The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Nordic music in 2018.
Events January 12 Norwegian singer Sigrid is named winner of the BBC's "Sound of 2018" award. The 22nd Folklandia Cruise starts in Helsinki, Finland, running until 13 January. 13 – Composer Paavo Heininen, considered by many to be Finland's most influential musician, celebrates his 80th birthday with a concert at the Järvenpää Hall, Helsinki. 19 – The 37th annual Djangofestival starts in Oslo, Norway, to run until 20 January. 28 – Jazz guitarist Gustav Lundgren and his trio perform a tribute to Django Reinhardt at Stockholm Concert Hall, featuring Aurélien Trigo and Antoine Boyer. 30 – Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen is awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2019.
February 10 – The 38th Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is won by "Higher Ground", performed by Rasmussen. 14 – Norwegian singer Sigrid wins Best New Artist at the NME Awards ceremony. 22 – It is announced that Agnes Obel has signed to Deutsche Grammophon, who will have a joint arrangement with Blue Note for North American releases.
March 3 – At Söngvakeppnin 2018, Ari Ólafsson is selected to represent Iceland in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Heim". After winning the context, Ólafsson is criticised on social media for crying on hearing the result. 7 – Fifteen-year-old cellist Birgitta Elisa Oftestad wins the Virtuos 2018 competition and is named Norway's representative at the Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 contest. 9 – Finnish band Nightwish begins a nine-month world tour titled Decades: World Tour, accompanying a new 2CD compilation called Decades. 10 – The final of Melodifestivalen 2018 takes place in Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden. 12 – The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under Hannu Lintu, begins a week-long series of concerts in Germany. 25 Swedish House Mafia unexpectedly reunite for a performance at the 20th Anniversary of Ultra Music Festival in Miami, United States. Greenlandic singer Nive Nielsen stars as "Lady Silence" in a new US horror series, The Terror, her first international TV role.
April 27 – ABBA announce that they have recorded some new songs, the first since 1983.
May 8 – In semi-final 1 of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Iceland's entry is eliminated, but Finland's Saara Aalto finishes 10th and makes it to the final. 10 – In semi-final 2 of the Eurovision Song Contest, Norway's entry finishes in first place, Sweden 2nd and Denmark 5th; all three countries make it to the final. 12 – In the Eurovision final, held in Lisbon, Sweden does best of the Scandinavian countries, finishing in 7th place. 23 - The Bergen International Festival opens in Bergen, Norway, running until 6 June. Guest performers include Meow Meow, Selene Muñoz and Helsinki Songs.
June 6 – The 26th Sweden Rock Festival opens in Norje, running until 9 June. The Quill are forced to withdraw the day before the festival begins, because lead singer Magnus Ekwall is recovering from emergency surgery.
July 3 – The organizers confirm that the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, normally held after the awards ceremony in Oslo, will not take place in 2018. 4 – The 19th Folk music festival of Siglufjordur opens in Siglufjordur, Iceland, running until 8 July. 5 – Gregory Porter guest stars at the 2018 Kongsberg Jazzfestival in Norway. 27 – The Uppsala Reggae Festival opens in Sweden, running until 28 July, headlined by Jimmy Cliff.
September 5 – The Copenhagen World Music Festival opens, running until 9 September. 6 – The Lahti Sibelius Festival opens, running until 9 September.
November 7 – The Iceland Airwaves music festival opens, running until 10 November. Guests include Blood_Orange, Cashmere Cat and Stella Donnelly.
December 6 – Icelandic Music Day is celebrated.
Albums released January DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.5 Trident Wolf Eclipse Watain Century Media 19 Contra La Indecisión Bobo Stenson Trio (Anders Jormin, Jon Fält) ECM Produced by Manfred Eicher Elvesang Sigurd Hole Elvesang Lucus Thomas Strønen & Time Is A Blind Guide ECM
February DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.2 Delights Of Decay Batagraf Jazzland Produced by Jon Balke, Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim Live at Victoria Solveig Slettahjell Jazzland Produced by Solveig Slettahjell9 History Emmelie de Forest Cosmos First album after two-year break from recording13 Heat Knut Reiersrud Band Jazzland 23 Reformation Part 1 Super8 & Tab Armada Music Pilgrim Janne Mark with Arve Henriksen ACT Produced by Esben Eyermann and Janne Mark
March DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.1 Takker Thomas Helmig Genlyd Grammofon 2 Ravensburg Mathias Eick ECM Produced by Manfred Eicher9 Decades Nightwish Nuclear Blast 23 Returnings Jakob Bro with Palle Mikkelborg, Thomas Morgan, and Jon Christensen ECM Produced by Manfred Eicher30 Geimvísindi Hildur Vala Einarsdóttir The singer's first album to contain original material
April DayAlbumArtistLabelNotesRef.6 Polarity Hoff Ensemble - Jan Gunnar Hoff, Anders Jormin, Audun Kleive 2L Produced by Morten Lindberg20 Barxeta II Per Mathisen & Jan Gunnar Hoff feat. Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez Losen Produced by Jan Gunnar Hoff and Per Mathisen Freedoms Trio II Steinar Aadnekvam Losen Produced by Steinar Aadnekvam Ultra Sivas Disco:Wax #1 in Danish album chart27 Större Molly Sandén unknown Click on "Veckans albumlista". Ootsä nähny Nikkee Nikke Ankara unknown Wild Wild Wonderland Saara Aalto Warner style="text-align:center;"
May DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.4 Sway Tove Styrke RCA Records 18 A Suite of Poems Ketil Bjørnstad, Anneli Drecker, poems by Lars Saabye Christensen ECM 25 Late Night Tales: Agnes Obel Agnes Obel Night Time Stories Ltd
June DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.1 Ääripäät Mikael Gabriel Universal Music Group Bertolt Brechts Svendborgdigte Søren Huss BaggårdTeatret 8 So Sad So Sexy Lykke Li RCA Executive producer Malay29 Sometimes the World Ain't Enough The Night Flight Orchestra Nuclear Blast
July DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.27 Act II Tarja Turunen earMUSIC Live album
August DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.24 ‘re:member Ólafur Arnalds Mercury KX 31 Helsinki Songs Trygve Seim ECM The Other Side Tord Gustavsen Trio ECM
September DayAlbumArtistLabelNotes Ref.21 Immortelle Say Lou Lou à Deux Produced by Trent Mazur and Dash Le Francis
October DayAlbumArtistLabelNotesRef.5 Bay Of Rainbows Jakob Bro, Thomas Morgan, and Joey Baron ECM Records 12 Sorgir Skálmöld Napalm Records 19 Forever Neverland MØ Columbia Records 26 Christmas With My Friends VI Nils Landgren ACT Produced by Nils Landgren with Johan Norberg My Soul Kitchen Ida Sand ACT Produced by Nils Landgren and Siggi Loch Honey Robyn Konichiwa Records
November DayAlbumArtistLabelNotesRef.13 Deep Snow Simon Lynge Atlantic Music 16 The Pursuit of Vikings: 25 Years in the Eye of the Storm Amon Amarth Live album23 The Ghost Ward Diaries Electric Boys Mighty Music Produced by David Castillo
December DayAlbumArtistLabelNotesRef.13 Plays Metallica by Four Cellos – A Live Performance Apocalyptica Live album - 2CD+1DVD digipak14 Let's Boogie! Live from Telia Parken Volbeat Republic Records Live album
Film and television scores Films On Her Shoulders (United States), music by Patrick Jonsson Ravens (Sweden), music by Peter von Poehl The Way to Mandalay (Denmark), biopic about John Mogensen, including some of his music
Television Trapped (Iceland), music by Jóhann Jóhannsson with Hildur Gudnadóttir and Rutger Hoedemaekers
Eurovision Song Contest Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Deaths 1 January - Teddy Edelmann, Danish singer, 76Teddy Edelmann er død 18 January – Javiera Muñoz, Swedish singer, 40La Federación Nacional Chilena de Suecia te informa 29 January – Asmund Bjørken, Norwegian jazz musician, 84Jazzmusiker Asmund Bjørken er død 4 February – Leif Rygg, Norwegian folk musician, 77 5 February – Ove Stokstad, Norwegian artist and jazz musician, 78 9 February – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic film composer, 48Jóhann Jóhannsson Dies: ‘The Theory Of Everything’ Composer Was 48 3 March – Kenneth Gärdestad, pop songwriter, 69 5 March – Kjerstin Dellert, Swedish opera singer, 92 9 March – Ole H. Bremnes, Norwegian folk singer and poet, 87 25 March – Jerry Williams, Swedish singer, 75Rocklegenden Jerry Williams är död 31 March – Frode Viken, guitarist and songwriter, D.D.E., 63 3 April – Lill-Babs, Swedish singer ("En tuff brud i lyxförpackning"), 80Lill-Babs är död 20 April – Avicii (Tim Bergling), Swedish musician, DJ and record producer, 28 11 May –Mikhail Alperin, Ukrainian-born jazz pianist, member of the Moscow Art Trio, professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music, 61 26 June – Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer, 81 5 July – Bjørn Lie-Hansen, opera singer, 81 9 July – Stefan Demert, Swedish musician, 78Trubaduren Stefan Demert har gått bort 16 August – Benny Andersen, Danish writer and pianist, 88Forfatteren Benny Andersen er død 21 August – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (b. 1975).Stefán Karl Stefánsson er látinn 9 September – Frank Andersson, Swedish entertainer and wrestler, 62 (complications during heart surgery)Frank Andersson är död 23 September – Berth Idoff, Swedish musician (Berth Idoffs), 77Dansbandsmusikern Berth Idoff är död 30 September – Kim Larsen, Danish rock musician (Gasolin'), 72 (prostate cancer)Danska artisten Kim Larsen är död 29 November – Erik Lindmark, vocalist and guitarist of Deeds of Flesh, 46 (sclerosis)
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