Everyone talks about when Led Zeppelin will come together again. Jimmy Page wants to do it, John Paul Jones is maybe willing, but Robert Plants has been quoted as dragging his feet. I think he should continue to do that, after seeing him at Bergen Fest last night, I don’t think we need a reunion of Led Zeppelin.
This year at Bergen Fest, Naomin Shelton was the unexpected positive experience to me, like Charles Bradley was at the Oya Festival last year. And intersting enough, both artists are signed to Daptone Records, the foremost record company for old-time soul after 2000.
I have a special respect for artists and musicians who transcend the borders between musical styles and who also make it hard for music librarians to categorize in an easy way. Jamie Cullum is such an artist, who moves between jazz and pop with no obvious difficulty. He is only 34 years old, but has been recording since he was 19, and playing publicly even before that.
Susanne Sundfoer has been one of Norway’s most promising and interesting artists since she started out in 2006, 20 years old. She has won two Spellemann awards (the Norwegian Grammy), she has withdrawn herself from nominations, and she has released albums to rave reviews. Saturday June 15th she played at the Bergen Fest, and here are some pictures from that concert.
Lissie came on the music scene with a bang in 2010 with her single When I’m Alone, which was chosen as the song of the year by iTunes. The song was featured on her debut-CD, Catching A Tiger from he same year. Saturday she played at Bergen Fest in Norway, two years after her first visit to Norwegian festivals.
Rival Sons is a four piece rock band from California, and if I had been short-sighted and with bad hearing, I would have thought they were Led Zeppelin when I saw them at Bergen Fest yesterday. When that is said, they are a great live band with their own personality. The audience in Bergen loved them, and that must be the most important thing.
The first time I saw Biffy Clyro, at the Hove Festival in 2010, I thought them to be good, but not sensational good. They had a charismatic stage show, lead by singer and guitarist Simon Neil. Yesterday night they closed the third day of Bergen Fest, and they ruled the stage. One of the best live concerts I have seen and heard this year. (Go to the end of the blogpost for the setlist.)
The first time I heard the Real Ones from Bergen some 15 years ago, I was amazed by their harmonies, and the general togetherness in their playing. This has been one of their trademarks, together with some really good songs. Yesterday night they played at Bergen Fest to a big and enthusiastic audience. (Picture above: David Vogt and Joergen Sandvik)
Nick Cave has managed to become more successful the older he gets. And he doesn’t really do much to maximize his success, with his morbid lyrics and sometimes quite unaccessible songs. But his show is always worth seeing, with high energy and great style. Tonight he played Bergen Fest, and tomorrow he plays Norwegian Wood in Oslo. They have something to look forward to in Oslo!
Steve Earle has had a long and sometimes bumpy career, but he has made more than twenty good CDs since his debut in 1986, and there is nothing that indicates that he will stop releasing new, good CDs in the future. Wednesday night he played a concert in Oslo and Thursday he played at Bergen Fest where I saw him.
Artist Pictures Blog 