Can provide space for a concert along the coast

– We only sell 100 festival cards, and they hold a maximum of 150 cards. This includes artists and volunteers. I can put it in Selvær.

27-year-old Maren Saidi moved from Lillehammer to Oslo. From Oslo to Mekn. She now runs the store on Silver Island.

The fishing village of Træna municipality on the Helgeland coast has just under 50 permanent residents.

and festival.

– The most demanding logistics is to find accommodations for all the artists, but I think we will get there, says Saidi, who has his own festival; Wellness at Selvær in the municipality of Træna.

This year, as last year, festivals are facing obstacles. Strict restrictions on coronary arteries and artists who cannot travel. Limited number of festival participants.

During the Corona era, we see that everything does not have to be big and in constant growth. Not everyone has to be in town and on the big hunt. Saidi says that being younger and feeling close is more and more required.

– With a heavy heart

It will be decided whether there will be a 2021 Træna Festival this week.

The Oia Festival in Oslo has been cancelled. Slottsfjell in Tonsberg has also been cancelled. Roskilde. Buktafestivalen in Tromsø and Parkenfestivalen in Bodø too.

– We’ve waited the longest and hopefully we can make it happen. But the signals from the authorities were sometimes not clear. Now we see that we are unable to complete to our full potential. So we had to cancel with a sad heart, Park Festival General Director Ann Vicord tells NRK.

The festival, which has been bringing together about 9,000 music fans and spectators annually since 2006, was canceled last year.

Trevarefest is one of the small and popular festivals organized every year in Lofoten, and this year is no exception.

The festival has been sold out for a long time.

They view the development of infection rates in the community favorably, and are ready to divide the public into smaller groups if necessary.

– I think we see examples of small festivals all over the country getting a national or even international star. As we’ve seen before, there’s a whole lot of people out there looking for unique experiences, rather than artists playing.

Simple events

Avisa Nordland music commentator Rune Slyngstad believes the big festivals are safe, though for the second year in a row.

Slingstad believes that the absence of big festivals could provide fertile ground for smaller ones.

– There are probably many artists who would like to go out and play even if there are only 200 spectators. Perhaps small venues can arrange simple concerts without a full sound equipment that costs money. I think it would be part of an acoustic guitar, a small sound system, and a microphone.

The music commentator does not rule out that this will become a new trend this summer.

– There is no problem in gathering 200 spectators on an island along the coast. I think we’ll see more action over the next summer weekend.

Fifth Festival

While some festivals feel compelled to cancel this year’s festivities, others are rethinking.

– Throughout the year, we planned parallel races based on different scenarios. In early May, we decided on this version of the festival. Sandra West, the festival’s director, says the scale has been drastically reduced with just 500 participants.

Riddu The Riddu Festival in Manndalen in Kåfjord municipality in Troms is usually attended by about 2,500 festival-goers. This year they drive without a festival camp to be able to complete.

– But we still take a big financial risk. There is a great deal of uncertainty about, among other things, the use of vaccine certifications. West says, but we make it spin.

– How do you see 2022 for Riddu Riddu?

– I hope we arrange as usual for next year. But I also said that last year. We must hold on to hope.