From the Promoter

How often do you get to hear the nyckelharpa? Great folk music from Sweden.

Featuring:
Emma Björling – vocals
Anna Lindblad – fiddle
David Eriksson – nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle)
Petrus Johansson – guitar
Martin Norberg – percussion

With great voices, fiddle, nyckelharpa, guitar and percussion Lyy’s concerts might be characterized as: playful communication, heavy grooves, joy and humor. Their performance has been described as: “... the complete entertainment experience. They play beautiful traditional music, poke fun at themselves, and make friends in the process.” Tim O’Brien
Lyy’s repertoire consists of traditional music and self-penned material with a swinging flow, beautiful love songs, medieval ballads, and comical stories in a highly entertaining show. All arrangements are performed with energy, preciseness and a good sense of humor.

Lyy was formed in 2006 and their third album was released January 2016. Baltic Briefing chose the first album as “Best CD of the year” and Lyy has been nominated for the Swedish Folk music awards.

Martin Norberg grew up in a family where folk and world music played a large role. His father is a famous Balkan clarinet player, and Martin started playing saxophone and percussion at an early age. Martin studied at Ingesund College of Music, he holds university degrees in saxophone, both jazz and folk music, and percussion. Martin works as a teacher at Ingesund College of Music, at a music school and also as a freelance musician. He has played with musicians such as Orientexpressen, Lasse Sörlin, Nils Landgren and Lagayla Frazier.

Emma Björling has been singing in choirs since the age of six, and studying both jazz and classical music before following her heart back to the traditional music she first heard her grandfather play on the fiddle. She holds university degrees in Swedish traditional music (Royal College of Music in Stockholm), voice pedagogy, music theory and ensemble teaching (Ingesund College of Music). Besides singing with Lyy, Emma teaches at a folk music college and at The Department of Music and Media in Piteå, conducts workshops in traditional Swedish music, writes arrangements for choirs and vocal groups, and is a member of the vocal groups Kongero and Baravox. She has also toured extensively with the well-known Swedish folk band Ranarim.

Petrus Johansson got his interest in music from his father, who was a professional flute player. Petrus started playing guitar and bass, mostly jazz and rock, when he was quite young. During his University studies he met Emma, and together they started playing Swedish traditional music. This led to a greater interest in the guitar as a folk music instrument, using it to provide bass lines. He is a trained guitar and bass teacher and has worked at Ingesund College of Music and several music schools. He also works as a freelance musician and has played with Mats Berglund, Svante Turesson and others.

Anna Lindblad developed an interest for the Swedish traditions through her parents at an early age. When she started playing the fiddle at age 9, she had already been doing traditional Swedish dancing for several years. In 2003 Anna received the honorary title Riksspelman for her traditional fiddle playing. She now holds a Bachelors degree, and a Masters degree in Swedish traditional music, both at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. During her Bachelors degree Anna spent a year as an exchange student at the Irish World Academy of Music in Limerick, Ireland and has also travelled several times to Quebec, where she nurtures her great love for Quebecois traditional music. She also plays in the bands Pelios, Folk All-in Band (FAB), Lindblad & Co, and Lily Mountain Band.

David Eriksson’s parents brought him with them to all their gigs with their dance orchestra from the earliest possible moment. He started singing and playing the piano early on, and discovered the nyckelharpa after listening to Nordman and other Swedish folk rock acts. From that moment he was hooked. He’s studied at Eric Sahlström Institute for nyckelharpa, and continued with a Bachelors degree and pedagogy degree at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He has received several scholarships and awards, and is one of the top nyckelharpa players in Sweden. He works as a teacher and a freelance musician.