Haukelifestivalen, Foto: Kjell Bitustøyl

Earlybird Stringband is Norwegian 6 piece band playing original acoustic singer/songwriter music from a bluegrass point of view. They've been gained critical acclaim by audiences, musicians and critics for their style of music, and was recently nominated for a Norwegian grammy award for their debut album.

Among us, in our band, there's different tastes in every side of life. Some like fish, some like to fish. Some are city slickers, some can't even stand to live in the city. But one thing we can all agree on - when you need to unwind, you leave for a remote location. Alot of these places wouldn't be interesting for anyone else to visit - because they really could be by any lake in any country. (And because we don't want anyone else to know about them.) But some of these places are unique, and we would believe them to be just as beautiful to us as to anyone else. We would like to recommend Haukeliseter.

Haukeliseter is situated up in the southern mountains between Oslo and Bergen. It's above tree level, and there's snow in the peaks all year. You can go hiking or skiing, depending on the season, and really get some peace. If you are just driving by, stopping here to eat is also nice, because they serve real food with real ingredients.

And also, more specific, we'd like to recommend the Haukeliseter festival, which is a folk music festival in the middle of June. We played at this festival in 2007. It stands as an unforgetable experience. Great concerts of folk music and beyond, amazing food, amazing scenery, friendly people, hot tub and ice bathing, workshops in food, drinking songs, dancing, handcrafts, and jam's that last from dusk 'till dawn.

You can rent a room in a Snuffy Smith-like cabin, or you can bring a tent and camp by the lake. If you don't manage to enjoy yourself here, we've never met your kind of person.

Haukeliseter's Website

Haukeliseter festival