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Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, December 5, 2013

St Lucia Celebrations!

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholm Visitors Board
Lucia, the festival/celebration of St Lucia, happens on December 13th and is, along with Midsummer, the most Swedish of holidays and many of you have seen a picture of a young girl wearing a wreath of candles (Lucia). Basically, the celebration consists of a procession led by a candle wreathed young woman and followed by other young women (& men called stjärngossar) holding candles. Click here for video ("Lucia for Dummies"). They sing Lucia songs as well as other Christmas carols. The traditional places where this procession takes place is in Swedish homes on the morning of the 13th, where the procession is made up of the family's children, and during the evening in various churches. These days, however, you will find Lucia processions also at different businesses, shopping malls and retirement centers throughout the country. Because of the popularity of Lucia, you need to purchase tickets to see the procession in most churches. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, stop by and I will help you with tickets.
Lucia at Skansen www.sverigeslucia.se 
These church services, while traditional and beautiful, might be a little problematic for foreign visitors as there is often a church sermon included in the celebration which is in Swedish. Another option, and a good one at that, is to visit Skansen, the open-air museum dedicated to Swedish culture and traditions. Here they will be celebrating Lucia for three days (Dec 13th to the 15th) with processions, historical reenactments and concerts. The main Lucia concert at Skansen will be on the Solliden stage at 6:30pm. Skansen also has a great Christmas market on Saturday and Sunday which you can combine with a Lucia concert during weekend. Skansen is located on the island of Djurgården and easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... with regular ferries (10 min trip) going from nearby Slussen.
AN christmas, music, religion, tradition, winter
Monday, December 2, 2013

Rival Christmas Carol



And now for something a little fun... Benny Andersson, the hotel owner and founding member of ABBA, has written a little Christmas carol that the hotel staff has recorded. While we are in no way professional singers, it is our way of wishing all of our guests (past, present and future!) a wonderful and safe holiday season! See if you can spot me...
Don't forget to join us on Facebook for more hotel information and fun facts! You can actually check availibility and book a room at the Rival Hotel directly on our Facebook page. What will they think of next?
AN christmas, music
Friday, October 25, 2013

Tolv Stockholm- New Entertainment Centre

Exterior of Tele2 Arena.
I was invited yesterday to the premiere of Tolv Stockholm, a collection of restaurants, bars and a nightclub. What makes it even more special is its location... under the newly built Tele2 Arena. Besides being the home arena to two local football/soccer teams (Djurgården & Hammarby), Tele2 will also host other sporting events and function as a concert venue (max capacity of 45,000). The roof of the arena can be closed, making it useable year-round. The arena is located next to the existing Globe Arena as well as the smaller Hovet, Annexet and Söder Stadion venues... creating a huge centre for sport, music and entertainment.
O'Leary's Sports Bar.
As I mentioned, Tolv Stockholm, is a collection of bars and restaurants which compliment the arenas as a place to have a meal or cocktail before or after a concert/match. It also stands alone as a place to visit. For example the sports bar O'Leary's is huge! Here you can eat & drink, watch sporting events as well as play some yourself... with bowling lanes, ping pong tables and (more sedate) racing car simulators in the bar. They even have a Stockholm themed mini-golf course!
Shark themed bowling lanes at O'Leary's.
Other restaurants include Enzo's (Italian), Printz (beer hall and home-made sausage restaurant), Davaj (deli) as well as an ecological salad bar and frozen yoghurt parlour. If you are attending a concert at the arena and feel inspired... try your hand at singing in their karaoke bar. The big news, for many, is the nightclub Solidaritet Arena. It will be able to take up to 1,500 persons with three dance floors and several bars. They will have big name DJ's as well as more intimate live music concerts. It wasn't open last night (premiere tomorrow) but we were given a tour of the locale.
Bar at Enzo's.
"Tolv" is the Swedish word for twelve and refers to the fact that it will be open 12 hours a day, 12 months a year. I am a little unsure of how this will work as it will be hard to fill restaurants on evenings when there aren't any matches or concerts. But I trust that they have that figured out. At any rate, well worth a visit! The Tele2 Arena and Twelve Stockholm are located in the suburb of Johanneshov, just south of Stockholm. It is easy to get there from the Rival Hotel... just take the subway (green line) from nearby Slussen going in the direction of Hagsätra. Exit the subway at the Globen station which is the fourth stop after Slussen.
Gold Bar at Solidaritet Arena Nightclub.
Solidaritet Nightclub... sans guests!

AN alcohol, music, restaurants, sport
Friday, August 23, 2013

Baltic Sea Festival and Free Ballet/Opera in the Park!

The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Photo by Micke Wiberg
More culture comes to Stockholm this weekend and coming week. Firstly, we have the annual Baltic Sea Festival... an annual music festival featuring world class singers and musicians from the world of opera and symphony music. The main artists are the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera Orchestra and Royal Opera Chorus. The festival kicks off tonight (Friday, August 23rd) with a performance of "Romeo & Juliet" by Berlioz and ends on Friday, August 30th with an evening of Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring, Petruschka and Firebird) performed by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Plenty of great performances in the days inbetween as well... click here for the full program! The majority of the perfomances take place at Berwaldhallen, which is located on the outskirts of the Östermalm district (closest subway station is Karlaplan on the red line). There are two performances of Mozart's Magic Flute taking place at Drottningholm's Court Theatre (instead of Berwaldshallen)... these are sold out!
An earlier indoor performance of Giselle with Hampus Gauffin och Mayumi Yamaguchi
Photo by Carl Thorborg, Kungliga Operan
But... if you are thinking to yourself "I don't want to be inside on a beautiful summer evening", or perhaps you are on a budget, then we have some free perfomances taking place during the next two weekends under the stars. The Royal Opera will be performing in the Park Theatre (Parkteatern) in the park Vitabergsparken. On Friday & Saturday (Aug 23rd & 24th) the Royal Ballet will perform parts of the classic Giselle as well as the modern Time Themes. Performances start both evenings at 6pm and last 40 minutes. The following weekend (Aug 30th & 31st) it is time for opera... with pieces of classic opera performed by Royal Opera soloists accompanied by their Orchestra. Performances start both evenings at 6pm and last an hour and 10 minutes. Vitabergsparken is located on the island of Södermalm (home of the Rival Hotel) and the closest subway station is Skanstull on the green line.
AN culture, festival, music
Monday, August 5, 2013

Sweden Trivia



Did you know that Sweden is one of the world's largest exporter of... music? By some accounts, Sweden is third after the USA and UK. Of course, everyone has heard of ABBA whose name and music is synonymous with Sweden. This group is one of the world's most successful music acts and, though they've been disbanded since 1983, their music is still played/sold worldwide thanks to the recent success of the musical and film "Mamma Mia". But Swedish music is much more than ABBA... several groups had immense popularity on the international scene in the '80's and '90's like Roxette, Ace of Base, Europe and The Cardigans. These days there are many Swedish acts enjoying success in the pop, alternative music and indie-rock lists. Keep your eyes (and ears) open for Robyn, Kent, Agnes, The Hives, The Ark, Infinite Mass among others...
If it is not a Swedish artist singing, then chances are there is a Swede who has either written and/or produced the song. Two of the more famous "behind the scenes" Swedes are Max Martin and the late Denniz Pop, who have written some of the biggest hits for acts like The Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, N'Sync and Britney Spears (Martin was responsible for her debut hit "Baby One More Time" among others). So there is a chance that you are listening to Swedish music as you read this!
AN music, trivia
Tuesday, May 21, 2013

ABBA the Museum!

ABBA the Mueum has been in the works for years (rumours, change in venue, touring exhibition, etc;) so the opening on May 7th was greatly anticipated. You might wonder why I waited a couple of weeks to visit and report on such a popular new addition to Stockholm. Well, I wanted to let the opening hysteria die down a bit... plus, I was given a "special" tour by museum curator Ingmarie Halling (a perk of being the concierge at the Rival Hotel) which made the wait worthwhile.
"Walk in, dance out" is the tag line for the new museum, dedicated to the Swedish pop super-group ABBA, and it doesn't disappoint! To be honest, I had some concerns beforehand that the museum would only be of interest to hardcore ABBA fans. But it really is a lot of fun and everyone will be able to enjoy it... whether you are 7 or 77, a fan or just have fond memories of their music. 
Waterloo success at Eurovision
Entrance to the museum is through the gift shop, which is reason enough to visit. ABBA memorbilia like t-shirts, tote bags, posters, pins, magnets, postcards and jewellery fill the shop and it was fun to browse. Be aware that the museum does not accept any cash... just credit or debit cards! The museum itself is located underground, two floors down to be exact. Visitors are first shuttled through a room where they are introduced to the band in the form of an IMAX type theatre and bombarded with images, music and sound bytes. I imagine that this type of entrance is designed to space visitors out... dividing them up into smaller groups. 
If this telephone rings... answer it for a surprise!
Exiting the theatre, visitors move on into a room dedicated to the pre-ABBA careers of the four members. It is a nice window on Swedish music culture of the 1960's when folk and rock bands would tour the country and perform in folkparks. Moving on in the museum are rooms dedicated to the band's formation and early success in Eurovision. Visitors then get to see bits and pieces of the lives of the group members during ABBA's heyday. The museum accomplishes this by recreating rooms which were important to the group... like the recording studio, Björn's summer cottage, Agneta's kitchen, their dressing room when they were on tour and more.
Replica of Björn's summer cottage, where they wrote many of the songs.
Finally... the crown jewel of the museum (for many): the stage clothes! In a circular room, the clothes have been placed in curved cases in concentric circles with the outer walls covered with thousands of album covers from all over the world. The cases are quite narrow which means that you get very close to the clothes and can enjoy the amazing detail work. Even the most blasé visitors will recognize the outfits from their music videos and concert performances... very iconic!
Stage clothes on display.
The museum is very high-tech and interactive. Visitors get the opportunity to record a song, dance in a 70' discotheque, scroll through Björn's father's scrapbook (a treasure trove), be part of an ABBA video, perform on stage with the group (present in the form of holograms) and much more! Very hands-on and fun for the children as well. 
Perform on stage with the hologram ABBAs.
After the band's heyday? The break-up of the band and their marriages follows of course, after which visitors exit through a corridor that gives a nod to the Mamma Mia musical. But that isn't the end of the experience! After leaving the museum, visitors enter the Swedish Music Hall of Fame. Swedish popular music is much, much more than ABBA and visitors get to take an interactive tour through the music catalogue of the past 80+ years... truly remarkable how such a small country (population wise) has left such a large imprint on world music.
Album covers from around the world.
The museum is located on the island of Djurgården and is very easy to get to from the Rival Hotel. There are regular ferries (Djurgårdsfärjan) which travel between Slussen, a 10 minute walk from the hotel, and Djurgården... and the trip takes just 9 minutes. Tickets for the museum cost 195 SEK (90 SEK for children 8 and younger) and can & should be purchased in advance on their website. While this may sound like a lot of money, remember that the museum is a very interactive, high-tech experience and you definitely get your money's worth. As I mentioned before, the museum accepts no cash. If you don't have a credit or debit card, the best option is to purchase the tickets at the central train station ticket counter... which accepts cash.

AN abba, Djurgården, museum, music
Thursday, April 18, 2013

Stockholm Culture Night (Kulturnatt)

kulturnattstockholm.se 
This Saturday, April 20th, is Culture Night (Kulturnatt) in Stockholm. This is the fourth annual Culture Night in Stockholm and it has become quite popular! So, what is a Culture Night? Well, it basically is an evening devoted to all things cultural... and FREE! Different cultural institutions in Stockholm are open during the evening (6pm to midnight), including museums, art galleries, libraries, churches, palaces, clubs, theatres, cinemas and more. To break it down in numbers, this festival will have around 350 events taking place at over 90 different locations throughout the city! And, as I mentioned earlier, admission is free... so this is a great opportunity to get cultural without damaging your wallet.
Photo by Robert Höglund, Kulturnatt Stockholm
So there is a lot to choose from... art & museum exhibitions, concerts, guided tours, performances, viewings and parties. Something for every taste! You can find a program to download in English on their website (click here) in which they have hand picked events where knowledge of the Swedish language isn't necessary. More detailed information in Swedish along with the full program can be found by clicking here.
Photo by Robert Höglund, Kulturnatt Stockholm
The official After Party, with free admission of course, will take place at the iconic Stockholm City Hall (Stadshuset)... where the Nobel dinner/party takes place every year. It starts at 10:30pm and goes on to 3am. The City Hall is located on Kungsholmen. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, stop by and talk to me and I can explain in more detail about the different events.

AN art, culture, festival, history, Museums, music
Thursday, April 4, 2013

Festivals & Events in Stockholm- Spring Summer 2013

(EDIT: Be aware that this is the 2013 calendar. 2014 will be coming sometime in April) Not a cloud in sight for the past couple of weeks and just about all of the snow has melted away. This means it is time to look forward and see what the warmer months of the year have in store for us. This is a calendar of big events and festivals in Stockholm- things that tend to draw a lot of visitors to the city. Lots of big concerts this year thanks, in part, to the new Friends Arena. Hopefully this calendar will help you plan your trip! I will be constantly adding events as I find them, so check back from time to time. I will also be writing more in depth about many of these events as the dates approach. Of course, if you are staying at the Rival Hotel and need more detailed information of what is going on in Stockholm during your visit... contact me directly!

April

May
June
July (generally a slower month, event-wise, because many Swedes have vacation and leave the city.
August
  • July 30th to August 3rd- Stockholm Gay Pride Festival. Parade through the city on Saturday!
  • 2nd to 4th- Music & Arts Festival. Several artists, including... Prince!
  • 13th to 18th- The Stockholm Culture Festival. Free, free, free! Everything "cultural".
  • 13th to 17th- Ung08 (youth festival- also free!).
  • 15th- Leonard Cohen at Globe Arenas.
  • 17th- Midnattsloppet. Late evening 10K run around the island of Södermalm. Festival atmosphere!
  • 18th- DN outdoor concert with the Royal Philharmonic in Gärdet.
  • 22nd- DN Galan. International track & field meet at Stadion.
  • 23rd- The amusement park Gröna Lund turns 130 years old!
  • 23rd to 30th- Baltic Sea Music Festival.
  • 24th- Opening part for the new Tele2 Arena with Robyn, Kent and Lars Winnerbäck.
  • 24th & 25th- Stockholm Triathlon.
September
AN events, festivals, music, sport, tourist information
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