“When the factories shut down, every family was affected. They were dark, depressing times. The blues festival came out of that depression, and the first festival was in 1988. It probably resonated to people, a workers’ town like Notodden hit by such a blow. We started having concerts in the empty industry halls, and it resonated with people in Norway. The festival was a success from the beginning…”
For nearly four decades, the Notodden Blues Festival has made the small Norwegian city of 13,000 the international hot spot for blues fans and performers every summer. Notodden was designated in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site. However, it was the demise of that industrial heritage that gave birth to the festival in 1988.
Jostein Forsberg, a musician and former steel worker born and raised in Notodden, has served as the festival’s director since 1990. In his conversation with us, Jostein explains how the festival became a mainstay of the local economy after the industrial jobs vanished. One tangible result of the festival’s symbiotic relationship with the community was the construction of a new multi-purpose building along the shore of the Heddalsvatnet Lake. The Bibliotek includes a vast collection of blues recordings, books, and memorabilia, as well as a juke joint studio, performance space, and Little Steven’s Band Camp. It also serves as the town library.
Yeah, it stopped in the middle of the 1980s, and it was gone by 1987. I worked at the steel plant, the biggest factory in Notodden. They laid off people for a couple of years before they finally shut down. I lost my job there. I think we lost a little more than 1000 jobs in a couple of years, and it really hurt the whole community.
When the factories shut down, every family was affected. They were dark, depressing times. The blues festival came out of that depression, and the first festival was in 1988. It probably resonated to people, a workers’ town like Notodden hit by such a blow. We started having concerts in the empty industry halls, and it resonated with people in Norway. The festival was a success from the beginning and was even more successful every year for ten years, it was growing and growing.
Had blues been a popular genre in Norway before the festival?
Yes. In Notodden, we’ve had blues bands playing regularly and touring Norway since the middle of the 1970s, so there were blues bands from Notodden that were known throughout the country, and we were kind of known for having a blues scene in our little town long before the festival. People thought it was only natural that we started the festival.
I can’t imagine the enormity of the festival’s infrastructure, like that giant hangar. [The massive Hovigs Hangar, with its capacity of 6500, serves as the primary venue.] That goes up and comes down every year?
Yes, it’s time-consuming, and it gets expensive, but there’s nothing in this town that makes it natural to have a festival like this, so we have to build a town that is ready for all the music and people. It’s quite a complex festival to organize and put on, but then again, it’s part of the magic. It’s not like it’s out in a field somewhere. That would make sense economy wise, the infrastructure would be easier, but that’s not us.
I bet the restaurants are delighted to see the blues lovers come to town.
Yeah, the festival is very important for them so they can survive the whole year. The festival weekend is very important to everybody.
Do you have stories you like to tell about different things that have happened over the years?
I always remember my first year, 1990, I was on my way to pick up Charlie Musselwhite and his band at the airport. Driving to the airport, I listened to the national radio, and all of a sudden it came on the radio that this weekend the blues festival starts, and they have stars like Charlie Musselwhite. That was kind of cool.
I remember B.B. King back in 1997 when we had our tenth anniversary. He played two sold-out nights, and his luggage got lost, so he played in his traveling clothes. You know he was very particular about his apparel on stage, but he had to play in his traveling clothes. We had borrowed a Lucille from the local music store in case his guitar didn’t come, but it showed up at the last minute. We had a spare Lucille, and I got it signed afterwards, so it was good for something. Now it’s on display at the library.
Tell me about building the Bibliotek. When did that start?
That took a long time, at least ten years. It started as an idea in 1997, 1998, and it was opened in 2013. That’s a really great building, and the local community embraces it. In the beginning, it was pretty rough – should it be built or not? But now everyone loves it, and it’s used for a lot of purposes.
What was there before the library was built?
That’s where the factory I worked in was. It’s actually right there where the iron furnace was. I was working there then, and I’m working there now. That’s pretty amazing.
Did the city get on board with the project?
Yes, the government supported it with a lot of money, both the county and the city, and that support is mainly what made it possible. That wouldn’t have happened without the festival. A portion of the building is devoted to memorabilia, books, and resources having to do with blues, and there’s also the regular town library.
And then the music school is there on the third floor, and there’s two movie theaters. Plus, we have our festival offices there. We also have an old vintage juke joint studio. The mixing board is from the old Stax Studio in Memphis. In the Stax Museum, there is a missing board, a missing Audiotronics console, and it says that the sister board is in Norway somewhere. The tape machines are similar to what’s at Sun Studios. The Little Steven’s Band Camp students also work in the studio; they make recordings there as part of the project.
Why is it called Little Steven’s Band Camp?
We’ve been doing a blues band camp for kids since 1989 every year. I think it was 2015 that Little Steven came just to visit the festival, and we showed him the blues camp we had, and he fell in love with it. He wanted to contribute, so he came back the next year and the year after that and the year after that to participate. We use his name, and that helps to reach more people and musicians outside of Norway.
I talked to some of them there, and it was fun to watch them perform. I loved that they were right in the middle of the action. You’re going to see the kids one way or the other.
It’s very important for us to do that. Having them in the middle of the festival is great. They can be together, they can play together and learn from the teachers, experience all the action and be part of the action.
You have different professionals participate with the students.
This year we had Earl Thomas and Johnny Burgin. Next year I think Bob Stroger will be there and Bob Corritore, John Primer. We’re working on that.
Do you have any idea how many countries either the fans or performers come from?
I don’t know how many, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, England, Iceland, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Croatia. I don’t know if you know this – it takes 450 volunteers to make the festival. It is a volunteer festival; it’s not a commercial festival. If we have proceeds, it all goes back to the next festival. It’s not owned by anybody.
Is there anything else you want folks to know about your town, your festival?
The whole community gets behind it and it is crucial to have such support from the city and the local community. That means we have to take care of them and remember that we borrow the town for a week, and we deliver it back with a free concert on Sunday so they can experience some of the festival feeling.
