2014 was the year Sondre Justad went from being a shy young boy from Henningsvær to becoming a Norwegian pop sensation. The final Saturday of the festival in 2015 brings Lofoten´s new favourite son to Nordic Hall.
If you search for "Sondre Justad" on YouTube you will find six songs. Four flow from his own pen whilst two are cover tracks. It is no exaggeration to state that one song brought him a kind of stardom he scarcely expected. "Bli hos mæ" is Justad´s northern Norway take on Sam Smiths Grammy-winning "Stay with me". He recorded it for NRK P3 and created a whirlwind.
- I didn´t have any choice. I had to sing a cover track on P3, chose this song, translated it, and distilled it into something simple and direct. After that people began to listen to my other songs and the concert offers began to flood in, he told Aftenposten before an appearance at pop fest ByLarm.
Sondre believes he was born to be a musician. His family from Henningsvær were kind enough to sit through all his concerts and theatre productions in their very own sitting room when he was a child. Although there was a small charge to gain entry
This young lofotværing is now based in Oslo but asserts that his northern Norway identity has only grown stronger since he moved south.
– It made me realise who I was and living in Oslo placed things in a new light, Justad states.
Sondre is now in that beginning phase, where an element of shock is inevitable. Suddenly he is living the dream: the dream of living off his own music.
Justad´s music hits home with both young and more seasoned fans and the festival expects tickets to disappear fast!
P3-radio write-up: This years most beautiful cover
NB. We draw attention to this year´s theme discount packages. A ticket for Sondre Justad is included in "Langhelg i Nordic Hall". This package costs 550,- kroner and gains entry to 3 concerts. Tickets can be booked through the ticket office at Harstad Kulturhus. The ticket counter can set them aside for collection upon arrival at the festival.
TICKET OFFICE - 77 06 78 90
Open mon-sat. 12-14