*This* is how it felt like for our Indiefjord guests to arrive in Bjørke on Polarstar Friday evening, while Tugboat Captain was playing on board the boat and a huge crowd was cheering and waving from the dock. Those smiles you can see in the photo just didn't disappear throughout the weekend.
The sun shone on us, both literally and figuratively. The atmosphere at Indiefjord 2023 echoed the very first Indiefjord in 2014 (the famous heatwave year) – just with a lot more people in the village this time around.
Even if the festival has grown bigger since the first year, it feels like all our guests and bands stay true to our values: "Indiefjord is a festival where you will meet new and old friends. Racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and bullying will not be tolerated here. Music and love for all." [Carla J.
Easton](https://www.facebook.com/carla.j.easton?tn=-]K*F) said it so brilliantly from stage on Sunday. We're all a bunch of weirdos, and at Indiefjord we can be our true selves and feel safe doing so. The festival is about much more than music.
"Go forth with kindness," Carla said. And that's our encouragement to you.
Be kind – and stay weird. ________ Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to: The villagers of Bjørke, the bands and DJs, our volunteers and everyone else who lent us a hand, our wonderful guests, the bandcamp hosts, the sound and lights engineers Kristian and Martinus, Skjåstaddalen Frilynde Ungdomslag, Hjørundfjord Kulturvernlag, Bjørke kyrkje, Bakketunet, Bjørke rom og camping, Polarstar, Hjørundfjord Hostel Bjørke, Solveig Pia Nikkinen for sorting out some emergency beds, the bus driver who drove a loooong way to return a pair of lost sunglasses to their owner, Penguin Paddle, the artists, our Haukly chefs Eirik, Helene and Kai, the Kippersunds, the stall holders + so many more.
And last, but not least, our amazing sponsors: Møre og Romsdal fylkeskommune, Sparebanken Møre, Retura Søre Sunnmøre AS, Tussa and Volda kommune.