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.
Sofia Talvik live at SXSW 2010 photo by Womens Radio
For the fourth year in a row I’m officially invited to play the SXSW festival in Austin, TX in March! I really look forward to coming back to Austin, as I couldn’t attend last year and SXSW is one of my favorite festivals. I have plenty of showcases so I look forward to seeing you all there. Here’s the current list of my gigs, stay tuned for updates:
Sofia Talvik @ Red Shed Tavern (part of Indie on air! Ascension Tour) Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 4:30pm
Sofia Talvik @ Hyatt Regency Austin Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 6:00pm
Sofia Talvik @ Backroads Austin Friday, March 16, 2012 at 2:00pm
Sofia Talvik @ Stephen F’s Bar Friday, March 16, 2012 at 12:00am
Sofia Talvik @ Wyndham Garden Hotel Friday, March 16, 2012 at 6:00pm
Sofia Talvik @ Wyndham Garden Hotel Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 6:00pm
I have two exciting things to announce! I’m playing at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX in March and here’s two ways you’ll be able to join me there! Firstly I’m going to be a part of “Discover Me @ Austin” which is a video interview made by Twenty.Me.
The Twenty.Me app is free from the iTunes store but is currently in BETA. Fans will be able to learn more about bands playing at SXSW by typing in the band name, in my case; SofiaTalvik@. There you can listen to my music and learn about the me, as well as get my SXSW schedule. The interview will be made on February 21st at 1pm CST on the Spreecast site.
Spreecast is a social video platform that lets people broadcast together and create shared experiences. In a Spreecast social video stream, up to four people at a time can interact face-to-face on screen, while hundreds of others can watch, chat, and participate by submitting comments and questions. The creator of a spreecast uses producer controls to determine who comes on camera and when. That means that if you want to come online and ask me questions for the interview you can create your own account and do that at Spreecast. You can join with your own spreecast or simply submit questions. The great thing is that it’s early enough for the US so that all you Europeans can join too. The local time in Sweden will be 8 in the evening.
So the second way you can join me at SXSW is actually by getting a free wristband. And here’s how you do that:
Sonicbids has an official party at SXSW and by voting for me once a day and helping me get to the top list I’ll get to play at the party. If you go vote for me now you have to chance to win TWO wristbands for the party!!!!
So today I received the official invite to SxSW 2012! I already have a couple of gigs lined up but will soon update my schedule with the official showcase as well. See you at southby!!!
We’ve been touring for little over a month now and gone from sunny Florida to cold North Carolina. I’ve overcome my fear of driving the RV and since Jonas fixed the cruise control I don’t mind driving at all. But there’s still one thing that scares me. What if the RV falls over. Every time we’re on a sharp curve on a highway exit I dread this. Even though Jonas says there’s no chance of that happening I still feel like it could happen.
Me and Jonas in our hoodies in the RV
After spending a few days in Savannah, GA (what a wonderful city!) I decided we had to buy bikes so we could bike whenever we came to a city like that. So we got one off Craig’s list and one from Walmart. For a few days the bikes were parked inside the RV and were taking up all the space we had. Because even if a bike is only $50 at Walmart, a bike rack for the RV is way more expensive. It doesn’t make sense at all, but we had to get one so we did. Only if we were to mount the bike rack we had to dismount the spare tire. So now instead of bikes we’ve had a hundred year old spare tire in the RV. No it didn’t fit into any of the storage compartments. Someone said we should put it under the bed but it’s old and smelly and had dead frogs and moss on it. So I don’t really think it’s going to be useful if we ever come to need a spare tire in the future.
The day after we got the bike rack and put the bikes on it we stayed in the parking lot behind the bar where I played in Charleston, SC and in the middle of the night I woke up of sounds and the RV rocking (you’d think it’s steady but it’s like a boat really). I looked out through the bedroom window and there was a guy trying to do something to the bikes, probably steal them. That’s not really something you want to wake up to. As soon as he saw my face in the window though he took off, but I couldn’t go back to sleep for hours and then I had nightmares the rest of the night.
Me on my bike in Winston-Salem
Everything got better once we came to Wilmington, NC and stayed a night with our friend Majsan. Wilmington is such a beautiful town. Actually all the towns we’ve been to since Savannah has been pretty great. We’re in in Winston-Salem, NC now and it’s beautiful. We’ve biked around the city which doesn’t have much of a city center but lots of beautiful houses. The gigs have all been great too. Sometimes one would wish for a larger audience, but at least the people who’ve shown up have been there to listen to me and that’s what’s important after all. I was pretty disappointed that SxSW didn’t come through with an official invite this year. I’ve been incited the last three years of which I’ve played two. And every time I’ve had to pay for expensive plane tickets and hotels for me and the band. So when I’m finally here, doing a great tour, having a new CD out January 31st, they don’t invite me. But I still have a few unofficial SxSW shows so if you’re going to be there you can still see me play.
Sofia Talvik and Suzanne Vega at SXSW 2010Sofia Talvik and Anna Christoffersson in LA
Today’s Florida playlist is songs by people I know or have met at one point or another! Enjoy!!
Florida – Playlist #5
Sofia Talvik – You plate your heart with gold
Kleerup feat Robyn – With every heartbeat
Suzanne Vega – Gypsy
Anna Christoffersson – Angel
Jonna Lee – The light
Sunshine – She’s got a fever
Sara Rumar – Just one of those days
