Edinburgh Tradfest - Frigg

"...this is the essence of what the Finnish fiddling fuss is about. The band flies, in a mix of traditional and their own tunes, all shapely, ingenious and delivered with acute mastery and massive swing and energy."

Andrew Cronshaw used these descriptions when reviewing Frigg’s debut album for one of the most prominent world music publications, fRoots magazine, in 2002. Having now reached 20 years of age, the passing years have seen the septet amass quite peerless curriculum vitae.

Frigg has been conquering the world with a fusion of western folk music styles leaning strongly towards Nordic folk music, for which the world music media has coined the term nordgrass, referring to the bluegrass influences of the group. The tight interplay of four violins, string instruments and contrabass, fine-tuned to perfection and spiced with sparkling, humorous live-energy has made an impact on listeners all over the world.

Apart from countless European tours, the notches on Frigg’s collective belt include seven North American tours. Many well-known festivals have been marked on their extensive tour map. For example, Celtic Connections, WOMADelaide, Rainforest World Music Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival have all invited the group over for a performance – and the list of festivals could go on endlessly. Via TV and radio, Frigg has reached audiences of millions with their performances in A Prairie Home Companion live radio show and NHK World Japan channel’s El Mundo program.

Their tenth studio album was released in 2020 and we were delighted to feature a track in last year’s Edinburgh Tradfest podcast. Naturally we are even happier that the band will be appearing at this year’s festival.

This gig is part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2022.

The Traverse Theatre is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, with additional support from The Scottish Government Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund.