Now that the sloth and distractions of Christmas and New Year are behind them, those blessed souls responsible for booking bands for major festivals have reluctantly torn themselves away from plush sofas and inteminable repeats of saccharine Will Smith blockbusters to man the phones in a bid to snap up the latest and greatest musical sensations for their respective events. Expect the trickle to turn into a flow in the coming months, but for now here are some of the latest festival confirmations:
Øya (10-14 August): Punk legends Iggy & The Stooges are the latest band to sign up for the jewel in Norway’s festival crown, joining a host of exciting names including reformed indie favourites Pavement, Outkast’s Big Boi and Diplo vehicle Major Lazer, with Serena Maneesh, Lindstrøm & Christabelle and John Olav Nilsen Og Gjengen the pick of the Norwegians on the line-up so far.
Træna (8-10 July): The nation’s most scenic festival kicks off its petite programme with John Olav Nilsen Og Gjengen and Ingeborg Selnes.
Hove (30 June- 3 July): Dizzee Rascal, Serena Maneesh and Swedish upstarts JJ are the latest additions to a bill that already includes, among others, Japandroids, Gallows and The Antlers.
Norwegian Wood (10-13 June): Just Geordie axe-wielder Mark Knopfler so far for this one. One for the oldies.
Pstereo (21-22 August): The Trondheim-based event has John Olav Nilsen Og Gjengen (again), Kvelertak, Moddi and Navigators as the first flying the Norwegian flag, with Swedish pop goddess Robyn the pick of the foreigners so far.
Slottsfjell (15-17 July): Sivert Høyem, Zeromancer, The Cumshots, Enslaved, Donkeyboy, Jaakko & Jay (FIN) and Mhoo are those mulling around the empty fields that will host this Tønsberg event’s seventh incarnation.
And across Norway’s shapely borders (and some sea) in Denmark shoegaze hipsters Serena Maneesh are the latest addition to Roskilde’s slow-growing assembly.
More can only follow, and shortening the wait in these dark winter nights, is by:Larm, just around the corner, highlights there include:
by:Larm (18-20 February): Norway’s premier new-band showcase confirmed a host of Scandinavian names this week, including news of a night curated by US music blog Stereogum boasting Kråkesølv, Altaar, and diskJokke as well as Finns Joensuu 1685 and Icelanders Kira Kira. Others lined up include Casiokids, The Cumshots, Efterklang (DK), The Megaphonic Thrift and Ungdomskulen.
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