Norah Jones is a world-acclaimed singer, songwriter and pianist who has won ten Grammy Awards throughout her career. What started with the early success of her first album, Come Away with Me in 2002, evolved into a versatile music repertoire with a unique touch and relevance up until today. The ongoing tour is a celebration of her fruitful career, focusing on Visions, Norah Jones’ ninth solo studio album, developed during the early stages of the 2020 pandemic lockdown.
There are many ways to enjoy the long Swedish summer nights: taking a swim in a sunlit lake, cosying up on your little yard, having a full-on BBQ or eating your weight in seasonal strawberries. If you can’t tick off at least three out of four, what are you doing? 😉
And of course, when the rainy days take over, most of the Swedish locals go back to the basics and set up the fair of homeliness as we do for most of the year. Often mixed with guilt and summer FOMO, the stress levels rise when everything seems to be idyllic and yet the sun is missing!
Norah Jones’ decision to take on open-air venues and help the Swedes alleviate their troubles is such a welcome move – if the good weather doesn’t come to you, you suck it up and keep moving! While she doesn’t perform live as much as the fans would love her to, this summer Norah Jones hosted two concerts in Sweden, and I had the pleasure of attending the first one in Dalhalla, a high-profile concert venue close to a little village called Rättvik in Dalarna. Not the easiest to access, but very easy to get mesmerised by. Picture this: high rocks of limestone, serene water around the stage, and tall trees surrounding the centre court of music lovers, inviting you to slow down.
The great expectations of a sunny summer night were left unmet, as Dalhalla welcomed the visitors with a portion of drizzle and heavy grey clouds. Then again, if one lets such casual things upset them, one might never enjoy the Nordic charms of summer.
The opening act was Sasha Dobson, a member of the alternative country trio Puss n Boots, together with Catherine Popper and Norah Jones herself. Dobson successfully managed to set the scene and warm up the audience with humour and folky tunes. Norah Jones supported Dobson on drums, showcasing one of her many musical talents. Later, Dobson returned the favour by playing guitar during Norah’s performance.
The main act started without further ado and immediately brought a feeling of warmth amidst the rain that makes you listen closely, not wanting to miss a beat. After the first song, Jones exclaimed to her band members, “Oh my, that’s something!”, quite possibly referring to the acoustic magic of the venue.
She projected the calmness coming from within onto the audience. While not super chatty between songs, Jones chose to speak through her music and let the acoustics do their job. That felt very much like a replay of her intimate livestreamed weekly concerts during the lockdown of 2020, bringing together the audience from all over the world.
Mixing top hits like Don’t Know Why and Happy Pills with newer tunes such as Running and All This Time, she kept a steady, vibrant energy throughout the performance, letting the audience enjoy the tracklist as one seamless composition.
As a conclusion: after nine albums and over twenty years of overwhelming success, Norah Jones is far from being done with the stage. Her passion for music and live performance keeps resonating with audiences of all ages. If anything, her timeless voice and evolving music style are here to stay, hopefully for a long while.
