The Festival Thursday to Monday
The “normal” concerts I was able to see in 14 galleries, all phantastic but three of them have to be pointed out especially. The Mavericks on Thursday, the B. B. King Tribute and the wonderful Sharon Shannon.
Here are the galleries:
Let’s Spend The Night Together
Speeches_at the Volunteers Party
The Brother Brothers (USA, Volunteers Party
Jeffrey Foucault (USA), Volunteers Party
Jolie Holland CAN), Volunteers Party
The Folk Spot
Again the “Folkspot” for me was one of the Highlights of the Tønder Festival, as its is since its start in 2013. We had a fine mixture from traditional approaches to experimental performances. And by the way: The Klubscenen was less noisy as in the years before.
Here are the bands:
The Indigenous Peoples
A new initiative of the Tønder Festival 2018 was the theme “Indigenous cultures” with music, arts installatins and a photo exhibition.
The Indigenous peoples, also called first nations, are ethnic groups and their successors who are the original inhabitants of a certain region before occupation or colonization by other groups. 350 to 400 Million people live in one of the 5,000 indigene nations 75 States in the world. 15% of them in extreme poverty, often exiled from their homeland and restricted in their sovereignty, economic well-being or their access to the resources on which their cultures depend. The International Work group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) is a global human rights organisation promoting, protecting and defending indigenous peoples’ rights and was partner of the Tønder festival: https://www.iwgia.org
Music is one important medium to stay or get in touch again with the culture of the ancestors. Some of them were on stage at the Tønder Festival 2018: Mari Boine and joik-singer Torgeir Vassvik from the Sami People in Norway; from Canada Richard Inman from Manitoba and William Prince from the Peguis-First Nation. Greenland politician Aaja Chemnitz Larsen held the opening speech of the festival and two generations of Greenland musicians appeared on stage: Rasmus Lyberth and Nieve Nielsen.
Wonderful, heart and soul touching music, my favourite concerts at this year’s festival, and here are the galleries: