Upcoming concerts in Oslo

There is lots of good stuff happening in Oslo in the coming weeks Most of which there are still tickets available for. We should all go out to see more live music, and with this program you have no excuse to stay in.

First out of my recommendations are Massive Attack, on tuesday 20th of october at Rockefeller. Tickets are sold out now, but I thought I’d give it a mention anyway. Check out their MySpace site to re-experience the incredible albums “Blue Lines”, “Protection”, “Mezzanine” and “100th window”. The new single “Splitting the atom” was just released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies with exclusive artwork by The Vinyl Factory – you can get it here. Revitalized for the digital world – this is the only physical product released. Last time I saw Massive Attack was back in 2003 at the Quart festival, where they delivered an impressive visual show to accompany the soundscape.

The 24th of october, swedish pop-comet Veronica Maggio enter the stage at John Dee. Her fantastic voice combined with Motown and Stax inspired productions made “Måndagsbarn” a huge hit here. There are very few tickets left for this show at the reasonably small venue.

The 5th of november, a true legend is bringing warmth and sunshine to chilly Oslo. Gilberto Gil had a prominent role in the Tropicalísta-movement that revolutionized Brazilian music in the 1960s. Rhythms from the northeast of Brazil like the baião, apart from samba and bossa-nova were fundamental in his formation. Using them as a starting point, Gil forged his own music to which he incorporated rock, reggae, funk and rhythms from Bahia such as afoxé. Gilberto will perform in Oslo together with his son Bem Gil and cellist, producer and composer Jaques Morelenbaum. The show is part of Oslo World Music Festival and is not to be missed. Tickets are 320.- and you can get them here. Why not revisit his music on Spotify or YouTube?

Kings of Convenience is playing at Sentrum Scene friday the 20th of november. Erlend Øye’s acoustic adventures with fellow band member Eirik Glambek just resulted in album number three – “Declaration of dependence”  - which you’ll find on Spotify. Tickets are 270.- and you can get them from billettservice.

Next up is french electronica maestros Air, who recently released their fifth album “Love 2″. Tickets are 350.- and I would recommend to sort yours out asap. Sentrum Scene will provide the right balance of scale and intimacy november 28th.

My last recommendation for the year is Norwegian folk singer Jens Carelius. His second album “The beat of the travel” has given him much deserved recognition and rave reviews. Last time I attended one of his shows (back in february at Gamla) he created an unique atmosphere I highly recommend experiencing. Jens Carelius is playing at John Dee the 11th of december. Tickets are 150.-.