Nynäskalaset was set to run as a two-day music festival in central Nynäshamn on August 7-8, with a rock-leaning line-up for the Friday and more pop for the Saturday. The line-up included headlining names like The Hellacopters, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Molly Sandén and Petra Marklund. But to the disappointment of many music fans, just days before the festival gates were supposed to open, the whole thing was cancelled and the organisers announced they would be filing for bankruptcy. They had quite simply not sold enough tickets and the 25-artist line-up may have been a bit too ambitious to pull off.
After the collapse of Nynäskalaset, some of the booked artists refused to let the weekend go to waste. Tess Merkel of Alcazar fame, and Martin Rolinski, formerly of BWO, started reaching out to venues in town to get something organised for the same weekend. Their efforts merged with a fast-moving local push led by the association of Nynäshamn town centre businesses, the Stadskärneföreningen.
The association helped pull together what became known as Centrumfesten. They managed to get the local Culture House as the venue for the party on Saturday the 8th August. The permits and bureaucracy did take some time, but everything was in place in just a few days. So many people in Nynäshamn joined their forces and made this happen together, showing a wonderful community spirit.
When the day came, the line was circling long around the town centre. Anyone with a ticket to Nynäskalaset had priority entrance, but in the end all the people who had been queuing made it inside for the party.
Charlie South opened the afternoon’s party. Then Tess Merkel and Martin Rolinski brought along their full band, as well as guest artists Annikafiore, also formerly of Alcazar, and young Melodifestivalen alumn Arwin. Tess also brought her son and daughter on stage with her.
Below you can find pictures of the concert by our photographer Jytte Lindberg.
Charlie South got the party started.
The atmosphere was lovely and the people were clearly enjoying the event and feeling a sense of community.
Then it was time for Alcazar vs. BWO, that is Tess Merkel and Martin Rolinski with their band and their guests.
Tess and Martin were joined by Annikafiore, who used to be in Alcazar with Tess more than 20 years ago.
They were also joined by Arwin as well as Tess’s daughter.
And the party continued with more of Tess and Martin.
All photos © Jytte Lindberg
Text: Nina Uddin
