Bruvoll/Halvorsen

Duo formed in 2000, operating at the borderline between the singer-songwriter tradition and the Telemark vocal tradition

The duo Bruvoll/Halverson consists of John Anders Halvorsen from Telemark on vocals and Tore Bruvoll from Tromsø on guitar. The duo appeals to different types of audiences, as is reflected by the venues in which it has appeared. The duo’s concert appearances have included By:Larm, Folkelarm, the Øya Festival, and all the major folk music festivals in Norway. Bruvoll/Halvorsen has also toured extensively abroad. The duo’s stage debut took place only a few months after the two musicians had begun their collaboration, when they participated in the commissioned work “Kvedar” at the Telemark Festival. They held their first concert that autumn at the Josefine folk music club in Oslo. Tore Bruvoll’s performance style is influenced by Norwegian and international traditional music. Jon Anders Halvorsen learned to sing from traditional folk singers (kvedere) in his home district, and preserves traditional techniques in his performance style. Their repertoire comprises traditional mediaeval ballads, stev (short, originally improvised songs) and folk songs. On their debut recording, Nattsang (2004), the two musicians were joined by Arve Henriksen on trumpet, Per Oddvar Johansen on percussion and Gjermund Larsen on the fiddle. The duo has performed on television and radio in Norway and abroad.