Maybe you've been wondering, "What do all those names mean? Americana, blues, folk, bluegrass, roots rock, country, cajun and so on, in the background notes on the bands playing at Tønder Festival? What are all these musical genres?"
Tønder Festival is not like other festivals. We have always been the festival for folk music, and here we mean folk music in the broad sense: music with its roots in folk traditions. That can cover everything from the Scots, Irish and English folk traditions, to the African-influenced blues of the cotton fields of USA, to Nashville country music, to the musical melting-pot that is New Orleans, to the British folk music traditions of Appalachia, to the Scots folk music of Nova Scotia in Canada, back over the Atlantic to folk rock from the Scottish Highlands, brilliant instrumentalists from the Emerald Isle, ancient and new Celtic tones from The British Isles, from Britanny in France and Galicia in Spain, klezmer from Central Europe and the traditional Roma music, Scandinavian fiddle dances and folk song, many hues of world music, mashes of many styles, bands that defy labels, musicians playing together as tight as a Scotsman's wallet, bands that mix rock, jazz, folk, soul and much more ... and, not least, sublime songwriters and storytellers from all over the world, who can spellbind their audience.
We are not offering lengthy treatises on each genre. But we can give you a taste of what the various genres and styles cover. Because, as you know, you can't put music into neat boxes. Music thrives on freedom, and you'll find that freedom at Tønder Festival.
