Here is the second part of my personal favorite photos from 2023. They are not ranked, but all of them are special to me in one way or another. You will see 30 photos from different settings and genres. They may not be from the same genres, but they are all taken at a Norwegian festival or venues.
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2023 has been a special year for all of us. The continuing war in Ukraine and the atrocities in Gaza plus the clear signs of the climate crisis overshadows much of what happened during the year. But in spite of all this, there have been concerts and festivals that made it worthwhile to visit. Here are the first 30 of my favorite photos from 2023 – most of them shot for Getty Images.
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The Blues in Hell Festival has been a yearly tradition for me since the mid 90’s. The festival is held at Hell, a small place by the airport outside of Trondheim, Norway, and except for three years when it was called Hell Music Fest and the repertoar was pop/rock/hip hop, the festival has been true to the blues roots all the time. Being a smaller festival, they have also presented interesting and great artists a bit outside of the most commercial ones. (Photo above: The winner of the Blues in Hell Award, Jan Erik Moe)
The 31st edition of the Notodden Blues Festival ended on Sunday. It has been a long weekend with music from early in the day until 2 AM, and a lot of friendly and smiling blues fans all around town. This year Ry Cooder was the biggest name together with Bonnie Raitt, and then a lot of other great artists after these two. Here are my photos from the festival. (Photo above: Ty Taylor from Vintage Trouble)
Beth Hart’s breakthrough as an artist came in 1999. In 2003 she released the platinum selling album Leave The Light On. From there her career has gone steadily upwards, culminating with a Grammy nomination for her collaboration with Joe Bonamassa and the album Seesaw in 2013. Her latest album, Fire On The Floor, was released last year. During all these years she has toured extensively, and also visited Norway several times. Last night she played at Sentrum Scene in Oslo.
The first time I saw Jonny Lang was at Antone’s in Austin during SXSW around 2000, and then at the big outdoor venue Stubb’s during the same event in 2002. By that time he had had one #1 Billboard album, one Grammy nomination and had released three albums before he turned twenty. This week he played at John Dee, fifteen years after I saw him the last time.
The Blues in Hell festival has been arranged for some twenty years and is still going strong. Situated in a congress hotell close to the Trondheim airport at the place that actually is called Hell, it is a festival that celebrated both the original blues and also newer variation of blue and blues rock. Here are my photos of the artists I saw at Hell this weekend. (Photo above: The Original Blues Brothers Band)
This year is the 30th Notodden Blues Festival, and it is good to be back. The festival has grown from a small and enthusiastic happening to become Norway’s largest blues festival, and also one of the best blues festivals in the world. This year is no exception, and here are photos of the artists from the first night. (Photo above: students from Little Steven’s Blues School)
Every year when August is fading away, I have one more festival to look forward to, The Blues in Hell Festival. It is the perfect way to end the festival season, with great blues bands and artists and in the good company of a big part of the Norwegian blues family. Blues in Hell is a intimate festival with high quality artists playing in two tents, the Magic Mirror and an acoustic tent. The first night is over, and here are the artists I saw Friday night in Hell. (Picture above: The Etta James Experience)
Vidar Busk has played blues professionally for almost two thirds of his life since he was sixteen years old. It has been a roller coaster with ups and downs during these thirty years. Musically he has always been sharp, and he has moved in and out of styles, from rockabilly and jump blues through New Orleans style music to soul, but the blues has always been there. These days he is back with his old band, His True Believers, and yesterday night they played at Rockefeller in Oslo.
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