aarabrot is a Norwegian noise rock band that has been on a hiatus because of their singer’s illness. At by:Larm in Oslo early March, they were back, this time with new songs and a slightly different sound than the last time I saw them. The concert itself was one of my favorites from 2016.

#19 The Dogs 

I have seen the Dogs several times, and also several of the other bands featuring singer Kristopher Schau and his fellow musicians. The photo is taken at the Tons of Rock festival in Halden, Norway in June.

#20 Steve Lukather 

This year’s headliner at the Notodden Blues Festival was the Supersonic Blues Machine with some of the best blues guitarists as guests. Walter Trout, Billy Gibbons, Robben Ford and Steve Lukather all played with the band. The concert was a blues highlight, and here is Steve Lukather playing with the Supersonic guitarist Lance Lopez.

#21 Ane Brun 

I have lost count of all the times I have seen and photographed Ane Brun the last 10-12 years. I have been a fan of her music for just as long, and she has also managed to evolve her style, becoming an international star, but on her own premises. The photo is taken at the Øya Festival in Oslo in August.

#22 Aurora 

Aurora has become close to a super star in a year, with performances on American TV shows and multi million streams of her best songs on Spotify. She has also evolved as a live artist during 2016, and this photo is also taken at the Øya Festival.

#23 Ghost 

I haven’t been a big fan of Ghost and their masks, until I saw them again this year. One thing is their music, that I do like, but visually their newer incarnation is far more interesting than their former. Here they played at Bergen Fest in June.

#24 Grace Jones 

I remember when Grace Jones broke through in the early 80’s, really liking her Compass Point LPs with Robbie Shakespear and Sly Dunbar. Last year I saw her at Bergen Fest, and this summer she played at the Øya Festival. It was one of my top concerts this year.

#25 Kirkebrann 

Kirkebrann was one of the many bands that played at Midgardsblot in Borre, Norway in August. The festival started in 2015, and is a combined metal and viking festival. Lots of great photo motives, and Kirkebrann was one of them.

#26 Hedvig Mollestad 

Hedvig Mollestad Trio has been a favorite live band for some years now. My only concert with the band in 2016 was at Tons of Rock in Halden. Hedvig Mollestad rocks!

#27 Amund Maarud 

Amund Maarud started out as a guitarist when he was very young, and he has played professionally for quite a few years now. This year he won a well deserved Blues Prize at the Notodden Blues Festival in August.

#28 Silya And The Sailors 

Silya was the singer of the Norwegian band Multycyde in the late 90’s before she went solo. Since then she hs won the NRK contest Stjernekamp and also put together a great band and live show. The photo is taken at their performance at the Notodden Blues Festival.

#29 Black Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne 

2016 was the year Black Sabbath decided to quit and laid out on their long final tour, The End that ends in 2017. One of the early concerts on the tour was held at Tons of Rock, and the photo of Ozzy is from that concert.

#30 Claudia Scott 

Claudia Scott is the Norwegian Americana Queen, and in 2016 I saw her at the Oslo Americana Festival in Oslo in late August.

#31 Sixx-AM 

One of the most fun bands at Tons of Rock this year was Nickki Six’s band Sixx-AM. They are a great band, and they make a great show for their fans.

#32 Tsjuder 

Tsjuder is a veteran Norwegian black metal band, starting out in 1993. I saw them at the Inferno Festival in 2012 and at Blastfest in 2015, and this year at Midgardsblot.

#33 Alice Cooper 

Alice Cooper was one of the headliners at the Tons of Rock festival in Halden in June. As usual we got his own brand of theatrical rock, but less theatre and more rock than usual.

#34 Johnny Hoy And The Bluefish 

I saw Johnny Hoy And The Blueish at the Blues in Hell Festival in 2012, and this year they were back at Hell.

#35 Leland Sklar 

I have heard Leland Sklar play on numerous quality recordings during the years and seen him live only one time before, with Lyle Love around 2001. This year I got the chance to see him up close, this time with Judith Owen.

My favorite photos #16-35 are here

All photos are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.