Man in knee-length pants as a headbanger?

Folk music, jazz and rock can't possibly have anything in common, right? Gangar says no.

By Eileen Sanchez-Ortiz

At the Market for Music and Performing Arts, the band Gangar played, which is known for its unique music choices. The way the five guys have managed to mix traditional tones and melodies with rock and jazz probably amazes everyone, even myself. I was actually a little skeptical about whether this would sound good, but I was completely wrong. My expectations for this band were low because I didn't think it would sound good, but they managed to deliver. 

The way they present themselves is as creative as their music. Traditional knee-length trousers with a rock t-shirt get across exactly what they want to say. What I got the impression they wanted to say is that even though something is old, it doesn't mean it can't be used, and that it's always possible to make something new out of it.

Their stage for this performance has realistic plastic trees, which I feel represent Norwegian nature. The way they dance and mess around with each other makes you want to join in – and you almost do, because they engage the audience in several different ways, both verbally and physically. For example, when they opened a mosh pit and people danced and had fun, or when they got the audience to sing along to songs.

The way the lights flashed and the musicians moved around was amazing. They were full of energy and humor. Not only were they jumping around, but they were also dancing traditional dances and it was very artistic. Finally, Hardanger fiddle player Mattias Truell Thedens did a good old-fashioned hallingkast – it was a beautiful ending.

Overall, this was an unforgettable evening! I left with lots of good memories of the people around me and on stage.

What a concert!

Gangar strikes with a fantastic mix of Norwegian folk music and updated rock. Gangar shattered my very high expectations, and reminded me that in music and art, anything is possible.

By Amelia 

What I saw at the concert was a lot of energy, movement, and a lot of joy. I never thought folk music and rock could sound so good together, but Gangar managed to mix it perfectly with everything that you should be able to do in a band. They do it absolutely fantastically, and they can become world famous if they continue. What I experienced was bright lights, loud music, and a great atmosphere, Gangar has a lot to offer and they are really good at making the audience smile, dance, and have rhythm in their whole bodies.

What fascinated me most during the concert was that they had such incredibly good energy on stage. They got the audience involved, they had a lot of movement and empathy for their own music. They headbanged, and they had a mosh pit where they got more people involved, including me. Gangar focuses a lot on keeping folk music and not just turning it into rock that is popular. They try to keep what traditional Norway has and turn it into something that more people want to hear about or listen to.

One boring thing about the concert was that they had a lot of music in the background while they were explaining more about folk music, and it was hard to hear what they were saying. But they made a lot of it, and had good energy. Now I'm not entirely Norwegian myself and not that fond of boring and calm music, so this was new and exciting. 

Gangar digs deep into folk music, and tries to make some of the most famous songs popular again, as they write on their own page About Gangar . They played their first concert in 2021 in Oslo. They have become quite famous and have had concerts all over Europe. There were five of them, and they had instruments such as: bass, guitar, drums, saxophone, and violin. They wore Norwegian men's national costumes with rock shirts over them, and just had their own style in general. 

When they first entered the stage, they welcomed the audience, and then they immediately played some welcome music. It was a quiet start. After that, they went straight to the point, introduced themselves and explained a little about how they wanted to preserve folk music. It was a medium-sized hall, with lots of energy, and lots of people who were engaged in the music. I think Gangar captures a lot of Norwegian hearts with how they preserve the music and tradition in the lyrics. I could hear that it was folk music through the fact that there were lyrics in old-fashioned Norwegian that I didn't understand. I also understood that it was rock that was the music because of the instruments and how people on stage reacted to it. But I didn't like that the saxophone and violin drowned out the other instruments so you couldn't hear the guitar, bass guitar and drums as well. I feel like this is a concert for people aged 13 and over. I feel like younger children would have just gotten lost, and maybe not felt completely at home in the large audience Gangar has. 

I had very high expectations, and Gangar met them all. What struck me the most was that they had a mosh pit. Many around me were surprised and happy about it, and it really struck me that I got to be a part of something so nice. The audience could have done a little better by being more active, but other than that, the whole atmosphere and the music were absolutely perfect.

Gangar have their own way of taking something that is already great and making it even better than it was, they can light up a song in their own way. What they have to offer is absolutely amazing, and I'm sure they can become really big one day. As I said, they are quite famous around Europe already. But maybe they can become a world-famous band sometime in the future.