Concerts in Bergen

Bergen offers year-round entertainment for young and old alike, from small clubs to the region’s flagship concert venue, the Grieg Hall.

Bergen International Festival, Nattjazz, Bergenfest, Bergen Live and a number of small and large concert organizers offer a wide variety of concerts throughout the year. More that a hundred Christmas concerts are being held in Bergen in the festival season.

The concerts are held in everything from small intimate venues, to the Grieg Hall and large outdoor concerts at Koengen right in the city center.

The popular outdoor stage has hosted some of the biggest artist like Metallica, Muse, Kanye West, David Guetta, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters - the list could continue indefinitely.

Bergen has produced many famous musical figures such as classical composers Edvard Grieg and Harald Sæverud, and violin virtuoso Ole Bull. They lived at Troldhaugen, Siljustøl and Lysøen, respectively, and their homes are now open to the public.

Live concerts are also held there, and there are daily lunchtime concerts all summer at Troldhaugen.

Concerts are also held in other venues, including: the Grieg Hall, USF Verftet, Hulen, Madam Felle, Ole Bull Scene, and the Kulturhuset i Bergen. Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra gives weekly concerts in the Grieg Hall from August to June.

As a City of Culture, Bergen can also boast about an innovative and trendy music and design scene. Bands have emerged on Bergen’s music scene that have captured the imagination of the whole of Europe: Kygo, Alan Walker, Ylvis, Kings of Convenience, Röyksopp, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Kurt Nilsen and Sondre Lerche, to mention just a few.

The city’s musical traditions also include Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which was started as early as 1765 and is Europe’s oldest orchestra of its kind. Norway’s first permanent theatre, Den Nationale Scene, was founded in Bergen in 1850.

Together with 60 other festivals and topflight concerts, the highly-reputed Bergen International Festival, held every year in May and June, means that the Bergen region has a natural place on the world’s musical map.