Hot Club de Norvège and Touché

Touché and Hot Club de Norvège. © Per Ole HagenThe Norwegian band Hot Club de Norvège started in 1979 and is till going strong as Norway’s leading band in their style. Touché is a new band who has taken upon them to give Hot Club de Norvège some competition. Friday night they played together at a double concert in Oslo, and the audience got the chance to see both the veterans and the new generation of Norwegian hot club bands.

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Punk, intelligence, humour equals Jon Langford

The Waco Brothers 2012. © Per Ole HagenMaybe you have seen the Waco Brothers on stage? Or the Mekons? Or the Three Johns? Or maybe Jon Langford with his own band? All these bands have one thing in commen, and that is this British gentleman, living in Chicago. When he doesn’t play music, he makes art or writes books.

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Ken Hensley, from Uriah Heep to Live Fire

Ken Hensley at Rockefeller. © Per Ole HagenEarlier this yar I attended a three-band gig at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo. The bands were Street Legal, Junipher Greene, and legendary Ken Hensley with his band Live Fire. It was a great night, and all the bands did a great job. Here are some of the pictures I took of Ken Hensley and Live Fire.

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Jon Dee Graham, Austin alt.country man

Jon Dee Graham at the Continental Club. © Per Ole HagenObviously Austin, Texas has many artists, some great, some good, and some not so good. Among the great ones there are a few who have put their mark on the music history. Willie Nelson is one of them, and so is Joe Ely, Jimmie Vaughan, John Cotton and a handful of others. Jon Dee Graham is also one of those, being instrumental in defining the term alt.country with The True Believers in the late 80’s.

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Norwegian Americana in Oslo

Tore Andersen and Roger Midtsian, Oslo Opry. © Per Ole HagenThe headline looks like a contradicion in terms, but americana music is well rooted in Norway. Now the organisation Norsk Americana Forum is established, and their goal is to promote americana music in Norway and to make more people aware of this music.

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Deadman at the Buckleys club in Oslo

Deadman at Buckley's. © Per Ole HagenAustin band Deadman has a name that implies a former existence. That is not far from the truth, since this is the second incarnation of the band. They started out in Dallas, but front man Steven Collins moved down to Austin and restarted the band when the first version broke up. Yesterday they played at Buckley’s in Oslo, Norway.

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