Published 3rd March 2026
Once more, Tønder Festival unveils a series of new names for the 2026 programme.
This presentation involves international songwriters, major folk music initiatives and traditional festival formats, all of which demonstrate the festival's solid grounding in folk and roots music.
American voices with deep roots
Oliver Hazard and Ken Pomeroy represent two different, if not unrelated, tendencies in American songwriting.
The indie folk trio Oliver Hazard from Ohio have gathered a devoted audience through their intimate concerts, among them over one hundred living room shows in American homes. The trio's organic indie folk has since taken them to festivals such as Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
The 23 year-old singer-songwriter from Oklahoma with Cherokee roots, Ken Pomeroy, melds personal storytelling and cultural awareness in an intense and poetic expression. She began writing songs at age 11 and went on to record with John Moreland and tour with among others Lukas Nelson and American Aquarium. Her Tønder Festival show is her only Danish concert in 2026, too.
Folk music innovation – from promise to professional ensemble
Folk Ensemble is Denmark's first professional basis ensemble focussing on folk music. The Ensemble, emanating from the South Denmark Music Conservatory in Esbjerg, works with both the traditional repertoire and new compositions. The five musicians bring folk music to both concert halls, culture centres and educational institutions, cementing their role in contemporary music.
Meanwhile, folkBALTICA Ensemble continues to develop musical talent astride the Danish / German border. The Ensemble numbers around 50 young musicians from South Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein. Besides their own concerts at Tønder Festival, they play the big annual concert for schoolchildren, helping spread the regional music tradition to new generations.
Festival show with popular radio hosts, and a tribute to a legend.
Radio hosts Søren Rebbe and Alex Nyborg Madsen are once again in demand with their live direct broadcasts from Tønder Festival. They have their own radio channel, Radio Mars, on the air from the Bolero marquee, featuring interviews and guest performances. The format invites the audience in close to some of this year's festival musicians in a unique, informal setting.
This year's Tønder Festival programme also offers a special tribute to Kris Kristofferson, one of the original outlaws of country music, and among music history's notable songwriters. A cast of Danish and Canadian soloists and a Danish all-star band play his classic songs at a tribute concert marking Kristofferson's artistic heritage and the importance of songwriting at Tønder Festival.
THE MUSICIANS:
OIiver Hazard (USA)
Not many people know of Waterville, Ohio, a little town in the rust belt on the Maumee River. This is where the members of the indie folk trio Oliver Hazard learned their music by listening attentively.
Michael Belazis (vocal, guitar), Devin East (electric guitar) and Nate Miner (keyboards) consciously built up their following, playing over a hundred living-room concerts all over USA, one intimate conversation after another. That spirit imbues all they do, from hosting their own local music festival, Oliver Hazard Day, to getting their names on the posters at Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo. OIiver Hazard has toured with big names, recorded with producer Jacquire King (Zach Bryan, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits) and seen their songs travel further than they had dreamed of.
Throughout their albums, 34 N River (2018), The Flood (2019), Oliver Hazard (2023) and Raindrop River (2025), the band keep referring back to their beginnings, writing songs about their home town. This is basically indie folk you heard by chance in a bar in the mid west, sweet harmonies sung by three sincere musicians who catch your ear and bring you in. Their music is a soundtrack to daily life, inviting the listener to find beauty in the ordinary.
Ken Pomeroy (USA)
Ken Pomeroy will break your heart, sometimes with a single line, sometimes a single word. And as her intense alto voice and calm, deceptively simple guitar finger-picking deliver her stories, you begin to feel part of her pain and her hope.
Ken Pomeroy grew up in Moore, Oklahoma, and is Cherokee. Her songs are loaded with symbol and narrative, enshrining her Cherokee traditions in a contemporary and personal manner.
She began to write songs at age 11, and one of the songs on her debut album Cruel Joke (2025), was written when she was 13. It was when Ken Pomeroy heard John Denver's music for the first time as a child, that she decided to become a songwriter.
23 year-old Ken Pomeroy has recorded music with one of her great heroes, John Moreland, had one of her songs included on the film soundtrack to Twisters and toured with Lukas Nelson, Iron & Wine and American Aquarium, among others. There can be no doubt that Ken Pomeroy's depth and musical talent make her a star in the ascendant. At Tønder Festival, you can hear her only Danish concert in 2026.
Folk Ensemble (DK)
Denmark is home to several professional basis ensembles in the fields of classic music and jazz, but hitherto no ensemble focussed on folkmusic. This has changed, now we have Folk Ensemble.
Folk Ensemble is a new, professional ensemble based in Esbjerg, working in Danish folk music in the widest sense, both traditional music and new compositions. Comprising five experienced musicians with roots in the folk music world – Annelene Toft Christensen (violin, viola), Maja Aarøe Freese (cello, vocal), Anja Præst Mikkelsen (clarinet, bass clarinet), Frederik Mensink (double bass, diatonic accordion), Anders Ringgaard Andersen (accordion, trombone) – the ensemble is affiliated to the South Danish Music Conservatory, where they run Denmark's only degree course in folk music.
Folk Ensemble perform in a variety of different contexts: in schools, concert halls, music venues, culture centres, music schools and institutions - and work with dancers, teachers and local activists.
Folk music is a vital element in Danish music history and culture heritage. It has formed the musical landscape many of us grew up in. Now we have a permanent ensemble, the music will be more accessible, even for those who have not met it before.
folkBALTICA Ensemble (DK/DE)
folkBALTICA Ensemble is a youth ensemble for musical talents aged 15-25 from both sides of the Danish / German border. The aim is to develop musical talent in Southern Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, to continue the region's traditional music and contribute to the intercultural youth work in the area.
The folkBALTICA Ensemble was founded in 2013 under the artistic leadership of Harald Haugaard, assisted by Andreas Tophøj and Rasmus Zeeberg. Around 50 young people meet four to six times a year to practise and give concerts. They have performed, for instance, at the memorial for the 1864 war at Dybbøl Banke and at the folkBALTICA Festival. And of course at Tønder Festival, where they give their own concert as well as playing a show for a specially invited audience of approximately 5000 schoolchildren.
Radio Mars med Alex Nyborg Madsen & Søren Rebbe (DK)
'The radio brothers', Søren Rebbe and Alex Nyborg Madsen, are seasoned veterans when it comes to relaying the Tønder Festival atmosphere. After many years working for the national radio house DR, since 2024 they have had their own channel, Radio Mars.
Søren Rebbe and Alex Nyborg Madsen cannot conceal their enthusiasm for Tønder
Festival. This is audible in their daily programmes on Radio Mars and in particular when, by popular demand, they take over the Bolero stage during Tønder Festival for their live radio shows with musical guests in a packed mirror marquee.
Since many musicians appear several times during Tønder Festival, you can see and hear major international stars, local Danish heroes and the rising names who take the audience's hearts by surprise every year. The brothers' informal manner and their undisguised love of the music ensure a winning show with live music and interviews which can summon a smile and touch heartstrings.
Kris Kristofferson Tribute (DK/CAN)
Kris Kristofferson made his indelible mark on several generations with his poetry, social consciousness and his uncompromising songwriting. As a central figure in the outlaw country movement, he united country, folk and rock in songs that are both deeply personal and universal. Classics like Me and Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through the Night and Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down stand to this day as milestones in modern americana and have inspired generations of artists across the genre. At this year's Tønder Festival, a series of Denmark's and Canada's best singers and musicians pay homage to the great poet in a very special tribute concert celebrating Kris Kristofferson's remarkable song catalogue and his storytelling.
Kris Kristofferson wrote of love, loss, freedom and doubt with an honesty that still speaks directly to listeners. This tribute concert marks not only the memory of a major artist but also the living heritage his songs still represent the world over– not least at Tønder Festival, where storytelling has always been central. The soloists are Steen Jørgensen, Kira Skov, Selina Gin, Mike Andersen, Canadian Joce Reyome and Canadian Ron Sexsmith. The band on stage numbers musicians familiar to Tønder Festival's audiences: Casper Simonsen (drums), Lars Skjærbæk (guitar and chorus), Kajsa Vala (guitar and chorus), Troels Skjærbæk (bass and chorus) and Palle Hjorth (keyboards).
Tønder Festival 2026 – so far:
Emmylou Harris (USA), Aaron Lee Tasjan (USA), Skerryvore (SCO), Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys (UK), Joce Reyome (CAN), Erik Koskinen (USA), Ron Sexsmith (CAN), The Brothers Comatose (USA), James McMurtry (USA), Susan O´Neill (IRL), Ulige Numre (DK), Susto Stringband (USA), Sunny War (USA), Poul Krebs (DK), Emily Scott Robinson (USA), The Felice Brothers (USA), Rum Ragged (CAN), Daniel Lanois (CAN), Fantastic Negrito (USA), Jesper Lindell & The Brunnsvik Sounds (SE), Bye Bye Brenda (DK), Jake Blount (USA), AySay (DK), Heidi Talbot (IRL/SCO), Tako Lako (DK), Leon Majcen (USA), Selina Gin & The Iconics (DK), Ciarán Ryan Band (SCO/IRL), John R. Miller (USA), Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening (UK), Shakey Graves (USA), Jake Bugg (UK), Duncan Chisholm, Michael McGoldrick, Gerry O’Connor & Tony Byrne (SCO/IRL/UK), Lily Fitts (USA), OIiver Hazard (USA), Ken Pomeroy (USA), Folk Ensemble (DK), folkBALTICA Ensemble (DK/DE), Radio Mars med Alex Nyborg Madsen & Søren Rebbe (DK), Kris Kristofferson Tribute (DK/CAN).
Tønder Festival 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August 2026
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Once more, Tønder Festival unveils a series of new names for the 2026 programme. This presentation involves international songwriters, major folk music initiatives and traditional festival formats, all of which demonstrate the festival's solid grounding in folk and roots music.
Four more names added to this year's festival roster, all exclusive to Tønder Festival 2026.
Here you’ll find your base for music, togetherness and good times – the place where you can start and end your day right in the heart of the festival atmosphere.
From Northumbrian folk music to modern americana to Danish electropop... five more names add to the diversity of next year's musical repertoire. Four of them are unique to Tønder Festival in 2026.
