Rita Engedalen has long since been crowned “Norway’s Queen of the Blues.” With her beautiful voice, she tells stories based on her own life or strong female figures in the blues, and her musical journey takes her down dusty country roads in the Appalachians and the Mississippi Delta rather than along busy highways.
In 2010, she received the Notodden Blues Award, and two years later she followed that up with a victory in the European Blues Challenge. Several performances on the main stage at the Sunflower Blues & Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi—most recently in 2016—are also among the highlights of her career. “She’s got power, but she doesn’t let herself be tempted to go full Janis. For a blues vocalist, it’s just as important to know when to hold back. That’s the only way to achieve credibility in this industry,” wrote Dagbladet’s Fredrik Wandrup aptly about her 2004 debut “Hear My Song.”
Rita has performed at Dark Season Blues several times and in various lineups, including with the project Damer i blues. She is now focusing on her solo career, and she’s coming to Svalbard with her own band, consisting of her longtime collaborator Morten Omlid (acoustic and electric guitar), as well as Dan Magnusson (drums and percussion) and Bård Gunnar Moe (bass). They will perform songs from the brand-new album “Sun Will Come” and highlights from throughout her career.
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