DR Big Band and celebrated Danish folk violinist Harald Haugaard have assembled some of the most prominent names in Nordic folk music for an evening billed as a Folk Music Gala. The programme travels musically from Fanø in Denmark through Shetland and Norway, across Sweden, Finland and all the way to Karelia.
Along the way, audiences will encounter Norwegian halling dance, Swedish polska rhythms, shepherd calls, reels and jigs from Shetland, and the hypnotic drone music of Finland's land of a thousand lakes — featuring ancient Nordic instruments such as the jaw harp.
Harald Haugaard has curated the programme and selected the soloists, each of whom will perform both independently and alongside DR Big Band, under the direction of conductor Geir Lysne. The evening is a rare meeting point between jazz energy and living Nordic folk tradition.