Thank you for two wonderful days of the festival – the celebration continues.
The first two days have offered both full-blown parties and deeply moving moments of silence.
Has there ever been a standing concert at Oslo Konserthus before? Of course, we’re used to seeing audiences rise to their feet toward the end of countless concerts — including at Oslo World — but for everyone to jump up from their seats at the start and stay standing the whole way through? That’s rare. Then again, the Egyptian superstar Hakim’s opening concert on Tuesday was something truly special.
It began with a powerful show of solidarity with Palestine from his large band, and unfolded into sing-alongs, joyful chaos, and an extraordinary connection between artist and audience. A grand celebration – which continued late into the night at Becco, where Dana Jdid and Christophe Boulmer kept the dance floors alive both indoors and outdoors in the autumn darkness. Just the way it should be!
The concert at Goldie with the legendary Los Wembler’s De Iquitos, in the basement of the fantastic Goldie, was one for the books – the Peruvian cumbia amazónica legends played for over two and a half hours, half the audience was up on stage at one point or another, and along the way they somehow even managed to squeeze in a sort of impromptu interview with Radio Latin-Amerika?!?
In the crowd, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso were dancing – and tonight it’s their turn at Sentrum Scene. The standard has been set!
At Kulturkirken Jakob, ganavya moved the adults in the audience and soothed the youngest member in the room during a beautiful, sensory concert experience. Ali Sethi & Nicolás Jaar performed one of their rare duo concerts for a spellbound, sold-out crowd at MUNCH, while the Dutch post-punk rising stars Tramhaus played their very first concert in Norway — and seemed genuinely shocked at how many people showed up. Great audiences make great concerts – and you’ve been absolutely wonderful.
The festival is moving fast – the weekend is already approaching. Ticket sales are going very well this year, so some events are sold out, and for others it’s smart to hurry up and buy now.
Where will the big Saturday party be this year? There’s no greater classic in Oslo’s concert scene than seeing a big, groovy band at Cosmopolite. And on Saturday, Cimafunk — the future and the present of Afro-Cuban funk — is coming there. It’s hard to imagine anything less than a total frenzy up there – and there are still tickets left.
But let’s rewind to Friday – there are still plenty of possibilities.
We can mention that it’s going to be quite a night at Parkteatret, with the great talent Leyla McCalla bringing a modern continuation of the New Orleans tradition, and Pumpegris, who have taken Norwegian folk music in a direction entirely their own.
If you’re keen to make a full evening out of Norwegian folk, you can catch witchcraft and stage magic with Norway’s spellbinding sensation Hekate and the dance company Mamelukk, before heading over to the aforementioned Pumpegris (it’s only a few minutes’ walk from Riksscenen to Parkteatret).
At Goldie on Friday, you can really immerse yourself in heavy sounds, when the best of Norwegian jazz-rock — Full Earth and Red Kite — are followed by the Afro-metal sensation Arka’n Asrafokor, known as “the only metal band in Togo.”
Another fairly heavy alternative is Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, who play at 21:30 at Jaeger – they’ve delivered some legendary shows in Oslo before.
And if you’re in a more dreamy mood, we have great faith in the French duo Ko Shin Moon’s experimental mix of traditional Eastern string instruments and space disco at Nasjonal Jazzscene.
Saturday brings top-class Swedish folk music to Riksscenen in the form of Ale Möller & Lena Willemark.
It’s always fun to present something other than pure jazz at the fabulous Nasjonal Jazzscene – and The Zawose Queens from Tanzania are bound to bring life to one of the city’s most beautiful and welcoming concert venues.
Another Saturday route could be this:
The hottest names in a new generation of Palestinian rap, Shabjdeed & Al Nather, with Mohammed El Susi from Gaza as support, at Parkteatret.
Then head over to Goldie, where Saliah – who caused absolute mayhem the last time she played at the festival – is performing.
Or how about the totally unclassifiable shamanistic noise/pop/performance artist Sturle Dagsland at Goldie?
Or the Bergen–Moroccan progeny of H:e:B at Kafé Hærverk?
The weekend is full of opportunities.
There are also tickets left for the closing concert with Gustavo Santaolalla – and of course, we’ve got tons of clubs and parties you can read more about here.
Photos by our fantastic festival photographers Lydia Tefera, Suie Ann Le, Pia Bråthen, and Aleksandra Suchkova.
