Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival, commonly abbreviated The Bukta Festival, is an open-air music festival taking place every July in Telegrafbukta, Tromsø, Norway. The festival was first staged in 2004.
History The festival was first staged in 2004, but its history can be traced back a further two years. In 2002 and 2003 the North of Nowhere festival was arranged in a field near Åsgård, Tromsø. This festival was staffed completely by volunteers, grounded in an ideal of a non-alcoholic, gratis and free for all ages arrangement. In November 2003 North of Nowhere was given the "Rock Festival of the Year" award after a contest held by polling from other Norwegian festivals (festivals belonging to the umbrella organization Norwegian Rock Association). The very same day the idea of a larger festival first saw the light of day, and prior to the Christmas 2003, North of Nowhere was history and Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival was founded.
At the very first Bukta Festival in 2004 roughly 5,000 attendees got to see Norwegian acts such as Sondre Lerche, Madrugada, Span and BigBang at what was considered the greatest festival success in Tromsø in more than a decade.
2005 dawned with a higher level of ambition, with international acts such as Phoenix (FR), Supersuckers (US) and The Soundtrack of Our Lives (SE) grazing the festival stage. Along with higher profile artists, attendance soared to 11,000 visitors. The very same year, Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival picked up the gauntlet from North of Nowhere, and was awarded the "Festival of the Year" award.
2006 saw further progression, and the festival was completely sold out a fortnight before the first concert. Some 13,000 attendees got to see among others Motörhead (UK), Danko Jones (CAN), Håkan Hellstrøm (SE), Mew (DK), Kaizers Orchestra, DumDum Boys and Seigmen.
For 2007, the festival was expanded from two to three days, something which enabled the festival directors to book even more acts and further expand the artistic palette of the festival. Some of the attendees will probably remember 2007 as the year Iggy & The Stooges visited Tromsø.
In 2008 the festival added an additional stage, and a total of 28 bands played for a record crowd. With The festival being sold out all three days, more than 20,000 people got to see amongst others Patti Smith (US), Wovenhand (US), Leningrad Cowboys (FI), Kent (SE) and Raga Rockers.
The festival area has a daily capacity of 6000 people, and consists of three stages.
The Festival Organization Bukta – Tromsø Open Air Festival is a non-profit foundation, with the annual general meeting as the highest authority. The annual general meeting elects the festival board, consisting of a chairperson and four board members. The board is working within the guidelines set by the annual general meeting. The daily administration of the festival consists of three employees – with the festival manager and the producer/marketing director being employed full-time, and a PR officer employed part-time.
The Festival manager at the Bukta Festival is Lasse Lauritz Pettersen.
Producing the festival Carrying out the Bukta Festival would be impossible without volunteer workers. During the festival in 2008 more than 400 volunteer workers were involved in the festival.
In 2005 The Bukta Festival launched a cooperation with Kafé X of Tromsø. The Kafé X is an organization run by people with former drug problems, offering a variety of cultural and other activities. This cooperation has increased gradually over the last few years, and during the Bukta Festivalen of 2008 more than 50 volunteers from the café made an invaluable contribution.
In addition to the main event of the festival, there has been arranged a free concert with no age limit every Saturday morning. This concert is non-alcoholic and has a "family friendly profile".
Since its inception in 2004 Superfamily, Magnet, Turboneger, Madrugada and HGH have played at the morning concert, in addition to local acts such as Fingerprince, Desert Highway, Vishnu and Turdus Musicus.
Artists that have performed at Bukta
Artists 2004 Friday Hangface The Kulta Beats Sondre Lerche Ricochets Madrugada Dread Men WalkingSaturday The Lites HGH The Brimstone Solar Radiation Band The James Deans Milestone Refinery El Caco Emmerhoff & the Melancholy Babies SPAN Sivert Høyem and the Opposition BigBang
Artists 2005 Friday Cato Salsa Experience Hopalong Knut The Beautiful People Tuco's Lounge The 5.6.7.8's 22-Pistepirkko The Soundtrack of Our LivesSaturday Madrugada Johanne Ballovarre Turdus Musicus Minor Majority WE Anneli Drecker Supersuckers Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band Phoenix
Artists 2006 Friday Ricochets Art Brut Baby Woodrose Håkan Hellström Motörhead SeigmenSaturday Turboneger Vishnu Kaizers Orchestra Brant Bjork and the Bros Washington Danko Jones Mew DumDum Boys
Artists 2007 Thursday Ska Patrol The Hives The Thermals Calexico TurbonegerFriday Taliban Airways New Bomb Turks Midlake The Waterboys Bigbang SupergrassSaturday Magnet Johnossi Desert Highway Sivert Høyem & The Volunteers Brut Boogaloo Ash Iggy Pop & The Stooges
Artists 2008 Thursday Leningrad Cowboys Wovenhand Patti Smith DumDum Boys The Mojomatics The Box of Mothers The DisciplinesFriday Raga Rockers The Grand Two Gallants Danko Jones Madrugada Tim Scott Sixtyniners The Vibrators Los PlantronicsSaturday Superfamily Fingerprince The Jessica Fletchers Destined Dozza & The Dragonslayers Åge Aleksandersen og Sambandet The Fuckemos Legendary Shack Shakers Kent Hellsongs Bigton Gulch Town Orchestra Cyaneed
Artists 2009 Thursday bob hund The Sadies Motorpsycho Kaiser Chiefs The Considerate Lovers El Cuero Peter Pan SpeedrockFriday deLillos Mark Olson & Gary Louris The Wombats Roky Erickson The Revolt Muck & the Mires Sham 69 Tommy Tokyo & Starving for My GravySaturday Bare Egil Band Real Ones Jackie Moonshine Same Lime Moneybrother Eagles of Death Metal Ray Davies Dull Boy Jack Joe Pug Major Parkinson
Artists 2010 Thursday BigBang Disciplines The Sonics Mew Kråkesølv Navigators Hayseed DixieFriday Danko Jones John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen Jim Jones Revue Datarock Dinosaur Jr. The Hex Let's Wrestle Tellusalie Mondo GeneratorSaturday The BlackSheeps Moddi Hurra Torpedo Mining in Yukon Jabba the But Bits 'n Pieces Hellbillies Clutch Juliette Lewis Sivert Høyem Bad County Ingenting Turdus Musicus
Artists 2011 Thursday Ida Maria Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O Monster Magnet Grinderman Death by Unga Bunga Cold Mailman Guitar Wolf Magne Neby Olsen Petter CarlsenFriday Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult Two Door Cinema Club The Black Lips Mudhoney The Dandy Warhols Badger Neograss Surfers Lingo UK Subs Kvelertak Ingeborg OktoberSaturday Steinar Albrigtsen Kråkesølv Olgas Amazon The Wolves Melissa Horn Gallows Kyuss Lives! Biffy Clyro The Pussycats Nekromantix Honningbarna Vishnu Lisa Skoglund The Northern Lies Eline Thorp
Artists 2012 Thursday Lars Winnerbäck Daniel Norgren Æ Graveyard The Real McKenzies She Keeps Bees The CardigansFriday Thin Lizzy Los Explosivos The Considerate Lovers The Jayhawks The South Vidar Vang Lissie Thee Mono Sapiens Mara & The Inner Strangeness Rival Sons The Nomads Dirt Daubers Sivert HøyemSaturday Violet Road Jack Stillwater Moddi Stein Torleif Bjella Legendary Shack Shakers The Burning Hell Wolfmother Erter, Kjøtt og Flesk Peter Estdahl Åge Aleksandersen & Sambandet
Artists 2013 Thursday Ulf Lundell The Tallest Man on Earth BigBang Oslo Ess Kadavar Terry Lee Hale Jadudah Red Headed Sluts HonningbarnaFriday CC Cowboys The Dream Syndicate Kvelertak The Hives Nikkeby Lufthavn The Pretty Things Witchcraft H!DE The Bonbons Reverend Shine Snake Oil Company Hjerterå KråkesølvSaturday Pristine Ida Jenshus Adjentist Monolith House Håkon Johnsen TrioSaturday evening Hekla Stålstrenga Calexico Shining Kaizers Orchestra Atlanter Christer Wulff Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats Blòt Pistol & Bart The Mobsmen THe Launderettes The Good The Bad and The ZuglyNOFI-stage Mara & The Inner Strangeness
Artists 2014 Thursday Opeth Skambankt Patti Smith Billie Van The Dogs Approaching Pluto Kindred Fever Ondt Blod GallowsFriday Mari Boine The Bronx The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Dropkick Murphys Spidergawd Pentagram Biru Baby Biru Baby formerly known as Cyaneed Reptile Master Barren Womb Løkbrød Phone Joan Brave Black SeaSaturday Jadudah Lillebjørn Nilsen & Seresta Carolina & Louisa Resirkulert 10th Harmonic Disco FiascoSaturday evening The War on Drugs Kåre & The Cavemen Imperial State Electric Mastodon Monica Heldal The Cheaters Skogen Brinner Février Pil & Bue The Late Great Roadburn Horisont
Artists 2015 Thursday Danko Jones Brutus Heave Blood & Die Onkel P & De Fjerne Slektningene Hurula The Graveltones Dream TheaterFriday Daniel Norgren Baby in Vain Wedge The Growlers Fru Pedersen Dienamic Temples avlyst The Late Great Hypnos Vederkast Rival SonsSaturday Lüt As Life Fades Away Ska Patrol Screenshot This How To Kiss A Frog RazikaSaturday evening Jonathan Wilson Torgeir Waldemar The Northern Belle Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express Hjortene Vidunder Refused The Devil & The Almighty Blues Changeling The Wombats
Artists 2016 Thursday Gogol Bordello Bendik Hubro Kvelertak Cosmic Psychos Ohmwork Iggy PopFriday Sondre Justad Greenleaf Sunshine Reverberation Gojira Sugarfoot Robaat Graveyard Karlsøy Prestegaard Kumle og Raspeball Zappa plays ZappaSaturday Auto Pilots The Late Band The Northern Lies Mama Said No Martine B & The Classy Llamas Black DebbathSaturday evening Valentourettes Jacco Gardner Gebhardt Senjahopen Monolord Ondt Blod Raga Rockers Cancer Bats There Will Be Blood DumDum Boys
Artists 2017
10th Harmonic Alice Cooper Ane Brun Anneli Drecker Bitches Brew Child Converge De Press Ebbot Lundberg & The Indigo Children Elder Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes Green Lake Hedvig Mollestad Trio Highasakite Honningbarna Jabba King Buffalo Kryp Lüt Midnight Choir Motorpsycho PsychoSaints Quarter Wolf Resirkulert Ron Gallo Seigmen Stein Torleif Bjella Sunshine Reverberation The Bonnevilles The Fat Rats The Late Great The Modern Times The Mystery Lights Turboneger Union Carbide Productions Unknown ComposerBuktafestivalen
Artists 2018
A Million Pineapples Backstreet Girls Barren Womb Bel Canto Castro Dwarves Franska Trion Gluecifer Gypsy Chicken Heave Blood and Die Hollow Hearts Jabba Jadudah Kevin Morby Koritsa Kosmik Boogie Tribe Kryp Lisa Skoglund Metz Moddi Nick Oliveri`s Death Electric Norsk Råkk Regnvær Rust Samsara Blues Experiment Shame Sivert Høyem Skambankt Slowdive Sondre Justad Sunshine Reverberation Television The Cameltoes Thee Mono Sapiens The Hellacopters The Modern Times Thåström Turdus Musicus Årabrot
References
External links Festival web site (English) Pictures from previous festivals