Tribute concert to Morten Omlid

An impressive star gallery of Norwegian artists gathers for a concert to honor the musician Morten Omlid who passed away in November 2023. Kåre Virud, Reidar Larsen, Petter Baarli, Spoonful of Blues, Rita Engedalen with band, Damer i Blues, Margit Bakken, Notodden Blues Band , R & B Express, Spoonful of Stones, Bård Ose, Mads Eriksen, Bård Gunnar Moe, Knut Hem, Espen Liland, Oddbjørn Holla, Trym Innleggen Hagalia, Anne Gravir Klykken, Mattis Kleppen are among the musicians who immediately agreed to take part to honor Morten Omlid during the Notodden Blues Festival 2024.  

The musicians are all friends of Morten Omlid and have had various musical collaborations with him over the years. The long list shows what position Omlid had in the industry and what a range of genres there was over Morten's musical journey. Here there is blues, rock and folk music in a beautiful combination. 

Notodden Blues Festival has, together with the working group in "Somliga går med trasig skor", worked for a long time so that the free solidarity concert that ends the Notodden Blues Festival this year will be a tribute concert to the musician and music teacher Morten Omlid.

Morten Omlid, who passed away suddenly in November, has meant a lot to the Notodden Blues Festival as a musician over the years; as conductor in many national and international musical projects organized by the festival, as subject teacher at Little Stevens Blues School, musical director for the festival's own project band Notodden Roadshow and as a long-standing member of the festival's program committee. NBF awarded Morten Omlid the Blues Prize in 2007, and in 2022 he received a star on the Notodden Blues Walk of Fame.  

The free solidarity concert "Somliga går med trasiga skor" in collaboration with LO and the Norwegian trade union movement has become a tradition and an important part of the Notodden Blues Festival event. The concert gathers several thousand spectators every year. Morten Omlid was bandmaster and musically responsible for several of these concerts. He was also used as a musician in LO contexts on several occasions.

Omlid has also been significant for the project "Somliga går med trasiga skor" where he has been used as a musician and bandmaster in several contexts. "It will be nice to honor Morten together and together with the audience thank him for his great importance to Norwegian blues. We are very happy to be able to do this together with the blues festival", says the working group in "Somliga går med trasiga skor".

The magazine Blues News wrote about Omlid: - Morten Omlid has had many roles in the music community, not only as a band musician, but also as a composer, bandmaster, guitar teacher and not least in positions of trust in the organized blues community and as a class teacher at the blues line at the university and at the cultural school in hometown. For several decades he has been a role model for guitarists and played an important role in the development of Norwegian blues.

Morten Omlid was an unusually strong force and prime mover in the music community at Notodden. 
He was the backbone of the traditional blues in Norway and a prominent musician nationally for more than 40 years. Omlid was also very involved in training young musicians. He also served as general manager of the Norwegian Blues Union for ten years from the start until 2007.    

- Morten was one of the rare ones and a boon to us and many others, say Rita Engedalen and Jostein Forsberg, who are both musically responsible on behalf of the Notodden Blues Festival and the working group "Somliga går med trasiga skor". - We look forward to being able to honor Morten together with good and talented music friends in Hovigs Hangar as the end of this year's festival, the two say. 

The solidarity concert "Somliga går med trasiga skor" 2024.
A tribute concert to Morten Omlid
Sunday 4 August at 1pm in Hovigs Hangar

Participating musicians and bands:

• Kåre Virud
• Reidar Larsen
• Petter Baarli
• Spoonful of Blues
• Jostein Forsberg  
• Eskil Aasland
• Tony Caddle
• Øystein Ytterbø
• Jens Fjelle
• Rita Engedalen
• Ladies in Blues
• Margaret Bakken
• Aspen Liland
• Notodden Blues Band
• Trond Ytterbø
• Jørn Pedersen
• Jørn Øystein Johansen
• Torgeir Hefre
• Pål Øymo
• R&B Express
• Espen Fjelle
• Jens Haugen
• Olav Gustavsson
• Spoonful of Stones
• Bård Ose
• Mads Eriksen
• Knut Hem
• Bård Gunnar Moe
• Oddbjørn Holla
• Trym Inglegen Hagalia
• Anne Gravir Klykken
• Mattis Kleppen

With the reservation that changes may occur.