Country Profile: Norway

Very long and not enormously crowded, Norway is a plush sort of market, buoyed by its oil wealth and able to lay on mountains of shows and festivals for a prosperous population, who see music-filled summers as a pleasing contrast to long, snowy winters.

Oslo is clearly the key Norwegian destination, but Norway’s other major cities – Bergen, Stavanger, and Ålesund on the west coast; Trondheim in central Norway; Tromsø in the north, none of them less than five hours from each other by road – also maintain their own independent, characterful scenes, with plenty of hearty festivals, picturesque concert venues, and local promoters who partner with Oslo’s international operators on local shows.

At the international level, the key promoters are those you would expect to find in Scandinavia: a sturdy Live Nation, born out of longstanding pioneer Gunnar Eide Concerts; the Norwegian branch of All Things Live – formerly Friction and Atomic Soul, plus some more recent additions; and the local FKP Scorpio office, built on what was previously Goldstar.

Live Nation Norway has been adding to its weight lately with the acquisition of interesting local morsels, including, in 2020, Bergen Live

Live Nation Norway has been adding to its weight lately with the acquisition of interesting local morsels, including, in 2020, Bergen Live – well-known for Bergenfest and a stream of impressive headline shows at Bergenhus Fortress – and the Tons of Rock festival in 2019.

According to head promoter Martin Nielsen, Live Nation has reaped the benefits this year. “We’ve had the best year in the history of Gunnar Eide/Live Nation Norway,” says Nielsen. “Tons of Rock has become the biggest festival in Norway since its move to Oslo in 2019, and NEON, a pop festival in Trondheim, which we started this year with a full Norwegian line-up, ended up selling out 18,000 tickets a day over two days.”

While shows continue to sell well, Nielsen suggests the focus on festivals is only increasing, with the season going on later and the booking process beginning earlier. Live Nation’s other festival interests include Sandvika hip-hop festival Kadetten, rock/pop event Slottsfjell in Tønsberg, and the dancier Findings in Oslo.

While shows continue to sell well, Nielsen suggests the focus on festivals is only increasing, with the season going on later and the booking process beginning earlier.

Meanwhile, Live Nation-owned Luger opened its third Nordic office in February 2020, setting up shop in Oslo with veteran promoter Torgeir Gullaksen, formerly of Gunnar Eide Concerts and Goldstar, at the helm. FKP Scorpio has its Malakoff festival in Nordfjordeid, among the fjords and mountains in western Norway, and the new Loaded city festival at Kontraskjæret in Oslo, spearheaded by The National, Wilco, and Susanne Sundfør in 2022, with The War on Drugs down for 2023. 2022’s shows have included Sam Ryder, Pavement, Wet Leg, and Cass McCombs, in addition to numerous other international and domestic acts.

Add this after: In 2020, FKP also acquired a majority stake in Nordic Live, formerly Norway’s largest independent booking agency. Friction and Atomic Soul were part of Waterland-backed All Things Live’s first foray into the market in December 2018.

This year’s adventures have included Norway’s biggest ever gig (60,000 for Rammstein at horse racing track Bjerke Travbane) and Trondheim’s biggest ever show – with Justin Bieber at the 40,000-cap mini-festival Trondheim Sommertid, in partnership with Trondheim promoter Livesentralen.

This year’s adventures have included Norway’s biggest ever gig (60,000 for Rammstein at horse racing track Bjerke Travbane) and Trondheim’s biggest ever show – with Justin Bieber at the 40,000-cap mini-festival Trondheim Sommertid

The Oslo equivalent, Oslo Sommertid, drew 55,000 to Voldsløkka Sports Park. In July 2022, All Things Live acquired Stageway, a leading Bergen-based live entertainment group that deals in artist management, booking, and promoting through its Stageway Talent, Komon Stageway, and Stageway Teater divisions. Gry Mølleskog, former Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Court of Norway, assumed the CEO position at All Things Live Norway when she became the Nordic live entertainment company’s group CEO in August.

Shows with Andrea Bocelli, Céline Dion, and Michael Bublé are on the horizon, but All Things Live’s Peer Osmundsvaag says 2023 remains hard to call. “Previously, in other down periods, we have seen that the industry has flourished because people have chosen not to go on holiday or buy a new car and gone out to a concert for some short-term excitement instead,” he says.

“But at the moment, we have got layer upon layer upon layer – recession, inflation, the geopolitical situation, Covid – so things are changing all the time.”

“But at the moment, we have got layer upon layer upon layer – recession, inflation, the geopolitical situation, Covid – so things are changing all the time.”

Of Norway’s other festivals, OverOslo held its 11th edition this year, with 38,000 over six days. Oslo’s formidably green Øya festival, which drew 22,000 a day over four days and showcased Gorillaz and Florence + the Machine alongside homegrown talent like Aurora, Dagny, and Girl in Red, has investment from James Barton’s Superstruct Entertainment, which also owns Kristiansand-based beach party Palmesus.