You might have wondered what’s going to happen with Indiefjord 2021 - the comeback in these still pandemic times, and certainly, so have we. We have been tracking the government’s press conferences and statements, but no-one can quite predict when “the state we’re in” ends.
So it might not come as a complete surprise to you that this year’s festival will sadly look different than what we were hoping for when we started booking our dream line-up last July. But we will do our best to make some kind of Indiefjord happen, still.
The Norwegian government has proposed four steps of reopening the country, and they are hoping that step four with less travel restrictions can begin towards the end of June (no set date, though). Which, of course, is very close to 10 + 11 July. As we’ve all learned this year, plans tend to… change and then change again.
If we have reached the final reopening stage in mid-July there may still be some travel restrictions in place for countries not a part of the EU or EEA, and there may be quarantine and mandatory tests if you are traveling from specific areas of the world (none specified as of yet).
The government rules for stage four will be considered and developed “along the way” and we have no guarantee that we're at this stage at the time of the festival.
In short, it seems rather unlikely that bands and guests traveling from abroad will be able to enter the country without having to do quarantine and mandatory corona tests upon arrival (quarantine hotels aren’t cheap). Furthermore, there is the question of how many people you are allowed to gather at an indoor venue, or gather at all (even outdoors).
It does seem like we in mid July would be allowed certain alternatives for indoor and outdoor events, as even at stage two there are possibilities for small to medium size events like ours. We will have a further look at how to do this practically. Either way, this makes us very hopeful for the scenario “some kind of Indiefjord” this year.
We are aiming for a magical weekend, even if it might not be the biggest, boldest version of Indiefjord yet. Saying this, we do take our responsibility as organisers very seriously. We will keep tracking the government advice and rules and will only go ahead with the festival if deemed safe.
So what's happening to the bands you were looking forward to seeing?
With plan A not quite possible, we’ve skipped ahead to plan B. All bands and DJs have been given the option to cancel this year’s performance now or to consider the situation for a while longer. In May we will hopefully know more about international travel restrictions and how to organise a small festival like ours in a safe manner.
So for now, there are still some international bands on the line-up. And – we’re currently in the process of booking some excellent Norwegian bands. Not only that, there will be some “fingers crossed/hopefully this can happen in 2021” band announcements over the next few weeks!
The following bands have so far confirmed they are no longer coming along this summer: The Natvral (USA) The Just Joans (Scotland) Carla J.
Easton (Scotland) Nick Garrie (England) Fightmilk (England) Lowpines (USA/England) Broken Chanter (Scotland) Everyone has been truly wonderful dealing with the situation, and we are looking forward to them visiting Bjørke someday soon.
We have even planned an extra special set in the future with one of them, but we’ll be keeping that secret for a while longer. But it sure is something for the fans to look forward to. If you are flying in from abroad and you’re wondering about what will happen to your festival ticket, we hope you are able to wait a bit longer.
We will have a look at the practicalities in May when we know more about the situation. We will then provide further information. Thanks for reading this long and rambling message, it sure wasn’t an easy one to write. We have received nothing but warmth and understanding from the bands, and we are so grateful to them and to you, our wonderful audience.
That’s all for now, folks. We hope that you’ll keep believing in us, and in better times ahead. And more than anything, we hope that you’ll keep buying festival tickets and albums and supporting your favourite bands around the world.
Maybe hugs and dancing cheek to cheek will have to wait a bit longer, but we can’t wait to see you all fjordside – this year or next year!
Love from Team Indiefjord _________ Read about the government's reopening plans here. Photo: Eline Viddal Rød (The Stig, who many of you will know)