Good audience contact

Kajsa Balto is a Sami artist who grew up and lives in Oslo. She mostly speaks Norwegian, but sings and jokes in Sami to preserve the language. In the band they use drums, cello and guitar. Kajsa Balto is the vocalist, Ragnhild Tronsmo plays cello, Aleksander Sjølie on guitar and Aleksander Kostopoulos plays drums and percussion.

We thought the setup was good and that the songs were structured in a nice and smooth way. We think that the music in the background while she was talking kept it from being too awkward or boring. The story behind the songs was well described and formulated well.

She talked about her family and spoke a little about Sami culture.

Since the age group the concert is intended for is 6-12 years, we talked to some music fans of that age who watched the concert. They thought it was pretty good, but it was a bit monochrome and they prefer something with a bit of a kick. One of the people we spoke to was actually Sami and said that it was a bit different from other Sami joik he had heard before. This was because she sang more about herself and her story compared to other Sami artists he'd heard singing about more general things like politics and things you can relate to. They also liked the way she told the stories behind the songs, and thought she talked just long enough about it. 

In the last song, Kajsa got the audience to try and joke along with her. It worked quite well and many people sang along. She had good contact with the audience and was good at making eye contact with the children.

For us, there was perhaps a little too much talking and too careful an explanation, but it's very suitable for younger children who may not pick things up as quickly. We might not have gone to a concert with them again, but it was cool to see, and we don't regret seeing it.