Nisswa Stamman Scandinavian Folk Music Festival
"What the heck is Nisswa-stämman?"
Nisswa is an Ojibwa word and, of course, the name of one of the prettiest little hamlets in northern Minnesota. Stämman is a Swedish word for a "bunch of people playing music together". The conjunction of the two words is almost poetic!
Nisswa-stämman is a gathering of fiddlers, nyckelharpers, hardingfele players, accordionists, guitarists, vocalists, (you get the idea), dancers, and general aficionados of Scandinavian folk music here in the "new world". Folk musicians love to have an audience for their art,and a "spelmansstämma" provides the natural canvas for this happy co-mingling of folks. See our Performers page for a complete list.
Paul Wilson is a Scandinavian folk musician and the leader and chief bottlewasher of a couple of folk music groups in the area called Skålmusik and Skål Klubb. Paul and his wife Mary Abendroth spent 6 weeks bumming around in Scandinavia in the summer of 1999, attending "spelmansstämmor" and musician's gatherings wherever they could find them.
They had so much fun that Paul thought, "You know, I know lots of Scandinavian folk musicians right here in Minnesota and nearby! Why can't we do something like that here?" Paul approached the city of Nisswa with the concept of hosting the event. Their response was unanimous... "Great! - you do it."
