The Storytelling Festival is set to receive a powerful and long-awaited addition with Sara Parkman as one of the featured performers. As one of the country’s most innovative and expressive folk musicians, she weaves together tradition and the contemporary. On October 15, she will finally take the stage at Sara Kulturhus.
–Sara Parkman is one of Sweden’s best live performers and an incredible person, so it’s like a dream to have her at the Storytelling Festival. She’s a maverick in exactly the way we need today—by showing solidarity and warmth through her artistry. Some of my best moments of togetherness and euphoria have come through Sara Parkman’s voice and music. She’s a force of nature with roots in folk music. It feels incredibly wonderful that she’s finally coming to Skellefteå!, says Johanna Salander, artistic director at Västerbottensteatern.
By both questioning and embracing traditions so unabashedly and thoughtfully, Sara Parkman has created her own musical universe, and in doing so has become the biggest name in contemporary Swedish folk music.
When her latest album, “Eros Agape Philia,” was released in October 2022, it was met with rave reviews. Nöjesguiden awardeditits highest rating and wrote:“It’s folksy, mysterious, powerful, and modern.” Gaffa, which gave it a rating of five out of six, wrote:“A much-needed counterpoint to those who believe that folk music belongs in a local history museum.” The albummarked Sara Parkman’s major breakthrough and topped DN’s album chart for no fewer than five weeks.
Over the years, Sara Parkman has received multiple awards at the Folk and World Music Gala, been awarded the Dagens Nyheter Culture Prize, named Best Live Act of the Year at the Manifest Gala, and honored as Folk Music Artist of the Year at the Grammis Gala. In addition to her album success, she has also completed several sold-out tours and made a guest appearance at Jill’s Veranda in Nashville.
In the summer of 2023, Sara Parkman embarked on an extensive tour of Sweden and Norway, including the Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm and Way Out West in Gothenburg. She also won the award for “Folk Music of the Year” at the 2023 Grammis Awards.
Sara Parkman’s concert is the artist’s first at Sara Kulturhus and also the result of a successful collaboration between Västerbottensteatern and Kulturhusbolaget, which delights Sofia Andersson Lundberg, program director at Sara Kulturhus;
– The Storytelling Festival is one of the biggest highlights of the year at Sara Kulturhus. We’re really looking forward to taking part and featuring an artist who fits perfectly into the context!
