Hellbillies
Hellbillies were hugely successful when they closed the Notodden Blues Festival with a night concert two years ago. Local people and visiting audiences filled Hovigs Hangar to the brim, and gathered to sing along to the band's most famous songs in front of the big stage.
This time Hellbillies will play in the late afternoon/early evening. With that, they will also be possible to experience for those in the audience who can't bear to stay up until well past midnight to experience one of Norway's biggest favorite bands. There will be every reason to get out early on "Blues Saturday" at Notodden this summer.
Hellbillies are by far one of Norway's best live bands, and their popularity only continues to increase as time goes on. Hellbillies were a success right from the start in 1990 with hit songs, strong record sales and sold-out concerts. Now they have remained in the top echelon of Norwegian music for more than 30 years. They have delivered an endless number of hit songs, 17 record releases that have all sold gold and they have played several thousand concerts all over the country.
Hellbillies have sold over one million records, and new generations are constantly discovering their many contributions to the Norwegian song treasure. A recent example of this is the shooting star Emma Steinbakken, who interpreted the Hellbillies classic "Eg gløymer deg aldri" into the NRK hit show Rådebank, and who topped both the radio and streaming charts with "Eg gløymer deg aldri" for a long time.
Hellbillies have been honored and respected for their ability to fuse American and Norwegian musical traditions with a distinctive character that means there is never any doubt that it is Hellbillies you are hearing. Not least, the texts of Arne Moslåtten have had great significance. With originality and a high literary level, the lyrics, together with the music of Aslag Haugen and Lars Håvard Haugen, have become an important part of Norwegian cultural life. This has made Hellbillies a role model for many bands within their genre. They are therefore not only bearers of tradition, but also to the highest degree creators of style within Norwegian musical life.