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SUMMER IN SWEDEN

MUSIC

Swedish summer music festival preview: July

With Midsummer now a distant memory, Swedes will be looking to grab every opportunity to get out in the summer while it lasts. The Local's Joe Lynskey takes a look at the stand-out festivals that are sure to draw the crowds this month.

Published: 2 July 2012 15:16 CEST
Swedish summer music festival preview: July

With many Swedes looking to bask in the summer sunshine during their summer holidays, music lovers among them will likely be heading off to any of the vast array of summer festivals that continue to litter the country’s calendar this month.

Sundvalls Gatufest: July 2–8

Eurovision star Loreen leads the proceedings for the Sundvalls Gatufest, and is joined by a host of big international names including R&B star Sean Paul and Thin Lizzy.

A host of non-musical entertainment is also readily available for this four-day street party in Sundsvall, in nothern Sweden. Each day kicks off with a gym session in Sundsvall Square; there are a host of cultural and artistic acts on show, and several opportunities for festival goers to get involved with hiphop workshops, streetdance face-offs and a talent contest.

Expect parties to continue long into the night following the headline acts, with the long summer nights continuing to shine brightly in the north of the country.

For more information, check out the Gatufesten website.

Putte I Parken: July 4–7

Now in its fourth year of operation, the Putte I Parken stages take to Karlstad in central Sweden to deliver what is, once again, a diverse musical line-up to cater for all tastes.

Former Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell joins Swedish rockers Kent in a line-up that features rock, singer-songwriters, club acts and rap, most notably in the shape of Britain’s R&B star Tinie Tempah.

Elsewhere, Thåström and US punk rockers Flogging Molly will continue their distinguished careers as headliners at the festival. Putte I Parken will be looking to continue the growth it has made since its inception in 2008.

Find tickets and further details at Putte i Parken’s website.

Getaway Rock Festival: July 5–7

US rockers Manowar have seen it all in their illustrious heavy metal career, and fans will once again be pouring into Gävle this July to see them “blow the heads off” the mosh pits of Getaway Rock Festival.

Taking place in the heart of Gävle in eastern Sweden, the festival will once again draw the most ardent of hard rockers in its third year of operation. With FKP Scorpio joining festival bosses as a partner, this is looking set to be the biggest year yet for the festival. They also offer a range of restaurants and bars on site.

Nightwish, Yngwie Malmsteen and Behemoth headline a line-up that is sure to whet the appetite of those who prefer something heavier than the mainstream.

Find more information on the Getaway Rock festival site.

West Coast Riot: July 26

This one day potpourri of punk is now in its fourth year of operation, and has attracted some big names and huge crowds into the arena in Gothenburg.

A mouth-watering mix of the most histroic and iconic punk acts and new up-and-coming bands are set to grace the stage this year. Punk fans will certainly be licking their pierced lips at the prospect of old guns Rancid and Anti-Flag being joined by the modern era of Gallows and Against Me.

Tickets and more information can be found at the festival’s website.

Storsjöyran Festival: July 27-28

The northern hub of Östersund’s premier festival welcomes long-time US rocker Patti Smith, UK indie band Glasvegas and Swedish favourite Lars Winnerbäck to the town centre for a last hurrah with the summer heat in late July.

The weekend has been labelled “the best city festival in Sweden” by journalists in the past.

As northern Sweden’s pinnacle of summer parties, the festival looks to parade the fact that though this region is sparsely populated, its people have the zest, courage and knowledge to create a festival of international size and standard.

Around 55,000 spectators visit the festival every year, making it Sweden’s second largest event.

Tickets and more information can be found at the festival’s website.

Joe Lynskey

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CULTURE

New songs mark sixth anniversary of French star Johnny Hallyday’s death

Fans of the late Johnny Hallyday, "the French Elvis Presley", will be able to commemorate the sixth anniversary of his death with two songs never released before.

Published: 17 November 2023 09:05 CET
New songs mark sixth anniversary of French star Johnny Hallyday's death

Hallyday, blessed with a powerful husky voice and seemingly boundless energy, died in December 2017, aged 74, of lung cancer after a long music and acting career.

After an estimated 110 million records sold during his lifetime – making him one of the world’s best-selling singers -Hallyday’s success has continued unabated beyond his death.

Almost half of his current listeners on Spotify are under the age of 35, according to the streaming service, and a posthumous greatest hits collection of “France’s favourite rock’n’roller”, whose real name was Jean-Philippe Leo
Smet, sold more than half a million copies.

The two new songs, Un cri (A cry) and Grave-moi le coeur (Engrave my heart), are featured on two albums published by different labels which also contain already-known hits in remastered or symphonic versions.

Un cri was written in 2017 by guitarist and producer Maxim Nucci – better known as Yodelice – who worked with Hallyday during the singer’s final years.

At the time Hallyday had just learned that his cancer had returned, and he “felt the need to make music outside the framework of an album,” Yodelice told reporters this week.

Hallyday recorded a demo version of the song, accompanied only by an acoustic blues guitar, but never brought it to full production.

Sensing the fans’ unbroken love for Hallyday, Yodelice decided to finish the job.

He separated the voice track from the guitar which he felt was too tame, and arranged a rockier, full-band accompaniment.

“It felt like I was playing with my buddy,” he said.

The second song, Grave-moi le coeur, is to be published in December under the artistic responsibility of another of the singer’s close collaborators, the arranger Yvan Cassar.

Hallyday recorded the song – a French version of Elvis’s Love Me Tender – with a view to performing it at a 1996 show in Las Vegas.

But in the end he did not play it live, opting instead for the original English-language version, and did not include it in any album.

“This may sound crazy, but the song was on a rehearsal tape that had never been digitalised,” Cassar told AFP.

The new songs are unlikely to be the last of new Hallyday tunes to delight fans, a source with knowledge of his work said. “There’s still a huge mass of recordings out there spanning his whole career,” the source said.

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