Finnish Folk Supergroup Frigg to Perform at NMU

Frigg (photo by Marek Sabogal)

The Finnish folk supergroup Frigg will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 in Reynolds Recital Hall at Northern Michigan University. This concert will be part of the 2025 Winter Roots Festival, a collaboration between the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU, Hiawatha Traditional Music Co-op, the Peter White Public Library, and the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center. Frigg's new album, "Dreamscapes," is scheduled for release on Feb. 21.

Advance tickets can be purchased online at tickets.nmu.edu. The prices are as follows: general public, $20 advance/$22 door; and NMU students/under 18, $10 advance/$12 door. To purchase tickets over the phone, call 906-227-1032. Due to the limited number of seats, advance ticket purchases are highly encouraged.

After two decades, 10 albums, around a thousand gigs in 30 different countries and tens of thousands of kilometers traveled, the group's light and passion still burns. The “hypnotic” combination of the famous violin sound, the irresistible forward-pushing strum of string instruments, and the pulse from the double base continue to create new paths. 

It all began in February 2000, when a group of teenage folk music enthusiasts spent a weekend shut away in Pelimannitalo, a folk music house in Kaustinen – the heart of Finnish folk music. Violins were played, musical thoughts flew about, and new songs were learned with gusto. The first demo tapes were recorded, and the future was being planned. This group started going by the name Frigg. 

The ensemble of four violins, string instruments, and a double bass recorded its first album in 2002, and Frigg became an increasingly popular topic of discussion amongst the Nordic folk music circles. The band's pace only accelerated and its music took on new directions. Audiences appreciated the band's ability to transport listeners to traditional Finnish Polska, bluegrass, and Balkan rhythms and all the way to the dynamics of classical music, as if multiple groups were performing on stage. 

Frigg went on to visit the WOMAD Festival at the invitation of the BBC, the Rainforest World Music Festival in the rainforests of Borneo, and tour around Japan and Australia. The joyful Nordic folk music laced with Bluegrass was “a knockout in North America” and one state after the other got its share of Frigg fever. The group wais invited to perform at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival along with some of the best of the best in Roots music. 

In addition to their own concerts, the band performs spectacular projects together with symphony orchestras, choirs and brass bands. New music is released at a steady pace, with albums repeatedly appearing in the listings and raving album reviews of fRoots, Songlines, Rhythms.au and numerous other world music portals.

For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/beaumier or call 906-227-3212. Watch a video of Frigg performing live here.

 

Prepared By

Brynn Turnquist
Student Writer
9062272720

Categories: Around NMU