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The top music festivals in Norway this summer

Robin-Ivan Capar
Robin-Ivan Capar - [email protected]
The top music festivals in Norway this summer
In the upcoming months, there are several great music festivals in Norway that you can look forward to. Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Summer is the season of festivals in Norway, so if you've been patiently waiting for nice weather, exciting line-ups, and being part of energised crowds vibing to some great performances, here are a few events you likely won't want to miss.

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Norway is well-known for its music festivals, and a number of globally renowned stars and performers visit the country each year.

Regardless of whether you're into rock, pop, metal, hip-hop, or electronic music, the summer festival season in the country will likely have more than enough options for you to pick from.

From east to west and south to north, here are some of the best music festivals in Norway you can look forward to in the coming months.

Stavernfestivalen (Stavern, Larvik Municipality)

Stavernfestivalen is an annual music festival that takes place in the small town of Stavern in Larvik Municipality at the Larvik Golf Arena. It has been running strong for more than 20 years.

The festival usually takes place in July (July 3rd to July 6th this year), and tens of thousands of people visit the event.

While the programs run for three days, the organisers also offer the option of buying daily passes.

The lineup for 2024 includes Ed Sheeran, Burna Boy, DJ Snake, Sam Smith, Broiler, Undergrunn, Sigrid, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tom Grennan and many others. You can find the full line-up on the official festival website.

Remember that you'll need to show ID before entering and that the festival has strict age requirement rules in place - both are pretty common for most major festivals in Norway.

Øyafestivalen (Oslo)

Øyafestivalen is one of Oslo's biggest musical festivals, and this year it celebrates the festival's 25-year anniversary.  It is usually organised in August and takes place in Tøyen Park.

This year, it will run from August 6th to August 10th.

The festival always offers a mix of international and domestic groups and musicians, with both acclaimed acts and up-and-coming artists.

Visitors of Øyafestivalen in 2024 will be able to enjoy performances by Queens of the Stone Age, Big Thief, Wednesday, PJ Harvey, Pulp, Raye, The Smile and many others. You can find the full line-up on the official festival website.

There are several available ticket options, including a weekly pass (that gives you access to the festival in the Tøyen Park from Wednesday to Saturday, as well as free entry to Klubbdagen on Tuesday, August 6th, and discounts on several other related offers), day passes, discounted youth tickets, and others.

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NEON (Trondheim)

Launched for the first time in 2022, the NEON music festival in Trondheim turned out to be a major success, and its 2024 line-up shows that it has quickly become one of the hottest summer kick-off festivals in Norway.

The 2024 edition of NEON will take place on June 7th and 8th in Trondheim's Bryggeribyen E.C. Dahls Arena.

2024 festival goers will be able to see Tom Odell, Matoma, Lost Frequencies, Jason Derulo, Benson Boone, Emma Steinbakken, Roc Boyz and many more.

Tickets are already available, and you can choose between a festival pass, daily tickets, or premium ticket options.

Festival

Numerous internationally famous musicians and artists perform in Norway during the summer festival season. Photo by Tijs van Leur on Unsplash

Slottsfjell (Tønsberg)

Slottsfjell is one of Norway's most popular rock and pop music festivals. It takes place in Tønsberg in eastern Norway and has been a hit with audiences since its launch in 2003.

The festival is well-known for booking a broad program of artists, and over the years, it has hosted international superstars such as Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Mac Miller, and The 1975, as well as most of the more famous Norwegian artists.

Slottsfjell had to go on a four-year hiatus from 2018 to 2021, but was relaunched in 2022 with an updated concept. The 2024 edition of Slottsfjell will take place from July 10th to July 11th.

The festival area was recently moved from Slottsfjellet to an area just five minutes away from the pier in Tønsberg, where 2024 festival goers will be able to enjoy three large outdoor stages, a nightclub, lounge areas, a food hall, a beach, lawns, parks, and much more.

This year's program and line-up includes Zara Larsson, Doja Cat, Aurora, Matoma, Arif & Stig, Flo Milli and Kaizers Orchestra,

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Molde International Jazz Festival (Molde, Møre og Romsdal County)

The Molde International Jazz Festival, also known as Moldejazz, is among the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It takes place every year in July – this year, the festival will run from July 15th to 20th – and it has been bringing joy to jazz lovers in Norway since 1961.

During the festival, visitors can enjoy around 120 concerts, and roughly 22,000 tickets are sold each year.

There are often around 500 artists playing at Moldejazz, and some 600 volunteers support the festival staff and ensure the event runs smoothly.

If you're into jazz and staying in Norway for the summer, going to Moldejazz is a must.

The 2024 program has been announced and includes Jacob Collier, Irreversible Entanglements, Nubya Garcia and Veslemøy Narvesen. Tickets can be bought on the festival's website.

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Buktafestivalen (Tromsø)

Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival – also known as Buktafestivalen – is an open-air pop and rock festival that has been taking place in Tromsø annually since 2004. This year, it will run from July 19th to 20th.

From Northern Norwegian punk, Danish metal, and British indie rock to Norwegian Americana and Austrian psych music – Bukta caters to many different musical tastes and is among the premier summer events of its kind in northern Norway.

The Cardigans, Bel Canto, The War On Drugs, Motorpsycho, Night Beats, Sarah Klang and many others are lined up to play at the 2024 festival edition. Tickets and daily passes can be bought via Ticketmaster.

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