Swedish music

Swedish music reviews

Melodifestivalen 2018 Kicks Off in Karlstad, Sweden

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Melodifestivalen 2018 kicked off on Saturday night! Melodifestivalen is the music competition where Sweden picks the performer that will represent them at Eurovision in Lisbon this year. This year’s competition started in Karlstad with the first semi-final and will travel around different cities, with the final being held at Friend’s Arena in Stockholm. How does Melodifestivalen work? … Read more

dag wiren

Dag Wirén: National Swedish Treasure

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If the name Dag Wirén doesn’t conjure up any melodies for you, do not feel bad. Outside of Sweden, not many people have treated themselves to (or been aware of) the musical creations of Dag Wirén. Collectors of modern and eclectic classical music most likely know his famed Serenade for Strings, Op. 11, although he … Read more

Swedish Music

A Quick History of Swedish Music

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While stalking Sweden online (it is what I’m doing for a living, woot!), I came across the amazing American Swedish Institute.  It is actually a museum, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a museum I managed to completely miss when I was visiting family in Minneapolis!

If you are in Minneapolis, do not miss out on the American Swedish Institute. Throughout the year they offer various events and exhibitions.

In 2015, the Gothenburg Combo partnered with the American Swedish Institute to help make this great video to show you a quick overview of Swedish music. Enjoy!

Eurovision 2016

Watch Eurovision 2016 Final Live Stockholm Tomorrow!

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Better late than never! Thanks to the Internet you can watch the live Eurovision show in Stockholm.  It is also going to be shown on Bravo in the United States if you still have cable.

Eurovision is pretty huge in Sweden, and Sweden’s If I Were Sorry sung by Frans is #9 going in.

It’s at noon Arizona time, which means noon PST and 3pm EST.  Watch it on Eurovision.tv.

In the mean time, you can watch Frans. Lycka till!

ESC logo

Melodifestivalen

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Melodifestivalen – The Song Contest If you are a Swedish mum or dad, you know what you’ll be doing between 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM, six Saturdays in a row, starting in February every year: you’ll be watching Melodifestivalen on TV. And three weeknights in May are also booked. What is Melodifestivalen? It’s a TV … Read more

Black sheep in Sweden

Vallmusik with Kulning

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Hilary knows me as big Europe fan from Canada. I don’t mean Europe-the-continent; I mean Sweden’s own hard rock supergroup, Europe. But for the most part, whenever I thought of Swedish music, bands like ABBA and Roxette, or singers like Jazz’s Alice Babs or Opera’s Jenny Lind (a.k.a. the Swedish Nightingale) came to mind. Hilary … Read more

Getting that Big Fish

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Wednesday was a very eventful day. Johan decided to join me for ice fishing. And either he is a closet expert ice fisher, or had extreme beginners luck. Whatever the case was, Johan enjoyed ice fishing! Walle Mellquist, the journalist from Norran who did the fantastic article about ice fishing, sent me this Swedish fishing … Read more

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