Tønder Festival Beckons

As we write, an army of volunteers is at work preparing Tønder Festival 2025 – the fiftieth, if we disregard the covid hiatus. Before long, everything will be set to receive the thousands of festivalgoers who travel to Tønder to savour the fellowship, the musical delights and the Tønder Festival site's unique vibe.

It falls to the Canadian Ambassador to Denmark, Carolyn Bennett, and to the Mayor of Tønder, Jørgen Popp Petersen, to officiate, speaking at the opening ceremony for Tønder Festival 2025 from the Open Air stage on Wednesday, 27 August at 12:15. The traditional schools concert on Thursday 28 August will be slightly less traditional this year, with the appearance of the Danish rapper Tessa.

The Diverse World of Hand-made Music is Central

On stages large and small, you will find the best that the worlds of folk, roots, americana, country, indie rock and more have to offer. Many of the musicians can only be heard in Denmark at this year's Tønder Festival. Tønder Festival excels at presenting new ascending musicians. The programme also contains established international musicians: the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, composer and actor, Lyle Lovett; another major figure on the American music scene, Joe Henry; one of Ireland's most iconic folk bands, Dervish; and one of the most influential groups in modern folk, Flook; and talented storytellers and songwriters such as Charles Wesley Godwin and Ian Noe.

Danish Tønder Festival veterans Niels Hausgaard and Allan Olsen are of course on the programme, while Tina Dickow and Michael Falch return to Tønder, the latter with his new band, Michael Falch & Zonen. Tønder Festival now has room for experimental Danish musicians Kellermensch and Elias Rønnenfelt, as well as Adeem the Artist and Avi Kaplan from furrther afield.

Immersive experiences, live radio, jams and special concept concerts

The popular parallel concerts ‘Women’s Circle’ and ‘Gentlemen’s Circle' now have a third branch: the ‘Minority Language Circle’, where songwriters take turns to sing their songs in Gaelic, Welsh, Greenlandic, Breton and Southern Jute. There is also room for immersive experiences, when music, storytelling, poetry and teatre join forces. One instance sees author, polemicist and poet Knud Romer and songwriter and troubadour Mikael K in a rare alliance of Northern Jute songwriting and narration from the southern Danish island of Falster in a concert performance that melds the lyrical with the musical. Country songwriter Li’l Andy, from Montreal, takes the stage with one of today's best old-

time bands, Sheesham & Lotus ‘n Son, to revive, with song, stories, old musical instruments and theatre, the vaudeville and travelling carneval shows of bygone days in the Southern USA.

Radio Denmark’s P5, Radio Mars, DR Syd and Globus Guld are all broadcasting radio this year from the Tønder Festival site, while the media sources Politiken, JydskeVestkysten and Gaffa host talks with selected musicians. There are music workshops with Festival artists and others lead sessions at various locations.

As is its wont, the export showcase project FolkSpot will present a broad gamut of musicians, ranging from the traditional to the exploratory, all giving a wide and varied picture of the current folk music scene.

A wooded glade, a culinary innovation and much more ...

Last year, Tønder Festival introduced Nyholm Wood, a new oasis where you can take a break from the crowds, find shade under the treetops and recharge with food and drink, including tasty local specialities from the Tønder area. The Grove won instant popularity and will back this year.

In the middle of the festival site, you will find the Wadden Sea Zone, where sand from the isalnd of Rømæ, a lighthouse and a fishing boat suggest a special milieu. Here, you can get a feel for the unique atmosphere of the Wadden Sea, a tidal flats area running from Skalling, north of Ribe, down past Tønder to Den Helder in the Netherlands. The Wadden Sea National Park invites you to see, hear, and join in fascinating activities all about life in and around the Wadden Sea.

This year, Tønder Festival is opening a new eatery. Snas & Sans is taking over the FUTS tent, with a bar and pleasant seating area. The name ‘Snas & Sans’ denotes small delicacies that appeal to the senses: Neapolitan inspired sourdough pizza from Pizza Boys, Greek specialities from Gaia Greek, pokebowls and toasted sandwiches from Sesam and tempting chocolate and sweets from Nicolai Chokolade.

The Outlaw Village is a zone inspired by the American wild west of the 1800s, where you can drink a glass of beer and a whiskey in the Black Sun Saloon, bite into a juicy steak or a pulled pork burger in the Steakhouse and enjoy live music in the antique Bolero mirror tent, on the intimate little Front Porch stage and in the Black Sun Saloon.

In the Little Fanø tent, focus is turned once more to the west coast island of Fanø and its music and dance traditions. Here you will find fiddles, beer, dried smoked dabs, pickled herring, snaps, coffee punch, accordions, fest, hygge, and loads of song and dance to the tunes of Fanø musicians.

Tønder Festival merchandise by Line Jensen

Another new initiative this year is the creative collaboration with illustrator and author Line Jensen, who has designed the exclusive mini-collection ‘Line Jensen x Tønder Festival’. The series includes t-shirts, tote bags and enamel mugs with her characteristic, quirky illustrations celebrating the Tønder Festival spirit, local roots and fellowship. The merchandise is on sale online and in the merchandise shop on the festival site, where you can also buy Tønder Festival's own merchandise.

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

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