It’s been more than five years since we first checked in with Norway’s Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra, so there’s a lot to catch up on. Originally inspired by the Oscar-nominated Belgian film Broken Circle Breakdown, the Oslo-based band — consisting of Rebekka Nilsson (vocals), Joakim Borgen (mandolin), Ole Enggrav (guitar, vocals), Moa Meinich (fiddle, vocals), Magnus Eriksrud (banjo), Emil Brattested (dobro, mandolin), Sjur (accordion, vocals), and David Buverud (upright bass) — has expanded their parameters and absorbed other influences, among them, Tim O’Brien, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss & Union Station, the Punch Brothers, and the band Watchhouse (formerly known as Mandolin Orange).
Those efforts paid off well, courtesy of one of their initial entries, a cover of the classic Wayfaring Stranger, racking up hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube, giving them an introduction to a wide audience. That was followed by a highly acclaimed debut album, Migrants, released March 5, 2021, which was not only met with an outpouring of enthusiasm and immediate chart success, but also the equivalent of a Norwegian Grammy, the Spellemannprisen.
In addition, they received kudos from the IBMA, courtesy of their IBMA Momentum Awards nomination as Band of the Year and a win for Vocalist of the Year. The honors have continued ever since. In 2023, they made the IBMA Momentum Awards Band of the Year shortlist.
As they told Bluegrass Today when we spoke with them the first time around, their music is steeped in bluegrass and grassicana, while also conveying the influences of Irish, Celtic, and Norwegian folk music.
“Our sound is totally acoustic, along the lines of most bluegrass music, with an important emphasis on vocal harmonies,” Marqvardsen explains. “However, we also have an accordion in the band! The style(s) is a blend of bluegrass, folk, and indie, with hints of pop/rock of the ’60s and ’70s, and good old-fashioned pop music.”
Marqvardsen went on to say that in Norway, and throughout the Nordic countries, they’ve seen a surge of artists and bands performing in an Americana style. “This has given rise to the terms ‘Scandifolk,’ ‘Nordicana,’ and even ‘Norwegicana,'” he explained. “We probably fit squarely into all these categories.”
So too, over the past six years, they’ve expanded their reach as far as live performances are concerned, venturing well beyond their original environs. They undertook a European tour in 2022, performed as an official showcase artist in 2022 and 2024 at the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, appeared at the European World of Bluegrass, and several popular Norwegian bluegrass gatherings.
“We shared the bill with The Kody Norris Show at the festival Norsk Countrytreff in Norway, and we played with members of Missy Raines & Allegheny at IBMA 2024,” Marqvardsen mentioned. “We have also performed together with another quite famous band (in Norway) called Darling West. We were booked to play for three weeks in Dollywood, but unfortunately, it was cancelled due to COVID-19.”
Happily then, the group recently announce a three week stateside tour this coming fall. So far they’re slated to play at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival in North Carolina, two shows at the Oriental Old Theater (one of which is already sold out), and various other one-off gigs in North Carolina, Kansas, and Florida.
Meanwhile, the kudos continue. One local critic declared, “Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra is something like an utterly impossible dream of what Norwegian musicians can achieve—in an American style.” Another compared them to Nickel Creek and Alison Krauss & Union Station.
Having begun work on their second album, the sound seems to have evolved along the way. “It started with traditional songs and covers, but now it’s more 50-50,” Marqvardsen maintains. “We usually make videos where we perform covers and standards, while our recordings feature our original music. In concert, it’s always a mix, but it probably leans a little more towards original music.”
As before, Marqvardsen has a clear opinion as to why bluegrass continues to enjoy such universal appeal. “It’s because it’s real, raw, and acoustic,” he says. “That’s a real necessary contrast to most music that is happening today.”
