2023 has been a special year for all of us. The continuing war in Ukraine and the atrocities in Gaza plus the clear signs of the climate crisis overshadows much of what happened during the year. But in spite of all this, there have been concerts and festivals that made it worthwhile to visit. Here are the first 30 of my favorite photos from 2023 – most of them shot for Getty Images.
I have attended 16 festivals and photographed all together 300 + concerts at these festivals and different other venues. Pop, rock, metal, jazz, classical, folk music, Americana – many different genres and also different environments. Personally I like this diversity, during the years it has become more and more difficult to say what kind of music I love the most. I think the answer must be “good music”! But when I photograph concerts, the visual part also becomes important, sometimes making me love a concert even if I am not specially partial to the actual music that is performed.
Bad Gyal is a Spanish pop artist from Catalonia. She performed at Rockefeller in Oslo during Oslo World.Max Cavalera used to play in Sepultura and after that in Soulfly. Here he played with brother Iggor in the Cavalera Conspiracy at Rockefeller in Oslo.In December we lost our Norwegian singer songwriter par excellense, Ole Paus. The first time I saw him play was in 1971, and I was lucky to see his concert at Månefestivalen in Fredrikstad this summer, which was one of his last concerts before he died.In August I was the photographer for the Queen Sonja Singing Competition in Oslo. Great singers and great music. Here is one of the finalists Navasard Hakobyan from Armenia at the finals at the national Opera House. Every Easter I spend four days at Rockefeller in Oslo during the Inferno Metal festival. Here is Abbath doing his flame thrower act during his set. Summer is a busy period with several festivals in June, July and August. Here is one of the Nameless Ghouls of Ghost during their concerts at Tons of Rock in Oslo in June.This year Bruce Springsteen played two concerts in Oslo, and his guitarist Little Steven took the opportunity to support the Cocktaail Slippers at Gamla in Oslo the nights before the concerts. Here he poses backstage with the band.I saw Halestorm twice this year – first at Tons of Rock this summer, and then later in the fall. Here is Lzzy Haley in action at Sentrum Scene in Oslo.I always try to capture some of the fans at festivals and concerts. Here are fans of Volbeat waiting for the concert to start at the Tons of Rock festival.In October I visited the Blues in Cáceres festival in Spain with the band Cat Squirrel. Fantastic medieval surroundings that were used for many scenes in Game of Thrones, and the band showed the crowd that they know what they are doing.In July I photographed Kiss in Tønsberg for Dagsavisen on their farewell tour. Great show as usual, but we photographers were annoyed by two videographers who were blocking our view all the time. Here is one of the few shots where they were not.The week before the Kiss concert in Tønsberg, Machine Gun Kelly played at the Slottsfjell festival at the same venue. A magnificient and spectacular show.Machine Gun Kelly’s guitarist Sophie Lloyd – one of the many excellent female rock guitarists that I have seen this year and earlier.Oslo World is one of Norway’s most interesting festivals. This year’s festival opening concert was with Mari Boine and other Saami artists, among them Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen. Mari Boine is our foremost Saami artist, and the concert was one to remember.Another highlight from Oslo World was the closing concert with the Portugese Fado artist Mariza. This was my second time seeing her, the first being in Bergen 21 years ago. I would love to attend another concert with her anytime.Blues in Hell is another one of my favorite Norwegian festivals that I have attended since the late 90’s. This year I got to see the up and coming British guitarist Toby Lee. In January I saw Apocalyptica at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. Always amazing to see and hear what you can do with three cellos on stage!Luke Elliot is an American artist with strong ties to Norway. He performs with the excellent Norwegian band The Salmon Smokers, and I saw them at Parkteatret in May.Ledfoot, or Tim Scott McConnell is another American artist who has moved to Norway, spreading his music all over the country. Here he played an intense concert at the acoustic stage at the Notodden Blues Festival.Bluesheaven is a blues festival that is held in Frederikshavn in Denmark in November every year. I have attended the festival the last three years, and this year Robert Finley was one of the headliners.Danielle Nicole Schnebelen used to play in the trio Trampled Under Foot with her two brothers. Now she has her own group, and she played at Bluesheaven with Monster Mike Welch as a guest.Patti Smith has played in Norway many times, and she is always welcome back. Here she plays a concert at Sentrum Scene in Oslo in June.In May I saw a couple of artists that are usually outside of my general musical interest, but who nevertheless impressed me. One of these was Macklemore. Ava Max was the other “surprise” artist for me at Sentrum Scene in May. Good show, great dancers and great visuals.The Norwegian Radio Orcheatra, KORK, are one of the best and most versatile orchestras in the western world. They do all kinds of concerts with genres rangin from contemporary music, baroque, jazz, metal (with Dimmu Borgir) classical music and popular music with different soloists. Here I photographed them at a concert with Ingebjørg Bratland at an outdoor concert on top of Oslo in August.Usually the drummer, and often the keyboardist in bands, are placed at the back of the stage and are difficult to see from the photo pit. But sometimes I get to shoot from the back of the stage, and here is Lars Christian Narum from Hellbillies in action during the band’s concert at the Notodden Blues Festival in August.Sam Smith is an interesting artist with a fantastic voice. I saw them sing at a concert at Oslo Spektrum in May.Rival Sons are another hard hitting and tight band that I love to photograph. This year’s show with them were at Sentrum Scene in Oslo in November.I had heard many good things about Sari Schorr as an artist and finally got to see her at Blues in Hell in September. Great voice and also great stage presence.
