Archive for April, 2010

Good ticket sales in Norway

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Tickets for the a-ha concert at Brann Stadium in Bergen on 28 August are selling surprisingly well. Although it’s more than four months away, 17.350 tickets have already been sold.

Initially 16.000 tickets were made available, but an additional 8.000 tickets have now been added. Although the stadium has a capacity for even more people, the audience limit will be 24.000. This is because the concert will be quite unusual, with the stage placed on one of the long sides, and the organizers want everyone to have a good view.

a-ha are selling well in all the six Norwegian cities where they’ll be playing. The best-selling concert so far is Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, with Brann Stadium in Bergen as a very good number two“, Arne Svare from concert organizers Stageway tells Bergens Tidende.

I’m not surprised by how well a-ha are selling on their farewell tour. But the fact that they have sold so many tickets in such a short time is surprising“, Svare – who had the idea for the Norwegian stadium tour – says.

If all the 24.000 tickets are sold in Bergen, this will be the largest concert ever in the city. The current record is held by Bruce Springsteen, who played two concerts with an audience of 23.500 people each night in 2009.

New exhibitions

A Magne F exhibition of 30 graphic prints, probably Alpha Beta, will be held at Galleri Elsa in Namsos from 24 April to 21 May.

We have been in a dialogue for a while, and it finally worked out. It’s always fun to get someone who hasn’t exhibited here before. It will be interesting for both the audience and the artist, and I’m really looking forward to it“, gallery owner Elsa Elden tells Namdalsavisa.

Magne will also be exhibiting as part of the annual Soddjazz Festival at Inderøy, which is held between 28 April and 2 May. He’s been named this year’s festival artist and Alpha Beta will be on display at Nils Aas Kunstverksted.

It’s not known if Magne will be able to visit Namsos and Inderøy himself.

New details about a-ha talent grant

Magne and Morten first announced the a-ha talent grant at a press conference on 1 March

Magne and Morten first announced the a-ha talent grant at a press conference on 1 March

New details about the a-ha talent grant competition in Norway have been announced today. Instead of having the bands and artists themselves signing up to be nominated, the candidates will be nominated by a jury consisting of a-ha and six other people from the music industry. The jury currently has a list of around 30 bands and artists that will be reduced to 8 finalists over the next month or so – 2 from each part of the country (Northern- and Mid-Norway, Western Norway, Southern Norway and Eastern Norway).

a-ha have teamed up with Norway’s largest newspaper VG for this, and the 8 finalists will compete against each other at the “VG Lista” summer shows that are held in various cities every year. The 4 lucky winners will then be decided by the Norwegian people, who can vote by SMS or online at VG Nett.

It’s really cool that the audience can participate, and that we’re making this as fun as possible for as many as possible“, Magne tells VG today.

In addition to one million kroner and a support gig for a-ha, the winning bands/artists are given newspaper ads in VG worth one million kroner.

We’re looking for a combination of distinct artistic expression and a confident attitude – and we think it’d be really fun if we end up with artists that are more of a fresh breath of air than just obvious favorites to win“, Magne says.

This is the jury of six people that will assist a-ha in choosing the eight finalists:
– Tone Lise Skagefoss (Norway) – music journalist and former judge on Norwegian Idol
– Øystein Ronander (Norway) – works for by:Larm and Bureau Storm
– Kristian Riis (Denmark) – manager and musician in the Danish band Nephew
– Martin Terefe (Sweden) – London-based producer and Apparatjik-member
– Marie Dimberg (Sweden) – manager of the band Roxette
– Markus Hartmann (Germany) – head of A & R at Starwatch Records

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