Unmistakably Nordic in flavor, Sofia Talvik somehow still conforms to American interpretations of her own original music, a North Sea siren blending sparkle and melancholy, creating a special niche of folk music.
The 2020 Spring tour, aptly named after my new album “Paws of a Bear”, has just begun! Last night we did a soft start in Albuquerque, NM and from here the tour will take us through Texas to SxSW and a lot of other fun concert venues, through LA, MS, AL and down to Florida.
Lil’Chief is getting some updates so we don’t wake up on the hood of the car!
Lil’Chief is getting some updates too. From previous owners he had some water leaks which has made the floor in the cab-over a bit wobbly. White Trash MacGyver has spent the last few days ripping it out and building new support and floor, with the help of our generous hosts Eric and Wendy Bardrof, also photographers extraordinaire. When you see Wendy’s pic you realize why New Mexico’s slogan is “Land of enchantment”.
Land of enchantment – photo by Wendy Bardrof
I’m also very excited to have my pedal steel genius Tim Fleming with me for select shows in Texas. He will join me from Dallas to SxSW and Houston.
I hope you all had a wonderful 2019 and that 2020 will be even better. I am starting the first day of this new year with releasing a free download of a song I recently recorded. For my crowdfunder for “Paws of a Bear” one of the perks was “I will record your song”. My good friend, artist and house concert host extraordinaire John Casey supported my new album by buying this particular perk. He sent me his song “Six Nights Alone”, a very Dylan-esque tune before I got my hands on it and turned it in to an Americana slow-dance instead. With John’s permission I am now sharing the result with all of you. Thank you for the beautiful music you gave me to work with John!
Is 2019 really only been one year? It feels like it’s been going on forever. And not in a bad way. We started out with my “World Tour” which took us through Europe to New Zealand, to the U.S and back to Europe.
And of course most of all this year has been colored by my new album “Paws of a Bear” which was released in September. Even that feels like long ago now, even though it’s barely 3 months ago, because there has been so much around it. The first single from the album “Take me Home” charted on Folk Radio Charts in the top 10 for several months before the album was released.
When the release was nearing lots of amazing sites and publications helped it along by premiering my songs. Billboard hyped my video for “Blood Moon”:
“Paws of a Bear, appropriately, finds Talvik taking a more Americana-flavored approach — influenced by Jason Isbell, Valerie June and others.”
Billboard.com
And when the album was finally released it sailed in on the top lists on Roots Music Report top 50 folk albums, Euro Americana Charts and Folk Radio US. And to close out the year, the readers over at Americana Highways voted my album as no 3 on the top 100 Americana albums this year, in amazing company of artists like Willie Nelson, Mandoline Orange, Mavis Staples and many more names I’d never imagine ending up on the same list as.
Looking forward to 2020 I will start my “Paws of a Bear”-tour and do two longer tours in the U.S and am already confirmed as an official artist for SxSW in March. But first I will celebrate Christmas with my family, eat too much food, sleep in, and hopefully get my car fixed (which broke down yesterday on the way home from my last concert of the year).
Looking forward to seeing you all next year at my shows, and on Facebook, Instagram and wherever you get your musical fix. Don’t forget to follow me on Spotify to get the latest releases! Happy Holidays!
It’s cold and dark which means it’s time for my annual Winter Tour here in Europe where I don’t have to worry about Lil’Chief sliding off the road. Starting November 29th I’m doing 13 concerts around Germany. Some solo, some with my band (Martin and Regina, on Bass and Violin) and one special Celtic evening with Andy Lang.
On my Winter Concerts you can of course pick up the new album “Paws of a Bear” as well as the Christmas album “When Winter Comes” in both regular and deluxe versions.
Check out all the dates here, and head over to sofiatalvik.com/gigs for all info about times and tickets.
Very excited that Americana Highways are premiering my NEW Christmas single today! Head over there to check out “Christmas Train” which will be officially released on Sunday as a FREE download:
“Sofia Talvik’s dark take on the Christmas season is refreshing as a counterpart to the frivolity of the looming season. Turn it up!”
