Blum & Haugaard Band
Denmark’s number 1 folk diva, Helene Blum, and fiddler Harald Haugaard are firmly established as two of the finest interpreters and innovators in the Danish musical tradition, bringing to life the nation’s cultural heritage at the very highest level of artistry.
Their own songs and compositions sit beautifully alongside original interpretations of old songs and tunes from Denmark’s rich treasure trove. Their integrity is unrivalled, and their extraordinary virtuosity and stage-presence combine to make their concerts unforgettable. Backed by the incomparable Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band, they are one of the top acts on the new Danish folk music scene, and with 100 concerts a year, most of them outside of Denmark, they are also tireless ambassadors for Danish music and culture abroad. Since the band’s creation in 2008, they have consistently wowed audiences at festivals, concert halls, clubs and church concert venues throughout Europe, North America and Japan.
Cellist Kirstine Elise Pedersen, guitarist Mikkel Grue and percussionist Sune Rahbek complete Blum & Haugaard’s musical universe, clearly delighting in playing music that is able to bypass the brain to strike directly to the heart and reach right into the very soul of the audience. Their music is timeless, and yet it projects the past into the future; it is at the same time both familiar and strikingly innovative.
Jyske Vestkysten, the daily newspaper for the West Jutland coast, has described them as “a musical firework display”. The British newspaper The Telegraph describes Helene Blum as having “a haunting voice and transcending grace”, and the Danish music magazine Gaffa writes, of Haugaard’s album “Den Femte Søster”, that he “once again, absolutely nails it”
Helene Blum: voice and fiddle
Harald Haugaard: fiddle
Kirstine Elise Pedersen: cello
Mikkel Grue: guitars
Sune Rahbek: percussion
The band is also often joined by either Sebastian Bloch on guitar, Tapani Varis (Finland) or Mathæus Bech on double bass.
