Summer in Norway is festival season. You can literally go to several festivals every week in different parts of the cuontry. In earlier years I have attended different festivals in July, and this year I wanted to check out Stavernfestivalen, located between the seaside towns of Stavern and Larvik two small hours south west of Oslo. (Photo above: Maria Mena)
Neil Young is on a tour with a new band this summer. Last week he played at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, and last night he played at the Stavern Festival in Norway as the headliner. With Neil Young, you are never safe to what he presents, but I can take the concert he played as a repeat any day.
The last day of Tons of Rock 2016 was the best weather wise, sunny and warm. The crowd was still eager to see more bands, even if some of them were getting noticeably tired after the first two days. Most of the people were camping, since Halden doesn’t have a specially good hotel capacity. The day started with The Annex, while Bodies closed the festival twelve hours later. Between them we got Amon Amarth, Megadeth, Behemoth and many others. (Photo above: the audience to Hedvig Mollestad Trio)
While the weather gods were slightly grumpy at Tons of Rock the first day, they were in a better mood Friday. Overcast and a good temperature is perfect for an outdoor festival, and specially good for photography. The line up Friday had Alice Cooper and Ghost as headliners, plus Sixx:AM, Convergeand Norwegian favorites like Black Debate, The Dogs and El Caco. (Photo above: Alice Cooper)
The third Tons of Rock festival was arranged this weekend at Fredriksen Festning in Halden, Norway. The two preceding festival have both been successful, and with great artists, but this year they topped it with artists like Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Megadeath, Behemoth, Ghost and Sixx:AM. Thursday night had Black Sabbath as headliner. (Photo above: Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath)
Friday at Bergen Fest had a noticeably younger audience than the first two days. The reason was obvious, with local hip hop hero Lars Vaular as headliner and bad boy YelaWolf, plus the British boy wonder Jake Bugg, this was the day for the young crowd. We also got the Canadian indie boys in Half Moon Run, a tropical party with Rudimental and the new British soul star, John Newman. (Photo above: Lars Vaular)
Thursday at Bergen Fest had a couple of my favorite bands – live and on album – plus some new ones. Wilco has long been a favorite since I saw them the first time at Norwegian Wood in 1999. I have seen Ghost several times the last years, and love their pop version of black metal. Sigur Rós isn’t my personal favorites, but they always make a great live show. Here are the artists I saw last night. (Photo above: Ghost)
Bergen Fest is usually my first summer festival every year, and I always look forward to this festival. They have a good booking, the organizers are extremely professional and also friendly, and there is a good spirit there. This year’s festival started out Wednesday night with Biffy Clyro as the headliner, and with top performances from Vintage Trouble and many other artists. (Photo above: Ty Taylor from Vintage Trouble)
I have seen many great guitarists in my time, but few of the calibre of Steve Vai. What he can make a guitar do for him is amazing. He has also understood that a live performance is part music, part visual, and he gives the crowd value for their money. Sunday night Steve Vai played a packed Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo.
Every year when I am in Austin, I discover one or more artists that I haven’t seen before, and that I like. Two years ago I discovered Donn’s Depot and the lovely Mondays with Chris Gage and friends. Last year I saw The Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers again, after too many years since the last time I saw them. This year the concert with Ulrich Ellison and Tribe was a very pleasant surprise. These days the band are on the tail end of a two months tour in Europe, and last night they played at Herr Nilsen in Oslo.
Artist Pictures Blog 