THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019
SCENE & HEARD
THE CHRONICLE — 27
COMMUNITY
ENTERTAINMENT
Y O U R
W E E K L Y
E N T E R T A I N M E N T
G U I D E
E V E N T S
CALENDAR
THURSDAY, OCT. 24
Petunia & The Vipers (Americana,
country, Cowboy blues)
Axe & Fiddle, 8:30 p.m., $10
Austin Lucas (Punk rock, Folk-punk)
Old Nick’s Pub, 9 p.m., $8
FRIDAY, OCT. 25
Richie G & MA Beat (Americana,
country, folk)
Saginaw Vineyard, 6 p.m., no cover
Meadow Rue (Bluegrass)
The Brew Station, 7:30 p.m.
Mink’s Miracle Medicine (Folk-rock,
punk)
Axe & Fiddle, 8:30 p.m., no cover
SATURDAY, OCT. 26
The Greg Nestler Trio (Rock)
The Brew Station, 7:30 p.m.
Heavy Diamond Ring (Indie-folk, rock)
Axe & Fiddle, 8:30 p.m., no cover
The Adicts (Punk)
Sessions Music Hall, 9 p.m., $25
SUNDAY, OCT. 27
Corwin Bolt & Friends
Axe & Fiddle, 8:30 p.m., no cover
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30
Jason Mraz (Singer-songwriter)
Hult Center for the Performing Arts, 7
p.m., $127-$549
McKayla Marie (Singer-songwriter)
PublicHouse, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, NOV. 1
Hipbillys (Acoustic folk-rock)
Saginaw Vineyard, 6 p.m., no cover
FRIDAY, NOV. 8
Widespread Haze (Rock)
Saginaw Vineyard, 6 p.m., no cover
SATURDAY, NOV. 9
The Canyoneers
Axe & Fiddle, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY, NOV. 15
Jesse Boden Band
The Brew Station, 7:30 p.m., no cover
SUNDAY, NOV. 17
Charming Disaster
The Brew Station, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOV. 30
Steve Goodbar
The Brew Station, 6:30 p.m.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PASSIM.ORG
Fru Skagerrak
Scandinavian trio simply out of this world
BY RON HARTMAN
THE CHRONICLE
M
ost of us rarely take
the time to sample
the tasty cornuco-
pia of sounds and rhythms
from around the world.
We’re really missing out,
too.
Haven’t you stumbled
upon some kind of inter-
national music — maybe a
Celtic festival or an African
music concert — where it
really opens your eyes and
makes you walk away feel-
ing like you’ve been living
under a rock all these years.
That feeling struck me a
couple times — and seemed
to be the prevailing sensa-
tion around the room —
as Scandinavian trio Fru
Skagerrak performed at the
Axe & Fiddle on Wednesday
night, Oct. 16. These three
fiddle-playing ladies — one
each from Sweden, Norway
and Denmark — reminded
me with their soulful folk
arrangements that I need
to spice up my Americana-
flavored musical diet.
Sweden’s Anna Lindblad,
Norway’s Elise Wessel
Hildrum and Denmark’s
Maja Kjaer Jacobsen first
met in 2011 at the annual
Tonder Festival in Denmark.
They jammed together there
for three straight years,
finally deciding in 2014 that
they had something special.
“We kept coming back
every year, then a friend told
us we should get together,”
Hildr um said. “So we
thought, hey, why not, let’s
give it a try. And we’ve been
together ever since.”
Amazingly to anyone
who watches her, the fiddle
is Hildrum’s second instru-
ment. She was raised as a
classical flute player before
becoming enamored with
the folk genre at age 20.
After getting her degree in
folk music, Hildrum has
worked continuously as a
flute and fiddle teacher.
Her bandmates teach
as well. Jacobsen, the lead
singer of the group on most
occasions, teaches fiddle,
singing and dancing, and
also is working on publish-
ing a music book. Lindblad,
meanwhile, teaches fiddle
while being a member of
three bands.
As they promoted their
new album, “Ankerdram,”
the Fru Skagerrak band
members always kept the
crowd entertained in-be-
tween songs.
“This is the coolest-named
venue on our tour,” Hildrum
said during one break. “We
don’t have any axes, but
that’s not our fault, that’s a
security problem.”
“ We a r e Vi k i ngs,”
Lindblad chimed in, “so we
do have axes.”
One of the evening’s high-
lights was a song called
“Lullabye For Grownups,”
in which all three women
narrated special verses in
their homeland languages.
T he ba nd t horoug h ly
explained what they would
be singing about, so the
audience wouldn’t be left in
the dark.
“We try to make sure we
let people know what we’re
doing before every song
we sing in a Scandinavian
language,” Hildrum said.
“I don’t think it would be as
fun for them if they found
out later.”
Fru Skagerrak will be
back on the West Coast
soon. They’re scheduled to
play the Bellingham (Wash.)
Folk Festival on Jan. 24-26
and also play shows in
Seattle and the Bay Area
during that time frame as
well.
Who knows, it may be a
while before we get to catch
a Scandinavian act with
a sound so exotic yet so
elegant. It might be worth
that trip to Bellingham.
Or we might be missing
out.
Great selection
of beer, wine
& spirits
Cottage Grove’s Place To Be!
Now open
for Lunch!!
Everything made
in-house
Featuring
local live
music
Petunia
and the Vipers
October 24 • 8:30 pm $10
Mink’s Miracle
Medicine
October 25 • 8:30 pm FREE
Open 11:30 am every day except Sunday Brunch at 9 am ▲ 541-942-5942 ▲ 657 Main Street Cottage Grove
We have great outside seating! Go to www.axeandfiddle.com to see bands and daily events
Got a News Tip? Call Erin at The Chronicle 541-895-2197