In a small coastal town almost as far south you can get in Norway, Lars Jakob Rudjord creates instrumental music that takes you to places you’ve never been before. Though often compared to the likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Joep Beving, Lars Jakob Rudjord has most certainly established his very own sound in the modern classical world. His melodies are just as well inspired by classical music, as by Norwegian folk music and Nordic folklore. In our conversation we touch on a bunch of different topics like the relationship between different genres like classical, jazz and folk, ways to ex ..read more

Multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie is one of Scotland’s most renowned traditional musicians, known for her work with Blazin Fiddles, RANT and Mairead Green among others. We were able to sit down together for a chat during a busy weekend at the Førde International Folk Music Festival this summer. We talk about her musical background, her guitar style and views on different tunings, her work with Blazin Fiddles, the state of the Scottish trad scene, and decided ones and for all what is and isn’t folk music ..read more

Michael Barrett Donovan, originally from Northern California, moved to Norway from New York City in 2019 after finishing a masters degree in music composition and gigging within a wide array of musical genres. Since coming to Norway Donovan has fronted the original-music-performing trio Buster Sledge with guitar player Jakob Folke Ossum and banjo player Mikael Jonassen, and immersed himself in the many folk fiddle-scenes that can be found around Oslo. I speak with him and the rest of Buster Sledge at the Norwegian folk festival Folkemusikkveka the day after the release of their second album «C ..read more

Americian fiddler Liz Knowles has been a prominent member of the Irish music scene worldwide for several decades. She’s been working with Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters and Martin Hayes Quartet, just to mention a few. In addition to being a performer she is also a sought-after teacher, and it's her thoughts about practicing music that is the theme of this episode’s conversation. Topics we touch on are, the concept og «single foucus», scheduling practice sessions, setting goals for your practice, the importance of giving your brain a break, how everyone’s goals are different, what goes in t ..read more

Today's guest is Swedish percussion player Jens Linell. Jens is a well-known musician on the Scandinavian trad scene, through bands like SVER and GKN5. He is also a very thoughtful person with a lot of interesting views on folk music, so I knew he would be a great person to have on the show! In this conversation, we touch on topics like the role of percussion Scandinavian traditional music, the relationship between music and dance, and what it means for a drummer or a guitar player to identify as a folk musician today.  ..read more

In this episode I’m speaking with Scottish fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers. As well as being a tradition bearer of the Scottish old Highland style of fiddling, she has managed to create her own musical universe with a strong influence from free improvisation. In our conversation we touch on different topics like Scottish music, how to approach improvisation as a traditional musician, and how having a family impacts your work as a musician. For links and more info, please visit: https://thefolkmusicpodcast.com/episodes/sarah-jane-summers ..read more

Americian fiddler Liz Knowles has been a prominent member of the Irish music scene worldwide for several decades. She’s been working with Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters and Martin Hayes Quartet, just to mention a few. In addition to being a performer she is also a sought-after teacher, and it's her thoughts about practicing music that is the theme of this episode’s conversation. Topics we touch on are, the concept og «single foucus», scheduling practice sessions, setting goals for your practice, the importance of giving your brain a break, how everyone’s goals are different, what goes in t ..read more

Americian fiddler Liz Knowles has been a prominent member of the Irish music scene worldwide for several decades. She’s been working with Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters and Martin Hayes Quartet, just to mention a few. In addition to being a performer she is also a sought-after teacher, and it's her thoughts about practicing music that is the theme of this episode’s conversation. Topics we touch on are, the concept og «single foucus», scheduling practice sessions, setting goals for your practice, the importance of giving your brain a break, how everyone’s goals are different, what goes in t ..read more

Annbjørg Lien from Norway and Catriona MacDonald from Shetland have been among the most exiting fiddlers on the traditional music scene for more than 30 years. In the year 2000 they formed the band String Sisters together with an impressive cast of female fiddlers, including Liz Carroll (US), Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (IRL), Liz Knowles (US) and Nathalie McMaster (SCT), the latter were later replaced by Emma Härdelin (SWE). The band was an instant hit, and helped put the spotlight on all of the incredibly talented female musicians present on the folk music scene. I got to speak with Annbjørg and Ca ..read more

Hans Martin Austestad is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. In addition to all of that, he is also one of the most innovative and knowledgeable banjo players on the Norwegian folk scene. In this episode I have a conversation with him about how the banjo has shaped his musical career, and how it has led him down some very interesting and unexpected paths! For videos, links and more info, please visit: https://thefolkmusicpodcast.com/episodes/the-banjo-episode-with-hans-martin-austestad ..read more