Oslo nightclub takes fiddles and folk to young Norwegians

Folk music is having a resurgence in Norway spurred by a reclamation of the genre among Gen Z.

- Miranda Bryant

Norwegian folk music, which until recently was largely restricted to rural areas, has been gaining traction in the cities, with sweaty club nights appealing to a younger audience.

Playing a central role in the revival is Tuvas Blodklubb, a monthly event at Riksscenen, the national centre for traditional folk music and dance in Oslo, which attracts hundreds of people every month and tours around the country. Similar folk music clubs have since started in other cities including Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø.

The musician Tuva Syvertsen started Tuvas Blodklubb - which she described as "Norway's, probably the Nordic region's, and maybe even the world's first pure folk music nightclub" - seven years ago to open up the kinds of experiences she was having at folk music festivals, particularly to LGBTQ+ people.