# 2018 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 2018.

## Events
### January

* 12
** Norwegian singer Sigrid is named winner of the BBC's "Sound of 2018" award.
** The 22nd Folklandia Cruise starts in Helsinki, Finland, running until 13 January.
* 13 – Composer Paavo Heininen, considered by many to be Finland's most influential musician, celebrates his 80th birthday with a concert at the Järvenpää Hall, Helsinki.
* 19 – The 37th annual Djangofestival starts in Oslo, Norway, to run until 20 January.
* 28 – Jazz guitarist Gustav Lundgren and his trio perform a tribute to Django Reinhardt at Stockholm Concert Hall, featuring Aurélien Trigo and Antoine Boyer.
* 30 – Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen is awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2019.

### February

* 10 – The 38th Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is won by "Higher Ground", performed by Rasmussen.
* 14 – Norwegian singer Sigrid wins Best New Artist at the NME Awards ceremony.
* 22 – It is announced that Agnes Obel has signed to Deutsche Grammophon, who will have a joint arrangement with Blue Note for North American releases.

### March

* 3 – At Söngvakeppnin 2018, Ari Ólafsson is selected to represent Iceland in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Heim". After winning the context, Ólafsson is criticised on social media for crying on hearing the result.
* 7 – Fifteen-year-old cellist Birgitta Elisa Oftestad wins the Virtuos 2018 competition and is named Norway's representative at the Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 contest.
* 9 – Finnish band Nightwish begins a nine-month world tour titled Decades: World Tour, accompanying a new 2CD compilation called Decades.
* 10 – The final of Melodifestivalen 2018 takes place in Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden.
* 12 – The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under Hannu Lintu, begins a week-long series of concerts in Germany.
* 25
** Swedish House Mafia unexpectedly reunite for a performance at the 20th Anniversary of Ultra Music Festival in Miami, United States.
** Greenlandic singer Nive Nielsen stars as "Lady Silence" in a new US horror series, The Terror, her first international TV role.

### April

* 27 – ABBA announce that they have recorded some new songs, the first since 1983.

### May

* 8 – In semi-final 1 of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Iceland's entry is eliminated, but Finland's Saara Aalto finishes 10th and makes it to the final.
* 10 – In semi-final 2 of the Eurovision Song Contest, Norway's entry finishes in first place, Sweden 2nd and Denmark 5th; all three countries make it to the final.
* 12 – In the Eurovision final, held in Lisbon, Sweden does best of the Scandinavian countries, finishing in 7th place.
* 23 - The Bergen International Festival opens in Bergen, Norway, running until 6 June. Guest performers include Meow Meow, Selene Muñoz and Helsinki Songs.

### June

* 6 – The 26th Sweden Rock Festival opens in Norje, running until 9 June. The Quill are forced to withdraw the day before the festival begins, because lead singer Magnus Ekwall is recovering from emergency surgery.

### July

* 3 – The organizers confirm that the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, normally held after the awards ceremony in Oslo, will not take place in 2018.
* 4 – The 19th Folk music festival of Siglufjordur opens in Siglufjordur, Iceland, running until 8 July.
* 5 – Gregory Porter guest stars at the 2018 Kongsberg Jazzfestival in Norway.
* 27 – The Uppsala Reggae Festival opens in Sweden, running until 28 July, headlined by Jimmy Cliff.

### September

* 5 – The Copenhagen World Music Festival opens, running until 9 September.
* 6 – The Lahti Sibelius Festival opens, running until 9 September.

### November

* 7 – The Iceland Airwaves music festival opens, running until 10 November. Guests include Blood_Orange, Cashmere Cat and Stella Donnelly.

### December

* 6 – Icelandic Music Day is celebrated.

## Albums released
### January

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 5 | Trident Wolf Eclipse | Watain | Century Media | |
| 19 | Contra La Indecisión | Bobo Stenson Trio (Anders Jormin, Jon Fält) | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| 19 | Elvesang | Sigurd Hole | Elvesang | |
| 19 | Lucus | Thomas Strønen & Time Is A Blind Guide | ECM | |

### February

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 2 | Delights Of Decay | Batagraf | Jazzland | Produced by Jon Balke, Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim |
| 2 | Live at Victoria | Solveig Slettahjell | Jazzland | Produced by Solveig Slettahjell |
| 9 | History | Emmelie de Forest | Cosmos | First album after two-year break from recording |
| 13 | Heat | Knut Reiersrud Band | Jazzland | |
| 23 | Reformation Part 1 | Super8 & Tab | Armada Music | |
| 23 | Pilgrim | Janne Mark with Arve Henriksen | ACT | Produced by Esben Eyermann and Janne Mark |

### March

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 1 | Takker | Thomas Helmig | Genlyd Grammofon | |
| 2 | Ravensburg | Mathias Eick | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| 9 | Decades | Nightwish | Nuclear Blast | |
| 23 | Returnings | Jakob Bro with Palle Mikkelborg, Thomas Morgan, and Jon Christensen | ECM | Produced by Manfred Eicher |
| 30 | Geimvísindi | Hildur Vala Einarsdóttir | | The singer's first album to contain original material |

### April

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 6 | Polarity | Hoff Ensemble - Jan Gunnar Hoff, Anders Jormin, Audun Kleive | 2L | Produced by Morten Lindberg | |
| 20 | Barxeta II | Per Mathisen & Jan Gunnar Hoff feat. Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez | Losen | Produced by Jan Gunnar Hoff and Per Mathisen | |
| 20 | Freedoms Trio II | Steinar Aadnekvam | Losen | Produced by Steinar Aadnekvam | |
| 20 | Ultra | Sivas | Disco:Wax | #1 in Danish album chart | |
| 27 | Större | Molly Sandén | unknown | | |
| 27 | Ootsä nähny Nikkee | Nikke Ankara | unknown | | |
| 27 | Wild Wild Wonderland | Saara Aalto | Warner | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 2 |

### May

| Day | Album | Artist | Label |
| 4 | Sway | Tove Styrke | RCA Records |
| 18 | A Suite of Poems | Ketil Bjørnstad, Anneli Drecker, poems by Lars Saabye Christensen | ECM |
| 25 | Late Night Tales: Agnes Obel | Agnes Obel | Night Time Stories Ltd |

### June

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 1 | Ääripäät | Mikael Gabriel | Universal Music Group | |
| 1 | Bertolt Brechts Svendborgdigte | Søren Huss | BaggårdTeatret | |
| 8 | So Sad So Sexy | Lykke Li | RCA | Executive producer Malay |
| 29 | Sometimes the World Ain't Enough | The Night Flight Orchestra | Nuclear Blast | |

### July

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 27 | Act II | Tarja Turunen | earMUSIC | Live album | |

### August

| Day | Album | Artist | Label |
| 24 | ‘re:member | Ólafur Arnalds | Mercury KX |
| 31 | Helsinki Songs | Trygve Seim | ECM |
| 31 | The Other Side | Tord Gustavsen Trio | ECM |

### September

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 21 | Immortelle | Say Lou Lou | à Deux | Produced by Trent Mazur and Dash Le Francis | |

### October

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 5 | Bay Of Rainbows | Jakob Bro, Thomas Morgan, and Joey Baron | ECM Records | |
| 12 | Sorgir | Skálmöld | Napalm Records | |
| 19 | Forever Neverland | MØ | Columbia Records | |
| 26 | Christmas With My Friends VI | Nils Landgren | ACT | Produced by Nils Landgren with Johan Norberg |
| 26 | My Soul Kitchen | Ida Sand | ACT | Produced by Nils Landgren and Siggi Loch |
| 26 | Honey | Robyn | Konichiwa Records | |

### November

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 13 | Deep Snow | Simon Lynge | Atlantic Music | |
| 16 | The Pursuit of Vikings: 25 Years in the Eye of the Storm | Amon Amarth | | Live album |
| 23 | The Ghost Ward Diaries | Electric Boys | Mighty Music | Produced by David Castillo |

### December

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 13 | Plays Metallica by Four Cellos – A Live Performance | Apocalyptica | | Live album - 2CD+1DVD digipak | |
| 14 | Let's Boogie! Live from Telia Parken | Volbeat | Republic Records | Live album | |

## Film and television scores
### Films

* On Her Shoulders (United States), music by Patrick Jonsson
* Ravens (Sweden), music by Peter von Poehl
* The Way to Mandalay (Denmark), biopic about John Mogensen, including some of his music

### Television

* Trapped (Iceland), music by Jóhann Jóhannsson with Hildur Gudnadóttir and Rutger Hoedemaekers

## Eurovision Song Contest

* Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
* Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
* Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
* Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
* Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

## Deaths

* 1 January - Teddy Edelmann, Danish singer, 76
* 18 January – Javiera Muñoz, Swedish singer, 40
* 29 January – Asmund Bjørken, Norwegian jazz musician, 84
* 4 February – Leif Rygg, Norwegian folk musician, 77
* 5 February – Ove Stokstad, Norwegian artist and jazz musician, 78
* 9 February – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic film composer, 48
* 3 March – Kenneth Gärdestad, pop songwriter, 69
* 5 March – Kjerstin Dellert, Swedish opera singer, 92
* 9 March – Ole H. Bremnes, Norwegian folk singer and poet, 87
* 25 March – Jerry Williams, Swedish singer, 75
* 31 March – Frode Viken, guitarist and songwriter, D.D.E., 63
* 3 April – Lill-Babs, Swedish singer ("En tuff brud i lyxförpackning"), 80
* 20 April – Avicii (Tim Bergling), Swedish musician, DJ and record producer, 28
* 11 May –Mikhail Alperin, Ukrainian-born jazz pianist, member of the Moscow Art Trio, professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music, 61
* 26 June – Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer, 81
* 5 July – Bjørn Lie-Hansen, opera singer, 81
* 9 July – Stefan Demert, Swedish musician, 78
* 16 August – Benny Andersen, Danish writer and pianist, 88
* 21 August – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (b. 1975).
* 9 September – Frank Andersson, Swedish entertainer and wrestler, 62 (complications during heart surgery)
* 23 September – Berth Idoff, Swedish musician (Berth Idoffs), 77
* 30 September – Kim Larsen, Danish rock musician (Gasolin'), 72 (prostate cancer)
* 29 November – Erik Lindmark, vocalist and guitarist of Deeds of Flesh, 46 (sclerosis)