Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra nominated for Norwegian Grammy

The Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra, based in Oslo, has received a Norwegian Grammy nomination for their debut album, Migrants.

An unusually large congregation, HBO contains eight members – hence the orchestra in the name – and also has an unusual genesis. Vocalists Rebekka Nilsson and Joakim Borgen were not bluegrass fans, but were converted together at a screening of the Belgian film, Broken Circle Breakdown, which contained music from Dan Tyminski and Alison Krauss. The film likewise tells the story of a couple play together in a bluegrass band. So what else were Rebekka and Joakim to do?

They pulled together a group of musical friends and started rehearsing. After just a few weeks, they shot a live video of their arrangement of the classic song, Wayfaring Stranger, and posted it online. That video received 10,000,000 views, and got them 40,000 subscribers, so they knew they had something special.

The Orchestra was an invited Bluegrass Ramble act at World of Bluegrass 2021, which they performed virtually with an actual live recording of a theater show, the highly-stylized album release concert for Migrants.

Last month Migrants received the nomination for Spellemannprisen, known as the Norwegian Grammy, in the Country category.

Members of Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra include Nilsson and Borgen as primary songwriters and vocalists, Moa Meinich on fiddle, Sjur Marqvardsen on accordion, Ole André Enggrav on guitar, Emil Brattested on reso-guitar, Magnus Eriksrud on banjo, and Jonas Wøien Olsen on bass. Their music combines their original compositions with the sounds of Appalachian traditions, alongside Celtic and Norwegian folk music.

Congratulations on the nomination and best of luck!

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John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.