Kid Andersen & Lisa Andersen Band

This feels especially right since Kid and Lisa Andersen walked away with the coveted Spellemannprisen in the category for best blues album during the awards gala at Clarion Hotel the Hub on April 24th of this year. The album, titled "Spirits & Soul", is a double album where the two artists focus on their respective albums. Now, in good Notodden Blues Festival tradition, we can present the award winners in concert during the 2026 festival. 

The couple Kid & Lisa Andersen impressed a lot when they played during the "corona festival" we organized in 2021. At that time, they performed with a Norwegian band because we could not bring in artists from abroad, but Kid and Lisa were already in Norway. This time, Kid and Lisa's band will consist of American musicians from The Nightcats.
We all know the central position Kid Andersen has in the American blues scene. Lisa is not as well known here at home, but she has made a name for herself to a wide audience in the United States through notable TV appearances on popular programs such as "American Idol" and "Showtime at the Apollo". Lisa has been involved in more than 50 album recordings in the United States in recent years alone. 

We tend to attribute the unexplainable to magic, and there is a lot of magic in music. You can analyze melody, harmony and rhythm - it's all mathematics, but music is more than formulas. There is an inner source of magic. The passion of the human spirit and the even more indefinable quality: the soul. The sources of magic that come from outside the artist. The moment and space - time and space. All of these factors combine to create the magic of music, whether it's a concert or a recording.
Much of the recorded music that has defined each generation has come from the big studios in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, etc. But there have always been smaller studios outside the mainstream, often run by a single owner or producer who does it their way and punches way above their weight. Every era has had them. Places where all the elements of magic seem to be magnetically pulled together in a perfect storm in an unexpected place. The artist, the equipment, the space, and the producer with the talent, the taste, the skill, and the love to make magic happen.
Over the past decade or so, over 150 albums have come out of a small studio in a suburb of San Jose, California. Greaseland Studio, USA is one of these magical hubs. Run by a couple who live and breathe music: Christoffer “Kid” Andersen and Lisa “Little Baby” Leuschner. Kid is widely known in the blues world as a guitarist and producer – he and his catalog have been nominated for Blues Music Awards dozens of times. Now also, as mentioned, the Spellemannspris in Norway. Lisa is Greaseland’s not-so-secret weapon. Her voice can be heard on hundreds of recordings – a versatile, yet signature sound from the studio. They own the equipment, but the inner source of the magic they create there is love. The love of the music, the artists and the huge community of musicians that are drawn to them. Watching them work together is witnessing telepathy. Kid and Lisa have nurtured magic and guided dozens of other artists to awards and rave reviews every year. Now the two will be on stage together at Notodden, and we are really looking forward to it.