Dispatch from the Nordic Folk Alliance in Roskilde, Denmark

Mention the Danish city of Roskilde to any music fan and they’re likely to associate it with one of Europe’s largest rock festivals. But this historic Viking city of around 50,000 people also has a thriving folk and roots scene and a select group of music professionals from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, plus a smattering of international delegates, gather for the Nordic Folk Alliance.

In recognition of the city’s stellar rock credentials, the opening takes place in the RAGNAROCK museum where Laia Canals, director of Tempi (the Danish organisation producing the event and responsible for the promotion of folk and roots music), welcomes delegates with her favourite Danish word: “Fælleskab means community, but in a deeper way, it also means connection, togetherness, and all the humanistic values that define Nordic values: democracy, sustainability, inclusion, freedom of speech,” she explains. It’s something that lies at the heart of the Nordic Folk Alliance as “it’s the lifeblood of folk music,” says Canals.

Originally from Barcelona, Canals has been one of the main drivers of this itinerant event that since 2019 has been held twice in Gothenburg, Sweden and now in Roskilde. “One of the reasons why we started it is that there was no touring between the Nordic countries. We were all very connected to the UK or to Germany, but we kind of ignored our Northern neighbours. It just doesn’t make sense.” Coincidentally, Canals has a personal connection with Roskilde as she got her first big break as a budding DJ at Roskilde Festival nearly 20 years ago.

During the day a series of well-attended panels take place in the Neo-Gothic Byens Hus (City House), including ones on how to be ‘Export Ready’, touring in North America and Canada and another on sustainability – a pertinent topic as the Nordic region has a focus on becoming the most sustainable region in the world by 2030.

The opening keynote, delivered by Ale Carr from the band Dreamers’ Circus, is called ‘Aiming High with Nordic Music.’ Besides being an impressive multi-instrumentalist, Carr is a charismatic speaker who gives a SWOT analysis of Scandinavian music. The major takeaways are its strengths (high levels of musicianship, breadth of tradition, distinctive instruments such as the Hardanger, nyckelharpa, etc) and weaknesses including Hygge (Nordic musicians are too comfortable) and Janteloven (or Jante Law), an intriguing and very Scandinavian concept where anything you do that is ambitious or out of the ordinary is frowned upon. The consensus is that Nordic music has huge potential and, with concerted effort, might serve Scandinavians as well as the ‘Celtic’ brand has benefitted the Scots and Irish.

As Canals see it “there’s a window of opportunity right now,” especially given the popularity of other Nordic genres, such as Nordic noir [crime fiction from the region]. After the 2023 edition, they formed a working group, comprising Canals, Carr, Dreamers’ Circus’ manager Tom Sherlock, and Mattias Thedens from Gangar, the Norwegian folk-rock band. Gangar gave one of their first-ever international performances at the event in 2022. “We were very much the young upstarts who didn’t know anyone and didn’t even know what a showcase was,” recalls Thedens, “but we just went out there and headbanged our way through it!” – clearly a highly successful tactic as Gangar have been on an upward trajectory ever since.

This year’s showcases include young Sámi artist Emil Kárlsen, whose joiks have a melodic pop sensibility; a cappella Swedish quartet Åkervinda; Polenta who, despite the questionable name, are a real hit, especially with the dancers in the audience; and Teho., the Finnish duo of Esko Järvelä and Tero Hyväluoma (both from Frigg), who whip up a fantastic fiddle frenzy.

The concluding delegate session is the Summit which is “the backbone of the Nordic Folk Alliance as the mission and the vision of it was to connect people,” says Canals. There’s plenty of lively debate and plans to create a network to facilitate more regular discussions. As Thedens says, “The end goal is to make a manifesto for Nordic music,” similar to the one created for Nordic cuisine some years ago.

Held in the UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral, the closing concert features Dreamers’ Circus with guests. The Scandinavian trio’s ‘chamber folk’ is immensely popular and has seen the band tour extensively overseas, including in the US and Japan, while they return to the UK in November.

The Nordic music scene certainly seems in fine fettle right now, with those at the forefront unafraid to experiment in cross-genre collaboration – whether that’s Dreamers’ Circus’ blend of folk and classical or the headbanging folk-rock of Gangar. There might be an inclination by some to move away from the ‘folk’ label in fear it lacks popular appeal, something Thedens appreciates, but as he says “I would just rather be part of making folk cool, than to abandon it.”

Nordic Folk Alliance will be held in Uppsala, Sweden in 2025, see nordicfolkalliance.com for details; Dreamers’ Circus play at the London Roots Festival, Union Chapel on November 1

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today