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Xenia Grigat joins Denmark’s Smash!Bang!Pow

Denmark’s Smash!Bang!Pow! has hired one of the country’s most experienced concert promoters, Xenia Grigat.

Grigat joins the FKP Scorpio-backed concert promoter, booking agency and artist management company from Luger Denmark and prior to that, Down The Drain Concerts (formerly Beatbox), where she worked for 13 years.

She has previously worked with artists including The National, FKA Twigs, First Aid Kit, Idles, Ed Sheeran, Passenger, Caribou, Sigrid, Moses Sumney, Robyn, Lisa Hannigan, Jungle, King Krule, Jamie xx, Hozier, The Knife and Foals.

Grigat will assume the role of senior promoter at Smash!Bang!Pow! from 1 October and will work with the promoter’s international roster, which includes The War On Drugs, Future Islands, Tash Sultana, Rex Orange County, Hans Zimmer, Grimes and Snoop Dogg among others.

“At Smash!Bang!Pow! We have an ambition to develop and produce shows with international acts at the absolute highest level and I see Xenia Grigat as a cornerstone in those plans,” says CEO Nikolaj Thorenfeldt.

“I have always had the greatest respect and admiration for Xenia’s work, and I am very proud that she sees her future as part of Smash!Bang!Pow! team.”

“I see Xenia Grigat as a cornerstone in [our] plans”

Folkert Koopmans, CEO of FKP Scorpio Group, adds: “We have worked with Xenia before and were happy for that cooperation. We want to be the best partner for the artists and fans. Therefore it is a very good fit for our plans in Denmark and the Nordics.”

Smash!Bang!Pow! recently expanded the team with the appointment of Katrine Kamp as promoter coordinator, effective from 1 April. Kamp has several years of experience with international acts and festivals at Down The Drain Concerts.

Thorenfeldt ends: “With Xenia and Katrine on board, we are well geared to embrace future opportunities and reach the ambitions and targets we set for ourselves as a company – both in regard to new formats and larger capacities. Both Xenia and Katrine have a great deal of experience working with large arena shows and outdoor events.”

FKP Scorpio became an international partner to the company after acquiring a 25% stake in late 2018.

The Smash!Bang!Pow! international roster also includes Kacey Musgraves, Slowdive, Fontaines DC, Mac DeMarco, Skepta, Sturgill Simpson, Khruangbin, and Blood Orange.


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Luger expands into Norway

Swedish concert promoter and festival organiser Luger is expanding into Norway, opening an office in Oslo to strengthen its presence in the Scandinavian market.

Luger now operates in three Scandinavian markets, adding to its Swedish headquarters and its Danish office, which opened in Copenhagen in 2018, led by Sarah Sølvsteen.

The expansion into Norway follows the bolstering of a fellow European promoter’s presence in the country last month, with FKP Scorpio’s acquisition of a majority stake in booking agency Nordic Live.

Luger’s new Norwegian office will be headed up by Torgeir Gullaksen, a veteran promoter with over 20 years’ experience putting on shows and events in the country. Gullaksen joined Gunnar Eide Concerts (now Live Nation Norway) in the late 90s, founding his own promotions company, Goldstar (now FKP Scorpio Norway), in 2005.

The Luger Norway head has worked with acts including Arctic Monkeys, Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead, Rival Sons, Tame Impala, The Black Keys, Ben Howard, Arcade fire, Belle & Sebastian and Michael Kiwanuka.

“My aim is to firmly establish Luger as a strong brand in Norway”

“I’m delighted to be joining the Luger family and look forward to working close with Ola and the rest of the team,” comments Gullaksen. “Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Luger on both international and domestic acts and consider them the best in class in developing new talent over here.

“My aim is to firmly establish Luger as a strong brand in Norway and continue working with the acts I already have existing relations with, as well as become the natural promoter for emerging acts in Norway.”

Luger Sweden MD Ola Broquist adds that Gullaksen is “a great person, a great promoter and a music lover – the ultimate combination.”

Luger is one of the Nordic’s leading promoters, as well as acting as an agency and tour producer for Swedish artists. The company promotes over 300 a year, in addition to festivals including Way Out West, Åre Sessions and – together with C3 and Live Nation Sweden – Lollapalooza Stockholm.

 


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Xenia Grigat joins Luger Denmark

Three months after stepping down from her role at Down the Drain Concerts, Xenia Grigat, one of Denmark’s most experienced concert promoters, has joined Luger Denmark.

Luger, a Swedish promoter and booking agency owned by Live Nation, expanded into Denmark in early 2018 when it opened an office in Copenhagen. At Luger, Grigat will lead the company’s Danish expansion, as it transforms from being an agency for local artists to promoting shows by international acts.

Sarah Sølvsteen, director of Luger Denmark, comments: “There are good days and then there are absolutely fabulous days, like today, when we can announce the addition of Xenia Grigat to our Danish Luger team. With her sublime taste and love for her artists, Xenia is a perfect match with Luger Denmark’s philosophy and values​, and it makes me really proud that she has chosen to become part of our team.”

Ten acts, including Lord Siva, Efterklang, Ida Laurberg and Hugorm, have joined Luger Denmark this year. They join a roster that includes established artists such as Mø, the Minds of 99, Jada and Phlake.

Grigat, named head of international artists, explains: “I’ve had amazing 12 years working at Beatbox and then Down the Drain promoting shows and festivals, but the time is right for me to take the next step in my career. The opportunity to create a new chapter with Luger Denmark and their team is an offer I can’t resist.

“The time is right for me to take the next step in my career”

“I’m really looking forward to getting started and present artists, agents and managers with a variety of new opportunities, such as our extended Scandinavian reach.”

Adds Ola Broquist, director of Luger Sweden: “It’s a big day for our Scandinavian Luger family. In Sweden, we have clearly seen the synergies when working with both Swedish and international artists under the same roof and how it benefits the artists. With the new offerings structure in Denmark, we will collectively be positioned much stronger in the Scandinavia market.”

“We have clearly seen how Luger Sweden has been able to develop their business for a number of years by heavily focusing on their artists as both agent and promoter,” says Jesper Christensen of Live Nation Denmark. “With Xenia Grigat’s addition to the team, we will have a star capacity on board, which will strengthen Luger Denmark’s position both locally and internationally.

“I have great respect for Xenia as a promoter, and have always admired her unique ability and special care for the many strong artists she has worked with over the years”.

From today (1 November), Luger Denmark’s team consists of Sølvsteen, Grigat, Emma Markvad, Dorthe Hyllested, Freja Becker Anthonsen and Martin Rintza.

 


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