Full Music Line-up for 2025

The official opening of this year’s festival will take place on Wednesday, 27 August, with the Canadian Ambassador to Denmark and the Mayor of Tønder taking the stage - a gesture that honours the long-standing connection between Tønder and the North American roots music scene.

The final additions to the 2025 line-up reflect great diversity - musically, and in terms of genre, language, and geography.

"It’s this very diversity that makes Tønder Festival so special, and we’re proud of this year’s program, which includes both long-time favorites and brand new voices," says the festival’s Artistic Director, Maria Theessink.

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Nordic and Celtic Voices
Greenlandic cultural icon Rasmus Lyberth, who maintains and renews his roots through modern sound and who will be inducted into the Folk Music Hall of Fame in Tønder this year, is among the performers. From Scotland, Ainsley Hamill brings a unique blend of tradition and innovation with her Gaelic-language songs. From Wales, Lleuwen Steffan will revive forgotten Welsh folk hymns. Also taking the stage is Northern Assembly, a Danish-Faroese-British ensemble that delivers modern folk-pop with powerful storytelling.

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North American Storytellers and Roots Artists
Kentucky native Ian Noe returns to Tønder with his raw, authentic country-folk and gripping tales of human tragedy and resilience. Canadian roots veteran Fred Eaglesmith - known for his storytelling songs about working-class life and revered for his cult status - will perform with his latest high-energy project, The Velvet Frogs.

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Outstanding British Folk and a Unique Fusion of Mozart and African Vocal Traditions
English folk artist Greg Russell, known for his soulful voice and moving interpretations, returns after his successful time as part of the duo Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar.
The Yellow House Band brings together five acclaimed British folk musicians in a blend of virtuosity and exuberant musicianship, promising a truly memorable experience.
Audiences can also look forward to MoZuluArt - a Zimbabwean-Austrian ensemble that has garnered international attention for its bold and surprising fusion of classical Mozart compositions and traditional African vocal harmonies.

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Danish Voices and Musical Storytelling from the Outskirts
Writer and cultural figure Knud Romer and singer-songwriter Mikael K offer an intimate concert experience that weaves literature and music into a poetic space. And last but not least, beloved Danish satirist and troubadour Niels Hausgaard returns to Tønder Festival, once again delivering his trademark warmth, wit, and North Jutland humor.

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Youth-Driven Folk and Dance, and Showcase Concerts with Folk Spot
The festival’s strong Danish roots will be complemented by pop-up events from ROD & FOD, two youth-led gatherings that breathe new life into folk music and dance with energy and innovation.
Esbjerg Folkekons – the folk music program at the South Denmark Music Academy (SDMK) – will also be present at the festival, hosting an open dance workshop.
Folk Spot Denmark will once again showcase emerging Nordic artists to local audiences and international music industry professionals. The names of the 2025 Folk Spot artists will be announced in the coming months.

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The full schedule for Tønder Festival 2025 is now available here and in the festival app.

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MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
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Rasmus Lyberth (GL/DK)
Musician and actor Rasmus Lyberth is one of Greenland’s most acclaimed artists, who since the 1970s has sung his way into the hearts of audiences in Greenland, Denmark, and internationally.
He grew up in Nuuk and began playing guitar and performing at the age of 12. At 18, he moved to Copenhagen, where he started performing in bars. His debut album, ‘Erningaa’, was released in 1974, and since then he has released numerous albums and collaborated with artists such as Christian Alvad and Lars Lilholt Band.
Rasmus Lyberth primarily sings in Greenlandic and blends folk music with rock, pop, and traditional Greenlandic elements. With his self-composed songs and captivating voice, he sings about his homeland’s nature, development, and the conditions of its people - transcending all language barriers, whether performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall or in a tent at Tønder Festival.
He has received several awards for his musical and cultural contributions and has represented Greenland at international events, including the Nordic Music Awards.
Tønder Festival audiences have enjoyed Rasmus Lyberth’s performances numerous times over the past three decades, most recently in 2018. In 2025, he will be inducted into the Folk Music Hall of Fame in Tønder.
He will also be performing as part of the new songwriter circle focusing on music created and performed in minority languages.
www.rasmuslyberth.com

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Ainsley Hamill (SCO)
Blend Heather Small and Julie Fowlis, and you get singer and songwriter Ainsley Hamill - one of the UK’s most distinctive and versatile vocalists, known for her remarkable voice, storytelling, and emotionally charged style.
Ainsley Hamill hails from the west coast of Scotland and has built a career defined by authenticity and the blend of traditional Scottish folk music with a modern touch.
With roots in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ainsley has a strong connection to Gaelic and traditional singing, performing, among other things, in Gaelic.
She began her career as a founding member of the folk band Barluath, but in recent years Ainsley Hamill has been focusing on her solo career. She also regularly performs with the band Fourth Moon, with whom she appeared at Tønder Festival in 2022.
In early 2025, Ainsley Hamill released her third studio album, ‘Fable’, produced by Sam Kelly. Drawing inspiration from Scottish folklore and myths, Hamill combines traditional Gaelic and Scottish songs with her own compositions. Each track weaves a narrative that resonates with ancient stories and contemporary relevance.
Ainsley Hamill will appear at Tønder Festival with her trio, comprised of herself, Toby Shaer, and Sam Kelly.

She will also be performing as part of the new songwriter circle focusing on music created and performed in minority languages.
www.ainsleyhamill.com

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Lleuwen Steffan (WAL)

Lleuwen Steffan (also known as Tafod Arian) is originally from Wales, but now resides in Brittany. She is an innovative Welsh singer and multi-instrumentalist who composes music for theatre, film, TV, and radio. Most notably, she writes songs rooted in the Celtic language of her homeland.

In her latest project, ‘The Lost Welsh Folk Hymns’, she breathes new life into old traditional Welsh hymns and sermons that had been forgotten. Lleuwen Steffan was working in a museum archive when she came across recordings of Welsh-language hymns she had never heard before. It turned out that these recordings were made by a historian and folklore expert who, starting in 1964, traveled around Wales collecting rhymes, riddles, poems, and folk hymns. Many of these hymns date back to the 18th century and were passed down through generations. However, they were excluded from hymnals because they were deemed inappropriate by the selection committees of the time. Many of the songs addressed topics such as alcohol abuse, mental illness, and the darker aspects of the psyche.

On a tour of 50 chapels across Wales, Lleuwen Steffan now performs these rediscovered hymns, bringing them back home to the places where they originated. During the concerts, she sings alongside descendants of the hymn singers from the original recordings, whom she has tracked down.

She will also be performing as part of the new songwriter circle focusing on music created and performed in minority languages.

https://lleuwen.net/en

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Northern Assembly (DK/FO/UK)

Northern Assembly’s storytelling is the core of this quartet from Århus, while their sound is

folk pop music weaving enticing beats, double bass, guitar, piano and sweet harmonies.

Fronting Northern Assembly is Danish-Faroese Dina Dánialsdóttir and British Andreas

Bevan, whose passion for authentic narration and music is shared by bassist Jesper

Smalbro and drummer Jens Hedegaard.

Northern Assembly’s two releases, ‘Death, won’t you marry me?’(2018) and ‘Closer Together’ (2019) met with critical praise, the latter being one of the most played albums of the year on Radio Denmark’s P5.

Their latest album ‘The Choir of Trembling Hands’ (2023), prompted the Danish music

magazine GAFFA offering: “it’s like the sun bursting through after a long, rainy autumn” and crowned the review with four stars.
After a couple of hundred concerts at home and abroad, three albums plus annual Christmas

releases since 2017, Northern Assembly have established quite firmly that they are capable of writing and playing fine music. Powerful songwriting, magnificent production, mellifluous harmonies, magnetic stage presence, humor and storytelling assure Northern Assembly’s place at the absolute top of Danish folk music.

www.northernassembly.com

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Ian Noe (USA)
Ian Noe visited Tønder Festival in 2019, much to the delight of fans of masterful songwriting and unfiltered stage presence. At the time, he had just released his debut album ‘Between the Country’ (2019), drawing listeners deep into his stories with a raw voice and a sharp eye for everyday fate.
In 2022, he followed up with ‘River Fools & Mountain Saints’, continuing to explore the sound and soul of his native eastern Kentucky. His songs portray the struggles of his homeland and the resilience of its people - poignant portraits of widows, soldiers, and flood survivors enduring hardship with dignity.
Now 35 years old, Ian Noe grew up in Beattyville, Kentucky, and began writing songs as a teenager, inspired by Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Neil Young. He has opened for Colter Wall, and none other than John Prine invited him to support his shows after hearing him live at a Prine tribute concert.
Ian Noe’s concerts are tightly woven spaces free of clichés. As savingcountrymusic.com wrote, his music is “for those who want to dig even deeper, and get down to the kernel of sincere emotions that the best of songwriters mine.”
Exclusive Danish concert in 2025.

www.iannoe.com

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Fred Eaglesmith (CAN)
Canadian singer-songwriter and roots music icon Fred Eaglesmith has been blazing his own trail for over five decades. Known for his gritty, storytelling lyrics, raspy voice, and uncompromising approach, Eaglesmith has become a cult figure among fans of Americana, folk, and country.
Born in rural Ontario in 1957, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and lived a nomadic life, hopping freight trains and traveling the country - an experience that fueled the vivid working-class narratives in his songs.
With more than 25 albums to his name, Fred Eaglesmith is a prolific artist. His songs - often laced with humor, heartbreak, and a rebellious spirit - have been covered by the likes of Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and Miranda Lambert. Tracks like ‘Time to Get a Gun’ and ‘Freight Train’ have become anthems for the outsiders, and his concerts - a mix of rock show and revival meeting - have made him a performer like no other.
Together with his multi-instrumentalist wife Tif Ginn, Fred Eaglesmith has formed a new band, The Velvet Frogs, which brings fresh energy to his timeless sound. With a blend of raw roots, psychedelic undertones, and rock’n’roll attitude, the band creates a dynamic that transcends genre. Together they reinterpret classic material and present new songs that prove Eaglesmith is still brimming with vitality and creativity.

fredeaglesmith.com

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Greg Russell (ENG)
Greg Russell is an outstanding English singer, songwriter, and guitarist, well known to much of the Danish folk music audience. With an extraordinary and distinctive voice, Greg Russell has established himself as one of the most significant names on the British folk scene over the past 15 years.
He first won the hearts of audiences as one half of the duo Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar, who made their debut at Tønder Festival in 2015. The duo won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, went on to perform at the festival several times, and toured Denmark together in 2017.
In 2020, after 10 years of collaboration, the two artists decided to part ways, and Greg Russell has since focused primarily on his solo career. His repertoire includes both original compositions and thoughtful interpretations of others' songs. His performances are

characterised by musicality, presence, and a downplayed, self-deprecating humor.
Alongside his solo work, Greg Russell has also been involved in a number of critically acclaimed projects. He was the driving force behind ‘Shake the Chains’, a project featuring prominent names such as Martin Simpson, Peggy Seeger, and Karine Polwart. Additionally, he performed in the folk opera ‘The Transports’.
Greg Russell has released four albums with Ciaran Algar. In 2017, he released his only solo album to date, ‘Inclined to be Red’, and in 2019, he collaborated with Danny Pedler on the concept album ‘Field and Dyke’.
yellowhousebooking.dk/greg-russell

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The Yellow House Band (UK)
The Yellow House Band is a five-star folk ensemble consisting of some of England’s and Scotland’s most prominent musicians. The band features three powerful vocalists - Jack Badcock (Dallahan), Ainsley Hamill (Barluath, Fourth Moon), and Sam Kelly (The Lost Boys, Kate Rusby) - supported by multi-instrumentalists Ciarán Ryan and Toby Shaer. Together they create an explosive and intricate soundscape, driven by virtuosity, interplay, and exceptional joy in performing.

The musicians were originally brought together for the 10th anniversary of the music agency Yellow House Bookings in 2022. The subsequent tour was such a success and such a rewarding experience for the band members that they agreed to keep the project alive.

Although they usually play in many different contexts, when they come together as The Yellow House Band, they share a unique chemistry on stage and offer an exceptional musical experience. The band is not just a fusion of strong individual names, but a collective force where traditional British folk gains both edge and contemporary relevance.

yellowhousebooking.dk/the-yellow-house-band

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MoZuluArt (NZ, A)

“Let’s do something with Mozart,” said Ramadu Moyo, the lead singer of the Zimbabwean vocal trio Insingizi. Thus began a unique musical story 20 years ago. Insingizi had just recorded their album ‘Voices Of Southern Africa’, which over the following years gained widespread acclaim and sold 250,000 copies in the USA. Ramadu Moyo’s suggestion was warmly received by the Austrian pianist and keyboard player Roland Guggenbichler, who immediately said yes.

MoZuluArt was formed in Vienna in the early 2000s and has since performed on international stages, captivating audiences with their innovative approach to music. Their repertoire includes both classical works and original compositions, all performed in a fusion of classical European music and traditional Zimbabwean Zulu harmonies and rhythms.

The three Zimbabwean singers and musicians - Vusa Ndlovu, Blessings Nkomo, and Ramadu Moyo - together with Austrian Roland Guggenbichler, create a unique sound.

From Dakar to New York and from Nyon to Beirut, the extraordinary ensemble has attracted attention - especially in Austria, where MoZuluArt enjoys great recognition. In 2024, star tenor Rolando Villazón invited the ensemble to perform three acclaimed concerts as part of Salzburg’s Mozart Week.

At Tønder Festival MoZuluArt will perform both solo and together with Hans Theessink.

The only Danish festival appearance in 2025.

www.mozuluart.at

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Knud Romer & Mikael K Klondyke (DK)
When author and cultural figure Knud Romer meets singer-songwriter and troubadour Mikael K, a poetic space emerges where noise and hustle give way to silence, reflection, and presence. In their joint concert narrative ‘A Quiet Hour or So’, the audience is invited to join them at home - both in Falster and in Vendsyssel - with stories and songs from places where language sings and belonging finds resonance.

Knud Romer has firmly established himself in Danish literature with his award-winning novels. His voice - whether in writing, in the media, or on stage - is marked by existential depth, linguistic musicality, and a special ability to create resonance between the personal and the universal. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists and musicians, including Peter Sommer, Andreas Odbjerg, The Danish String Quartet, Lasse & Mathilde, and Pernille Rosendahl. In 2024, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross for his contributions to Danish art and culture.

Since 2002, Mikael K has toured the country with his band Klondyke and his own songs, driven by an unwavering belief in the poetry of the overlooked. He writes songs about the lives we rarely sing about - launderettes, worn-out marriages, and quarrels in IKEA. With seven critically acclaimed albums and honors such as the P4 Prize, Danish Music Awards Folk, and the Carl Scharnberg Prize, he has cemented his place as one of the country’s sharpest songwriters.

Together, Knud Romer and Mikael K create a concert experience where there is time to simply be - and where, perhaps just for a moment, you can feel at home.

The only Danish festival appearance in 2025.
www.knudromer.dk
www.mikaelk.dk

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​​Niels Hausgaard (DK)

One of Denmark’s most beloved poets, songwriters, satirists, debaters, and entertainers, Niels Hausgaard has been a defining presence at Tønder Festival since the 1970s. This year is no exception.

With his distinctive voice, North Jutland warmth, and downplayed humor, he has spent more than five decades commenting on Danes and their doings - always with a blend of sharpness, reflection, and humanity. Hausgaard’s songs are not only entertaining; they also contain deep reflections on society, life, and human folly.

Though he often refers to himself as an amateur, he is a master at balancing the funny with the serious. His concerts feel like conversations with the audience - full of dry humor, small poetic observations, and music that supports the words with simple yet evocative arrangements.

At Tønder Festival, Niels Hausgaard is an institution. Here he meets an audience that knows him and whom he knows - and every reunion is an experience of closeness and community. You never leave a Hausgaard concert without having laughed, given things some thought - and perhaps gained a little more hope for humanity.
www.nielshausgaard.dk

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ROD & FOD (DK)
When ROD & FOD hold their pop-up events at Tønder Festival, it offers a life-affirming glimpse into how the pulse of youth is driving traditional folk music and folk dance into the future. ROD & FOD are two volunteer-run gatherings where young people aged 15 to 30 from all over the country come together to immerse themselves in the vibrant culture of folk music and folk dance. This is where new roots grow, and traditions are not only preserved, but reinvented.

Live, ROD & FOD is an explosion of joy of playing music, rhythmic presence, and physical energy. A large ensemble of young musicians and dancers deliver sweat-dripping, infectious performances featuring both tradition-rooted melodies and playful interpretations. The audience is not just a spectator – they become part of the holistic musical experience and community. Expect to encounter a living environment where the next generation of folk musicians and dancers demonstrate that tradition is not dusty, but alive and thriving. ROD & FOD is folk music with heart and folk dance with soul.
www.rodfolk.dk
www.fodfidus.dk

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Folk Spot Denmark (DK/NO)
Folk Spot is a showcase platform for Nordic folk and roots musicians, held as an integrated part of Tønder Festival. The initiative was established in 2012 as a collaboration between SPOT Festival and Tønder Festival with the aim of presenting promising Nordic artists to both the local audience and international industry professionals.

The format is a yearly audience favorite, and the names of the performing artists and bands for 2025 will be announced in the coming months.

Learn more at www.folkspotdenmark.dk

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Tønder Festival 2025 – so far:

Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group (USA), Take Me To The River (USA), Joe Henry (USA), Sons Of The East (AUS), Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy (CAN), Elephant Sessions (SCO), Oysterband (ENG), Rikke Thomsen (DK), John Smith (UK), Jeffrey Foucault, USA), Tina Dickow og Helgi Jonsson (DK, IS), Melissa Carper (USA), Fantastic Negrito (USA), Adeem The Artist (USA), The Lonesome Ace Stringband (CAN), The Langan Band (SCO), Quote the Raven (CAN), Michael Falch & Zonen (DK), Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys (CAN), Flook (IRL, ENG, UK), The Hello Darlins (CAN), Trousdale (USA), Allan Olsen & Norlan (DK), Kellie Loder (CAN), Matt Andersen (CAN), Stundom (DK), The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (CAN), Talisk (SCO), Nanna Carling Swingband (SE), Hans Theessink Band (NL, ZW, A), Avi Kaplan (USA), S.G. Goodman (USA), Elias Rønnenfelt (DK), Evan Honer (USA), Mànran (SCO), Kellermensch (DK), Dervish (IRL), ULD (NO), Crowe Boys (USA), Väsen & Hawktail (USA/SE), Charles Wesley Godwin (USA), Northern Assembly (DK, FO, UK), folkBALTICA Ensemblet (DK, DE), Tessa (DK), Lleuwen Steffan (WAL), Nolwenn Korbell (BZH), Ainsley Hamill (SCO), Rasmus Lyberth (GL/DK), Ian Noe (USA), Greg Russell (ENG), Mikael K & Knud Romer (DK), The Yellow House Band (UK), MoZuluArt (NZ, A), Fred Eaglesmith (CAN), Niels Hausgaard (DK), ROD & FOD (DK), Folkekons (DK), Folk Spot Denmark (DK/ NO).

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Tønder Festival 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th August 2025

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Tickets: www.TF.dk