Paul Simon is one of rock history’s most important artists. Both as a solo artist from the 70s and on, but first of all from his collaborations with Art Garfunkel in the 60s. They created rock history with their songs, moving the pop music from the high school kids to the college. On October 13th Paul Simon is 72 years old.
Sting has had a more than 30 year long career, first with the Police, then a a solo artist. His music has changed over the year, but he is still releasing good CDs, 35 years after the first one with The Police. On October 2nd he is 62 years old.
Carrie Rodriguez is one of the most exciting Americana artists these days, having won numerous awards and also having played with who’s who in the Americana music world. She has been active as an artist and musician since 2001, but has played the violin from when she was 5 years old. Tonight she visited Buckley’s in Oslo on her European tour.
Aage Aleksandersen is one of Norway’s best live artists, and he is also one of te artists who have been most on the road and for a longest period. These days he is on a tour in Norway, and tonight he played at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo.
Karin Park is a Swedish singer songwriter who moved to Norway ten years ago and has more or less stayed here. I have seen her on stage off and on since 2003, and this year she co-wrote the winner song for Norway for the Eurosong contest, I Feed You My Love, that Margaret Berger sung to nr. 4 in the international finals. Last Thursday I saw Karin Park at the Usig festival at Garage in Bergen.
In May last year I saw Satyricon play one song with the Norwegian Opera Choir. It seemed like both parties were satisfied with the result, and tonight Satyricon held a full concert at the national Opera House together with the Opera Choir.
Blues in Hell 2013 is over and I am already looking forward to next year’s festival. The music, the people, and also the weather have been excellent this year, making the festival one to remember. The organizational side of the event is also very professional and smooth, making it a pleasure to be there. (Picture above: Ronni Le Tekrø)
One of my favorite festivals started yesterday. Or rather, they started on Thursday, but yesterday was the official opening. with a full blues night on two stages. When one of the stages is a Magic Mirror tent, you can’t complain about the venue. There is also nothing to complain about with the artists, on the contrary. And for the nimble-minded, Hell is a place in Norway, and it means a cave in the mountain side, not a hot place somewhere else! (Picture above. Candye Kane)
The weekend September 6-7 is the yearly blues weekend in Hell. In Norway, Hell isn’t a place with eternal fire and damnation, it is actually a place outside of Trondheim. And there is nothing hellish about the place. You can get there by train – round trip or one way ticket, but the easy way to get there is by plane, since Hell is located in spitting distance from the Trondheim airport. The festival is one of my favorites during the year, and here are some of the highlights from last year, while we are waiting. (Picture above: Carolyn Wonderland at the Notodden Blues Festival 2012)
Until last weekend I had never heard of Half Moon Run, and knew nothing about them. After they played at the Pstereo festival in Trondheim I have listened to their CD many times, and so far it is one of the best CDs I have heard this year.
Artist Pictures Blog 