The trio Geitungen presents tunes that were once popular with party-goers in the hinterland of Rogaland county, tunes that were dance-floor favorites – the hits of yesteryear. Geitungen play the tunes in the rhythmic fashion that they were played then and there. The three musicians’ fiddles, melodeon, mandolin, hardanger fiddle, mandola, and guitars combine to color the soundboard. The expression is straightforward and the music ranges from cozy, warm mazurka to hotheaded hopsars and plaintive waltzes, sometimes with elements of more contemporary music styles in the arrangements. With their capricious and compelling playing, Geitungen take you back, far out to the poorly lit dance floors of the more festive parts of rural Rogaland.

Geitungen has released three albums so far, Langt Ute (2010), Bra Kast (2005) and Vaniljesaus (2001). The two last ones are released on Grappa’s folk music label Heilo. Langt ute is a follow-up to the album Bra Kast which won a Norwegian Folk Music Award in 2005 for best album in the open/experimental class. Bra Kast featured traditional tunes from all over Rogaland, while Langt Ute concentrates chiefly on the Bjerkreim tradition. 

Geitungen consists of:

Vidar Skrede

– hardanger fiddle, fiddle, and guitars

He freelances both performing and teaching Nordic traditional music, and he is part of numerous bands and projects both in Scandinavia and in America. He has a master’s degree in Nordic folk music from the Royal School of Music in Stockholm. Vidar moved to the USA in 2016 and now lives in Milwaukee WI.
www.vidarskrede.com

Olav Christer Rossebø

– fiddle, mandolin, mandola, and guitar

Olav Christer has a bachelor degree of Music Performance in traditional Norwegian folk at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with the fiddle as the main instrument. Through numerous field trips and tours in the US, he has also immersed himself in American Old-time music on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. Olav Christer is known from other bands like ‘Lady Hardanger’, ‘Earlybird Stringband’, ‘Frøkedal og Familien’, and ‘Bergen Mandolinband’.

Håvard Ims

– two-row melodeons


Håvard is a former Norwegian champion on melodeon and has won several traditional music competitions in Norway (kappleik). Besides music, he is a full-time family doctor in Sandnes.

These three fellows met as teenagers and have been playing together since 1997, which makes Geitungen a band over 20 years old, and one of the oldest Norwegian folk music bands existing of today. Together they have been playing for dances, concerts, and tours all over northern Europe, Canada, and the USA. They also have been seen and heard on TV and radio in several countries and had their own live concert at ‘Studio 19’ on NRK’s (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) radio.

Geitungen is in the front line of Norwegian folk musicians inspired by their time of today and the tradition. They represent a living expression and offer the tradition a fresh breath straight into the ear.