Today is Patti Smith’s birthday, Happy Birthday to her! She is one of the most fascinating artists iI know, and has been around on the music scene for more almost fifty years since her debut album Horses in 1975.
Continue reading
The last day at Øyafestivalen starts early, and the last band stops at 11 PM, which means ten hours of music from six stages. Twenty eight bands and artists plus book talks and artist interviews. And after the last act has finished, the party continues at clubs in Oslo, like the other three nights. With the club day Tuesday before the festival venue opens, much more than a hundred bands and artists have presented themselves for their fans. (Photo above: Patti Smith)
Friday at Øya had sun, but a heavy wind that threatened many of the constructions at the venue. The organizers had torn down the covers on the fences around the venue to avoid the wind. Luckily nothing happened, and the fans had a good time this day, too. Personally I saw seven bands and artists, five of them female. (Photo above: St. Vincent)
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)
Sunday was the last day of a most successful Månefestival. I have had four super hot days with music, happy people and great artists. For a local festival, Månefestivalen has top booking with a mix of big names, Norwegian and from other countries and local well known and up and coming artists. The headliner on Sunday was Waterboys. (Photo above: Mike Scott from The Waterboys)
Månefestivalen started officially Friday, with Thursday’s OBOS på Månen as a kind of vorspiel. The festival is slightly alternative from many of the other festivals because they have a predominately Norwegian booking. And in 2014 they booked only female artists and bands with female members. On the first day of this year’s edition, Hanne Boel from Denmark was the only female and non-Norwegian artist. (Photo above: Hellbillies)
The last day of the Øyafestivalen 2017 had a more Nordic mix than the other days. Or it can be that I chose Nordic that day – six Norwegian acts, one Danish and one Swedish. With no other big international (“un-nordic”) names on the schedule, artists like Mø, Lars Vauler and Hellacopters showed that they can headline a festival just as well as many bigger acts from the US or the UK. (Photo above: Lars Vaular)
Månefestivalen in Fredrikstad, 60 miles south of Oslo, has been around since 2002. They started at the grounds of the former Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted, but moved after a few years to the Old Town (Gamlebyen), a part of Fredrikstad from the 16th and 17th century. The festival fits nicely in between the old buildings with a beautiful garden at the back as a hang-around area. (Photo above: Annisette and Savage Rose)
Every year since 1994, with the exception of 2001, the SPOT festival has been held as a showcase festival and conference in Aarhus. The initiative came from ROSA, The Danish Rock Council, and they have organized the festival all these years. In 2005 the Danish minister of culture proclaimed it to be the most important musical event in Denmark. I attended the festival regularly from 2004 and on, but I haven’t been there since 2013 until this year. (Photo above: Sigrid)
OK. So here is the first batch of my personal favorite photos from 2014, from Audrey Horne to Morudes. I might have loved the concert, or not, but I liked the visual performance and thought I managed to capture it on camera, too. Some of these bands and artists are well known, and some aren’t. Most are from Norwegian festivals and concert venues. I have posted them in alphabetic order, with no ranking of which I like the best. Enjoy! (Pictures above: Janelle Monae from the Oya Festival)
Artist Pictures Blog 