Norway makes a great showing at South by Southwest

SXSW had over 2,200 musical contributions this year, and has by many people been described as the festival for the music industry. It is a place where agents, musicians, labels, and fans can enjoy a terrific musical experience for five straight days, and a place where people from the music industry can meet other people from the industry, while the fans familiarize themselves with new and interesting bands from all over the world. In addition, there were also well established acts at this year’s festival, such as Depeche Mode and John Fogerty. Something that makes SXSW differ from other festivals is the small venues with limited capacity, which leads to some people standing in line to see only one or two bands a night, when there is a potential of watching several instead.

This year’s festival featured 11 Norwegian contributions; Karpe Diem, Marit Larsen, Highasakite, Bernoft, Young Dreams, Cashmere Cat, Mikhael Paskalev, Thomas Dybdahl, Heyerdahl, Flunk, and Therese Aune. Although many of these artists are well-known in Norway, such as Karpe Diem who sold out a concert venue with a capacity of 9,000 just a week before SXSW, and Marit Larsen who has topped Norwegian and German hit-lists with several of her songs, they do not share the same fame in the United States. This, in combination with the structure of the festival, resulted in the artists being able to play at more intimate venues where they could better interact with the audience.

 When Bernhoft played his show at Stephen F’s Bar he made the audience part of the music creation process, where their clapping made the basis for one of the rhythms in his last song of the night. Thereby, Bernhoft integrated the audience into the music, and ultimately created an electric atmosphere. The venue where he played was completely full, with people sitting on the floor and standing in the entrance. The people who managed to get inside the bar got to experience Bernhoft’s great voice and his exceptional talent for perceiving and utilizing rhythm to create music. 

 

Marit Larsen, who performed at SXSW for the third time, played an intimate and melodic show at St. David’s Bethell Hall. The surroundings fit perfectly with the Norwegian singer-songwriter’s music, enabling the audience to experience her music at its best when she performed her hit-single “If a Song Could Get Me You”.

Between her songs, Marit Larsen also took the time to engage the audience, and shared memories of her past experiences at SXSW. While she had previously performed at less optimal venues, in close proximity to a heavy metal band on one occasion, this year marked how she had gained a better grip on the North American audience. It is clear that the girl who started off her career in the girl band M2M has now managed to branch out and reach a different audience.

 

One of the hottest groups in Norway right now is Karpe Diem, a duo performing hip-hop in Norwegian. After performing in front of 9,000 Norwegians the week before, a show at Avenue on Congress Rooftop for an audience of only 150 was a big change. Despite rapping in a different language, the duo gave it everything they had, and the audience responded with enthusiasm. As the duos performance was the last one at this year’s SXSW, it marked what should be seen as another great festival with many memorable performances.

 

There were also other contributions with a Norwegian touch to it, like Antiques, an American group with a Norwegian bass player, namely Sven Alexander Sørhus. SXSW is a place where fairly unknown bands such as Antiques get a chance to showcase their talents for the music industry, and thus serves as a place for start-up talent to make contacts and potentially become more recognized within the music industry. SXSW is a festival where bands and artists can simply apply for the opportunity to perform, and Antiques was among the lucky ones who made the cut this year. When the band was asked to perform, the opening of the festival was only one week away, but they grabbed the chance they got with both hands and in the end put on a great performance.

 

South by Southwest is an important festival for up and coming bands and artists like Antiques, but also serves as a way for the American audience to familiarize themselves with artists who, while being relatively unknown on the world stage, are renowned and established performers in their native countries. Thus, the festival serves as an excellent arena for Norwegian artists to showcase their talents to the world and potentially expand their audience.

The Consulate General in Houston and the Embassy in Washington, who co-sponsored the Norwegian contributions, are already looking forward to next year’s festival – which will hopefully feature even more Norwegian contributions.