Music & Language is the theme for the 35th anniversary of Førdefestivalen , July 2-6. -We experience this as a very relevant topic at a time when the world is more turbulent than it has been in a long time, and where language and rhetoric are helping to create polarization, says festival director Sølvi Lien . Both language and folk music say something about where we belong, a cultural address label that creates identity. It is exactly 85 years since the invasion of Norway, and culture is now part of the report to the Storting on total preparedness in our country. Societies rich in art and culture give us the ability to see multiple perspectives, and create a common identity that acts as a unifier and preventive against war.

On Førdefestivalen The audience gets to listen to music they have never heard before and sing in languages they do not understand. Yet the music speaks to them and tells stories from all over the world. -This has been the case for all 35 years we have been organizing the festival, and we know that many people come because they experience this unifying power of folk music, says the festival director.

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