Risør Bluegrass Festival celebrated its 10th year anniversary this year. It has always been held at a beautiful 'horse ranch', located on the banks of a true wilderness lake. This farm is not able to host the bluegrass festival in 2012 and it is being moved to a new location. But fear not: it is a truly a magnificent place they have found, an old mill by a waterfall, now used as a state-of-the-art sound studio for many well known bands. Black metal bands, that is, not bluegrass. Norway is well known for its black metal bands, and the owner of the sound studio is touring worldwide when he is not producing, writing songs, or teaching music or sound engineering. He has a farm nearby, where he hunts deer, elk, and moose and serves a variety of wildlife dishes at his own festival. It is truly a scenic setting for the Risør Bluegrass Festival, and the organizers really look forward to working with 'The Mill' and creating an very special festival next year. The recipe is:
Workshop: July 9th-12th, four days with top international instructors in banjo, mandolin, guitar, dobro, fiddle, bass, and harmony singing, and not to forget: the BandLab
Festival: July 12th-14th, three days with 30+ bands, including some of Europe's best, children concerts and music tent, church concert and more
Concerts start at noon and end at 2.00 a.m., jamming encouraged at all times. More info will be on the festival website (www.risorbluegrassfestival.no) in the near future. Contact Dagfinn Pedersen (e-mail).
The photo shows the waterfall and the 'swimming pool'; just 40-50 metres behind the stage. A nice place to cool off between the sets on a lazy, warm July day. Best regards,
Dagfinn M. Pedersen, Norway
EBMA board, coordinator National Representatives (e-mail)
IBMM board member
NoBMA board member (e-mail)
Risør Bluegrass Festival, organiser
Home: +47 3715 4528; work: +47 3715 0096; mobile: +47 9700 0055
