Folk Spot Denmark is a project created to give folk musicians and industry professionals the opportunity to talk together and create new contacts and collaborations. This year’s edition was no exception, and delegates from near and far made the trip to Tønder to experience Tønder Festival and the selected orchestras for Folk Spot Denmark 2023.
We have spoken to some of the delegates to get a little insight into their work with folk music elsewhere in the world, and their experience with Folk Spot Denmark.
Name: Carly McFadden
Company: Folk On The Rocks / Victory Pool
Title: Executive & Artistic Director / Artist Manager
Based in: Yellowknife, Canada and Hamburg, Germany
What was your purpose for participating at Folk Spot 2023?
To explore new artists, meet international delegates and learn from other festivals.
What trends and tendencies do you see in folk music right now?
It feels like we’re slowly seeing fewer solo singer-songwriters and more big bands or collaborations.
What is your impression of the Danish folk scene versus folk music in Canada? (Differences and similarities)
At Folk Spot / Tønder most of the acts were very traditional folk music. In Canada, this would be more unusual for such a large festival, and we would have a lot more modern or fusion folk across all stages. I thought the vibe of the festival itself was similar to many folk festivals in Canada though, with a slightly older audience, a lot of care and compassion from the community about the event (longtime festival-goers) and a very clean festival site.
Did you make some new contacts relevant for your future work?
Yes
Which were the best musical experiences during Folk Spot Denmark and Tønder Festival?
For Folk Spot I quite liked Folkens and Optur, the others were lovely but a little too traditional for my typical work. At Tønder in general, I liked Sierra Farrell, The Mary Wallopers, Aysanabee (yay Canada!), and Roo Panes.
Folk Spot Denmark er et projekt skabt for at give folkemusikere og branchefolk mulighed for at networke og skabe nye kontakter og samarbejder. Årets udgave var ingen undtagelse, og delegerede fra nær og fjern tog turen til Tønder for at opleve Tønder Festival og de udvalgte orkestre til Folk Spot Denmark 2023.
Vi har talt med nogle af de delegerede for at få et lille indblik i deres arbejde med folkemusik andre steder i verden, og deres erfaring med Folk Spot Denmark.
Navn: Carly McFadden
Firma: Folk On The Rocks / Victory Pool
Titel: Executive & Artistic Director / Artist Manager
Land: Yellowknife, Canada and Hamburg, Germany
Hvad var dit formål med at deltage på Folk Spot 2023?
For at udforske nye kunstnere, møde internationale delegerede og lære af andre festivaler.
Hvilke tendenser ser du i folkemusikken lige nu?
Det føles som om, vi langsomt ser færre solo singer-songwritere og flere big bands eller samarbejder.
Hvad er dit indtryk af den danske folkescene kontra folkemusik i Canada? (Forskelle og ligheder)
På Folk Spot/Tønder var de fleste af orkestrene meget traditionel folkemusik. I Canada ville dette være mere usædvanligt for en så stor festival, og vi ville have meget mere moderne eller fusions-folk på tværs af alle scener. Jeg synes dog, at stemningen af selve festivalen lignede mange folk festivaler i Canada, med et lidt ældre publikum, en masse omsorg og medfølelse fra lokalsamfundet omkring begivenheden (mange festivalgængere) og en meget ren festivalplads.
Fik du nogle nye kontakter, der er relevante for dit fremtidige arbejde?
Ja
Hvilke var de bedste musikalske oplevelser under Folk Spot Denmark og Tønder Festival?
Til Folk Spot kunne jeg godt lide Folkens og Optur, de andre var dejlige, men lidt for traditionelle til mit typiske arbejde. På Tønder Festivals program generelt kunne jeg godt lide Sierra Farrell, The Mary Wallopers, Aysanabee (yay Canada!) og Roo Panes.
