Canal Street (Arendal, Norway)

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Canal Street
Canal Street fyret.png
GenreAll genres
Location(s) Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway
Coordinates 58°28′56″N08°46′57″E / 58.48222°N 8.78250°E / 58.48222; 8.78250
Years active1996–present
FoundersMats Aronsen
Website canalstreet.no

Canal Street is an annual music festival in Arendal (Agder, Norway), established in 1996. [1]

Contents

The festival is known for its use of unusual venues, such as the Lille Torungen Lighthouse, the city's main graveyard, the island Merdø, and even the local landfill, Heftingsdalen. [1] [2] This is referred to as "Magical moments in unique places". [3]

The name stems from Arendal's history as a town of canals, with a nudge to the New Orleans street parades.

History

The festival was first presented in 1996 as Arendal Jazz & Blues Festival, and, for a long time, it was one of few Norwegian festivals in which jazz and blues were the main genres. Through the years, jazz remains a staple of the festival programme, though the genres rock and pop – and even the odd opera concert – have also been introduced. [1] [4]

The festival grew from a weekend event in 1996 to a full week in 2006, but has since remained a four-day event. [5] It has an unusual ownership structure, with originally two public – Arendal Municipality and Agder County Municipality – and two private – APL | NOV and Arendals Fossekompani – owners. In 2024, Agder County Municipality transferred its shares to Arendal Municipality, and the festival currently (2025) has three owners. [6]

Besides a full-time festival director and a couple of part-time employees for marketing and production, the festival relies solely on the efforts of volunteers. Each year, approximately 350 people from the area help with the stage setup, security, bar service, and various other duties. [7] [8] [9]

Canal Street was certified as a "green venue" in 2006 as one of the first festivals in Norway. [2] The festival joined the UN's Carbon Neutral Network and supported Earth Hour 2009. [10] [11]

Children's programme

Starting in 2008, the festival arranges daily concerts and activities for children, for free. [12] This is referred to as BarneStreet (Children's Street), and aims to present children for quality music and artists. [13] [14] [15]

Talent competition

The festival arranges a talent competition for youth between 15 and 25, where the winning band/artist gets to play on one of the main stages the following year. The competition, named UnderStreet, is judged by established musicians and the initiative is supported by the South Norway Jazz Centre. [16] [17]

International artists

Although taking place in a small town, the festival has presented several international headliners – such as Patti Smith, Bob Geldof, Gary Moore, Lauryn Hill, Lizz Wright, The Waterboys, Esperanza Spalding, Solomon Burke, John Mayall, Angélique Kidjo, Melody Gardot, Al Di Meola, Joss Stone, Yellowjackets, Mike Stern, Suzanne Vega, as well as internationally renowned Norwegian musicians. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Canal Street - Arendal music festival". www.visitnorway.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Grønn festivalfeber gir føling på fyllinga". Nationen (in Norwegian). 2006-07-22. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  3. ↑ Ballestad, Anne Gro (2016-07-23). "(+) Canal Street-jubileum: Slik startet det for 20 år siden". agderposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  4. ↑ "Canal Street Blues Festival - Festivaler: Jazz og Blues i Arendal" (in Norwegian). Festivaler.Webby.no. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  5. ↑ Johansen, Carl Kristian (2006-04-03). "Canal Street i kraftig ekspansjon • ballade.no". ballade.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  6. ↑ Broms, Hanna Urfjell Pedersen, Kjetil Rørmoen (2024-10-01). "Festivalen er i økonomisk krise: Nå vil en av hovedeierne ut". Agderposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Bli med som CS-frivillig!". Canal Street Arendal (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  8. ↑ Andersen, Erik Wiig (2015-07-24). ""Mor Canal Street" gir seg ikke". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  9. ↑ Andersen, Erik Wiig (2013-07-26). "Stilte opp som frivillig". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  10. ↑ "FN-byen Arendal" (in Norwegian). AustAgderFK.no. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  11. ↑ "Miljøfyrtårnsertifisering - Norske Kulturarrangører". www.arrangor.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  12. ↑ Sellevold, Terje (2008-03-10). "Canal Street for barn". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  13. ↑ "BarneStreet – barnas festival i festivalen!". Canal Street Arendal (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  14. ↑ "Barnestreet i Arendal". Jazz i Norge (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2013-07-22. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  15. ↑ "(+) BarneStreet er i gang: - Ellevilt gøy!". agderposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  16. ↑ "Talentscenen UnderStreet". Canal Street Arendal (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  17. ↑ Saettone-Johansen, Marta (2021-07-31). "(+) Canal Street for de unge". agderposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  18. ↑ "Musikk, mennesker og magi gjennom tidene!". Canal Street Arendal (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
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