Gnoss (SCO)
“It’s hard to describe what a good time it was but to try and summarise: An amazing festival, designed with music lovers in mind with a fantastic atmosphere.” Gnoss
Their experimental approach to Scots traditional music marks Gnoss out as one of the most interesting young bands in Scotland. Aidan Moodie, guitar and vocal, and Graham Rorie, violin and mandolin, are both Orcadians and have won recognition as a duo. At The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow they teamed up with Connor Sinclair, flutes and vocal, and Craig Baxter, bodhrán and percussion, and founded Gnoss in 2015. That same year, the group won the Danny Kyle prize, awarded to young, emerging folk musicians. In 2017, they got nominated for Up and Coming Artist of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and Gnoss was nominated again for Album of the Year in 2019 and 2021 for the records Drawn from Deep Water and their latest, The Light of the Moon. These four musicians are on top of their game, and their fine singing is backed by imaginative arrangements. Gnoss have played in many countries in Europe and North America, and the quartet has graced stages at festivals such as Orkney Folk Festival, Festival Interceltique de Lorient and Celtic Connections. Their only Danish festival in 2023.
Liam Ó Maonlaí (IRL)
“I think when the founders of this festival sat down to dream, they dreamed with open eyes. There is a sense that everything has been thought through. The place, the people the organisation allowed me come out of myself and live the dream of being in music. Buíochas Gach duine. Thank you everyone. Tak allesammen." Liam Ó Maonlaí
A songwriter and singer with a solo career at full tilt, he is also front man in the well-known Irish band, the Hothouse Flowers. The band had their breakthrough in 1988, with their hit Don’t Go which was an international succes. And they still going strong, playing for example at Glastonbury Festival in 2022. However, there’s much more to 58 year-old Liam Ó Maonlaí than playing in Hothouse Flowers. As a soloist, he has released several albums, among them 2005’s Rian. He has done acting work and was a major part of the documentary film Dambé: The Mali Project from 2008. The film deals with the musical journey undertaken by Liam Ó Maonlaí and Paddy Keenan (of The Bothy Band) to the famed Festival Au Désert in Mali. Here the two musicians brought traditional Irish folk music in contact with West African music, and instruments such as the uilleann pipes, bodhrán and whistles played alongside kora and gourd drums. Liam Ó Maonlaí grew up with traditional Irish folk music and remains true to his roots. And it is this music with folk roots he will be presenting at Tønder Festival. His only Danish festival in 2023.
Tejon Street Corner Thieves (USA)
“Tønder rules hard! The grounds are a sprawl of vitality and scenery and the town itself is cuter‘n hell. It was a blessing playing such a hospitable festival and the close proximity to the other bands was the icing on the cake! Great fans mixed with great bands is what Tønder is all about, and we felt right at home.” Tejon Street Corner Thieves
You’re in for lashings of wild energy when Tejon Street Corner Thieves hit the stage. The band come from Colorado Springs and formed in 2013. They played on the street and in small venues to begin with, but it didn’t take long for a wider audience, and the media, to catch on. They know their onions, and the band’s original blend of americana, folk, bluegrass and blues with a generous seasoning of outlaw attitude and trash grass have spurred Tejon Street Corner Thieves ever onwards. In 2015 they won a local prize, Best of the Springs, and more awards in following years, among them the Colorado Springs Independent newspaper’s prize as Best Original Band in 2018. Tejon Street Corner Thieves drew plentiful media coverage when, during the corona pandemic, they drove around in an old school bus and played concerts at a safe distance from the audiences. Their latest album is Thick As Thieves from 2022. They tour intensely, supporting, in 2022, among others, the Canadian band The Dead South, who are also at Tønder Festival this year. Their only Danish festival in 2023.
Graham Nash (USA)
“Had a blast playing the Tønder Festival in Denmark last night. Look at all those smiling faces! Thanks everyone for coming out! You got things off to a great start for us.” Graham Nash
81 year-old Graham Nash is behind songs that have been the soundtrack of millions of lives. Multiple Grammy winner, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and an artist who has been at the top of the music scene since the early 60s. As a member of the British top group The Hollies, Graham Nash wrote or co-wrote hits like Stop Stop Stop, On A Carousel and Carrie Anne. In 1968 he left The Hollies, travelled to Laurel Canyon in California and founded, with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. Their first, eponymous album was a huge hit. Shortly after this, the trio grew to include Neil Young, and in the spring of 1970, as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, they released their milestone album Déjà Vu. Two of the album’s hits, Our House and Teach Your Children, were written by Graham Nash. His 1971 solo record, Songs For Beginners, confirmed his songwriting talent, further evidenced by his duo work with David Crosby during the 70s and a long series of solo albums. A new album, Now, is due in May 2023. Graham Nash has always used his public rostrum actively on political, social and environmental matters. He is moreover a gifted photographer with exhibitions and publications to his name. His only Danish festival in 2023.
Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms Country Band with special guest vocalist Lukas Graham (USA, DK)
“Tønder festival provides the best of both worlds for a music festival. It gives the audience an amazing experience with a variety of venues and styles of music as well as offering the performers a place to gather backstage to mingle and share in music what they otherwise wouldn't get to share. This kind of festival setup is the best for performer health, which just makes the public side of the show better.” Caleb Klauder
Classic country music meets a Danish world star. Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms Country Band, out of Oregon, deliver a raw, authentic style of American roots and country music. Honky tonk music from the top drawer by one of USA’s most venerated country bands. Caleb Klauder, vocal, mandolin, and violin, played at Tønder Festival in 2008 with his band. He is also one of the pillars of The Foghorn Stringband, who played here in 2006. Reeb Willms, vocal, guitar, is a singer and songwriter with a background in American roots music. Her harmony singing with Caleb Klauder is central to their band’s sound. Their only Danish festival in 2023. They’ll be playing their own concert at Tønder Festival and moreover a Sunday concert with a special guest soloist: Lukas Graham. The Danish singer and songwriter has appeared several times at Tønder Festival in recent years. As a boy, Lukas Graham was often at Tønder Festival with his father. Lukas Graham recounts: “My dad was Caleb Klauder’s booker in Scandinavia, when I was a teenager. That’s how I know Caleb and his various bands. Already back then I sang with them when they toured Denmark. I was very inspired by Caleb’s way of singing, and the live energy of the band. It is just wonderful to get a chance to sing with him again.”
Dustbowl Revival (USA)
“We’ve played in 11 countries and Tonder is straight up the best music gathering anywhere in the world right now.” Dustbowl Revival
This is the third time this potent American band is appearing at Tønder Festival. Dustbowl Revival modernise bluegrass, swing, hot jazz, blues, soul and New Orleans funk. Fronted by male guitarist and singer Zach Lupetin and female singer Lashon Halley, who replaced Liz Beebe a few years ago, Dustbowl Revival roll their love of American roots music out over their audiences to the sound of guitar, mandolin, ukulele, washboard, violin, trumpet and asssorted other instruments. Dustbowl Revival hail from Venice Beach in Los Angeles and starting in 2007 they seized on American string band and brass band traditions and quickly attracted attention. In 2013, the LA Weekly paper crowned the band Best Live Band. Dustbowl Revival’s most recent studio album is Is It You, Is It Me from 2020. American Songwriter magazine wrote this of the release: “… an album that combines a welter of musical styles, exhibits outstanding musicanship, and best of all has brilliant songs.” Their only Danish festival in 2023.
Jim Lauderdale (USA)
“What a joy it was to get to play at Tonder for the first time! It was run with a lot of love and care for the attendees and performers alike to enjoy the music in the best ways possible. I think we all shared that feeling and couldn’t have been happier with our experience!” Jim Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale is the epitome of ‘the songwriter’s songwriter.’ Now 66 years of age, he has made 34 albums, won several Grammy awards and the Americana Music Association’s Wagonmaster Award. He has been part of the American country scene since the late 1970s and has worked with the likes of Ralph Stanley, Robert Hunter, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Buddy Miller and Lucinda Williams, as well as writing songs for many other singers. His style is country, with touches of bluegrass, blues and americana. After college in North Carolina, he played bluegrass and folk, gravitating to Nashville and then to New York. He made his first solo album, Planet of Love, in 1991. Jim Lauderdale’s latest album, Game Changer (2022), is released on his own label, Sky Crunch Records. Writing songs is his life. “It’s a constant challenge to make better and better records and to write better and better songs. I feel as though I am still developing as an artist,” Jim Lauderdale has said. His only Danish festival in 2023.
Altan (IRL)
“Tønder Festival is magical and attracts the best listening audience in the world!” Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Altan
Altan, one of the biggest bands in traditional Irish music, have, since their start back in 1987, appeared at Tønder Festival six times. The most recent was in 2017, when they included us in their 30th anniversary tour. Altan was founded by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her late husband, Frankie Kennedy, and created a stir from the word go on the folk music scene in Donegal. Ní Mhaonaigh is a native Erse speaker, and she has sung many’s the traditional song. Besides herself, singing and playing fiddle, today’s Altan has Ciarán Curran on bouzouki, Martin Tourish on accordion and guitarists Dáithí Sproule and Mark Kelly. Altan have toured the world and have performed before President Clinton at the White House. The group have also worked with Dolly Parton, Jerry Douglas and Mary Chapin Carpenter, among many others. In 2018 they released their latest album, The Gap of Dreams, a musical journey back to Donegal. Their only Danish festival in 2023.
Photo Credits:
(1) Gnoss,
(3) Tejon Street Corner Thieves,
(4) Graham Nash,
(5) Altan,
(6) Jim Lauderdale,
(7) Dustbowl Revival,
(8) Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms Country Band,
(unknown/website);
(2) Liam Ó Maonlaí (by Biguana/Wikipedia).
