Planning to catch some live gigs this summer? We’ve collected some of the highlights.
HANNA JÄRVER
Initially relentlessly compared to Veronica Maggio, Hanna Järver has probably now done enough to shake off those lazy comparisons and establish her music in its own right. The Örebro-born producer made one of 2016’s best EPs with her debut (and hometown-hailing) Närke, full of sharp, smart emotional electronic pop. Now her debut album So Long is out, with singles Manna Manna and Jävla 80-tal showcasing a strong development in her songwriting, with subtle but infectious melodies in the foreground. She’ll be touring Sweden around the release of that album, coming to Debaser in May.
Hanna Järver, Debaser Strand, May 19
1900
Christian Gabel can usually be found spending his time in indie icons Bob Hund. But away from the day job, he works with his side-project 1900, where he dabbles with tape machines to create audio art and collages. His last album with the project was 2016’s Tekno, but now he’s bringing it back for live shows at Orionteatern. With scenography by Mats Sahlström and video-projections from Linus Johansson, it’s being billed as the complete audio-visual experience, a journey through light and sound. It plays for four dates in May.
1900, Orionteatern, May 24-27
SABINA DDUMBA
If it already feels like the rise of Sabina Ddumba to the top of Sweden’s pop strata has been rapid (after only a couple of singles and a debut album in 2016, Homeward Bound, she’s one of the biggest festival acts and most-played artists in the country), she’s only going to get bigger, having signed a deal with Warner in the USA and been booked in for the next season of Så Mycket Bättre. When you listen to her music however, it’s easy to explain how she’s gotten so big so fast: Ddumba’s smart, soulful pop was always going to be massive, especially her smash single Not Too Young. She goes on tour this spring, including a Stockholm date at Gröna Lund.
Sabina Ddumba, Gröna Lund, May 31
TOVE LO
Summer’s nearly here and that means it’s time for Tove Lo to tour Sweden’s big outdoor stages again. The pop supernova released her latest album Blue Lips (Lady Wood Part II) towards the end of 2017, and while being probably her most adventurous record yet in terms of the sounds it explored, it still has more than enough big pop moments to get the crowds going. And with hits like Habits, Talking Body, Not On Drugs, Cool Girl and True Disaster in her back pocket, she’s always got enough ammunition to make any concert special.
Tove Lo, Gröna Lund, June 1
EXPLODED VIEW
Lead by Annika Henderson (who’s put out some excellent records in her own right as Anika), Exploded View sound like something along the lines of an industrial plant tuned to make pop music. There are melodies in there, but they’re distorted though weird metallic waves and brutal crunch, corrugated iron art-rock. Their debut, self-titled album arrived in 2016, and an extra EP, Summer Came Early arrived in late 2017, which exploded the softer, more melancholic side of their sound. They play Fasching in June.
Exploded View, Fasching, Jun 6
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
At this point, we all know what to expect from Josh Homme’s cobra-rock troupe Queens Of The Stone Age. But that hasn’t stopped them trying to mix it up, collaborating with Alex Turner, Elton John and Trent Renzor on their 2013 album …Like Clockwork and bringing in pop producer Mark Ronson for last year’s follow-up Villains. How much those changes affect their sound is for the musical historians to decide, but what is known is that the band are a powerhouse live. They’re on tour in Sweden this summer, with Gröna Lund pencilled in for June.
Queens Of The Stone Age, Gröna Lund, June 10
GLASVEGAS
It was a long way back now, but Glasvegas of Glasgow’s self-titled debut album was a very special record, one that managed to capture a little of their home city’s strange soul and pair it with sweeping, widescreen rock music. The emotional force of songs like Flowers & Football Tops and It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry will set the band up forever, and now that the record has ticked over to its tenth birthday, the band have decided to celebrate. They’re doing that with an anniversary concert at Mosebacketerrasen in June (they have a Swedish drummer, in case you were wondering why a Glasgow band would have an anniversary show in Stockholm), and fans might even get the chance to hear new songs from their upcoming album.
Glasvegas, Mosebacketerrassen, Jun 13
JAY-Z & BEYONCE
Taking its name from Part II (On the Run), a song from Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail that featured Beyoncé, the 2014 On The Run joint tour the couple embarked on was a huge success. But that tour only left North America for two shows in Paris. Now with both one further album into their careers (Jay-Z with 2017’s 4:44 and Beyoncé with 2016’s Lemonade), they’ve announced a repeat with On The Run II. This time the tour goes much further, including a date in Sweden. They play the Friends Arena on June 25.
