The headliner on the second day of the Oya festival was Florence + The Machine. This was the third time she played at the festival, and so far her most successful. With a full band with harp, horns, harmony signers and guitar, bass, keys and drums, she used the whole stage for running and jumping around. She also had a sparkling backdrop and used the lights to it’s full. Visually it was spectacular.
The Oya festival 2015 has started, and the first day is over. The headliner on the big stage was Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, while In Flames closed in the tent stage, Sirkus. Before that, there was music on 6 stages for 9 hours, from 2 until 11 PM. Here are the bands I managed to see yesterday. (Photo above: Nile Rodgers from CHIC)
This summer I saw Rodney Crowell for the fourth time, and the second time with his new singing partner Emmylou Harris. It is ten years since I saw him the first and also the second time. Today, August 7th is his 65 year birthday. (Picture above: Rodney Crowell at the Antone’s in Austin, 2013)
Saturday was my last day at the festival this year, and Saturday is also usually the day with the highest attendance. Traditionally the festival have had a triple daytime concert at an outdoor area by the lake, but this year this concert was held inside the big tent. The question was wether the fans would still come for the concerts there, with George Thorogood as the daytime headliner. There was no reason to worry, the tent was packed during Thorogood’s concert, and also during Beth Hart’s concert later at night. (Photo above: Amund Maarud)
Friday at The Notodden Blues Festival is always more busy than Thursday. The music starts before breakfast is over, and sound checks started even earlier. The traditional blues cruises at the lake started Friday, and the semifinals for the Union Blues Cup was held at the Book and Blues House that was new last year. Friday’s headliner (photo above) was Robert Plant, and everyone were looking forward to it.
Yesterday this year’s Notodden Blues Festival opened. The opening show was well attended, with 3-4000 people, and the evening had three acts – Vidar Busk, Dana Fuchs and Mike Zito and Samantha Fish. This was my 21st year at the festival, and this is one of the festivals I look forward to every year. (Photo above: Vidar Busk) Continue reading
Thursday, July 30th, The Notodden Blues Festival will open with artists like Robert Plant, George Thorogood, Shemekia Copeland, Beth Hart and many others. The festival has been my favorite blues festival for more than 20 years. Here are photos of some of the artists at this year’s festival while we are waiting for it to start. (Picture above: The audience to ZZ Top at Notodden in 2012)
While the first day of Oslo Fjordfest had Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell as headliner, and mostly folk/Americana artists on the schedule, the musical theme for the second day was soul, electronica, hip hop and reggae. The day, with d’Angelo as the headliner, attracted a totally different audience than the first day. A smart move from the festival organizers. (Picture above: d’Angelo)
Oslo is a city with an active concert scene all year, but so far with very little activity in July. June and August see many festivals, and this year, Oslo Fjordfest is a new festival, placed in July. As a debutante, the festival have a realistic ambition, having 2015 as a test year. After attending both days, I am already looking forward to next year’s festival. (Picture above: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell)
The second day of Steinkjerfestivalen was sunny and with more people than ever. It started early and the last band finished 10 hours later. This year will probably be the most commercially successful for the festival of all the ten years, and I am very happy for them. Musically, Saturday was like Friday, a mix of different styles for people in all ages. A local festival can’t be programmed like a national festival, and both have their charm. Yesterday we were served dance music, male choirs, hard rock, 80’s heavy rock, Creedence covers, rap mixed with punk, electronica and musical humor Who can complain about that? (Photo above: Gabrielle)
Artist Pictures Blog 