The Faroe Islands are a tiny archipelago located halfway between Norway and Iceland and is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The capital city, Tóshavn, receives the fewest recorded hours of sunshine of any city in the world. Known for its rugged, isolated terrain and subpolar climate, it’s from this environment that musician and vocalist Eivør Pálsdóttir, who performs professionally simply as Eivør, comes to us. Sunday night Eivør wrapped up her North American tour in the Washington, DC suburbs, performing to an enraptured crowd.
Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard, who performs professionally as Sylvaine, served as support on this tour. Sylvaine is the first woman to receive a Norwegian Grammy nomination for Best Metal Album. At the Fillmore, her music was less “metal” and more electrified Nordic folk (a term I just made up). Others have compared the sound to something from Middle Earth. It’s an apt comparison.
Sylvaine is ethereal and her voice is beautiful. Performing without a backing band, and sometimes without even an instrument, her set was a compact five songs. However, she captivated the (seated) crowd like a headliner would. The last song, “Eg Er Framand” so affected the Fillmore crowd that they were brought to their feet in a standing ovation. It brought her to tears as she waved goodnight. Sylvaine’s latest album is Eg Er Framand.
It’s been great to see Eivør’s fanbase in the DC area grow. She first performed at the Fillmore in 2022, during her very first US tour. Like Sunday night, it was a seated show. But while the crowd in 2022 was on the smaller side, Sunday night was a sellout.
Taking the stage at 9PM, Eivør had a backing band, the same Faroese musicians who play on her new album Enn: Per I, Højgaard Petersen, Mattias Kapnas, and Mikael Blak. Her set drew from across her 25-year career, but much of the setlist was made up of Faroese-language songs from her latest album.
The language difference imparts an otherworldly feel to the music—the songs are stunning, thick with mysticism. The Faroese “Hymn 49” was a traditional song from Eivør’s village of six-hundred residents. My old favorite “Í Tokuni” was featured towards the end of the set—dark and heavy, it wouldn’t be out of place at a metal show. The fans at the Fillmore—many of whom arrived in Nordic costume—loved it and I did too.
Eivør’s North American tour wrapped up in Silver Spring. She picks up again in Europe next month, beginning that tour in Helsinki.
SYLVAINE
