It never cease to amaze me how many unlikely stages Aurora was invited to, to come and perform in the early days of her carreer. Even before she got her first album released, she was to play at the opening of The House Of Culture in Hamar (Norway), The Nobel Peace Prize concert and, as I will talk a bit about today, at The Nordic Media Days in 2015.
Local media attention
Aurora still lived in Osøyro at the time, a small vicinty outside of Bergen. I have done some digging in my archive, and it turned out that the local newspaper covered this event, of course 🥰. I guess that small town was pretty proud of what Aurora was accomplishing. Here is an extraction from the paper, translated from Norwegian:
Aurora in the wind1
In front of the Minister of Culture, the broadcasting director, and media executives from across the Nordic region, there was local entertainment when the Nordic Media Days opened in Bergen on Wednesday. Taking the stage was the rising star Aurora Aksnes.
"It was a stylish and quiet opening of the media days."
"Aurora had only one guitarist with her on stage and played two songs acoustically, including 'Running with the Wolves'" says Kristian Bruarøy, a resident of Os who leads the program committee for the media days. The Nordic Media Days is the largest conference for media companies in the Nordic region.
Complete silence
Bruarøy describes the praise and enormous response to Aurora's performance.
"It was completely silent in the audience when she sang, but as soon as she finished, it erupted with thunderous applause. I've only heard praise about her afterwards" says a slightly frantic Bruarøy.
Nordic Media Days
Nordic Media Days is the largest annual media conference in the Nordic region, bringing together around 2000 participants from across the spectrum of the media industry. The conference is held at Grieghallen in Bergen at the beginning of May and features over 130 renowned speakers from both domestic and international arenas, contributing to approximately 60 sessions. The program reflects international media trends, innovation, and the industry's visions for the future.2
The theme for the 2015 Nordic Media Days was focused on the ongoing digital transformation and the value of knowledge sharing in the media industry. It was a year of record attendance, and the program received significant attention for its breadth and appeal. There was also a session titled "The Great Media Conversation," which involved several international and Norwegian speakers.3
OFFICIAL OPENING WITH SUBSEQUENT RECEPTION
Under the amusing and knowledgeable leadership of Else Kåss Furuseth, the official opening in the Peer Gynt Hall was both a solemn and entertaining event. Minister of Culture Thorhild Widvey, city council leader Martin Smith-Sivertsen, and festival director Guri Heftye delivered speeches, while VG journalists Frithjof Jacobsen and Anders Giæver engaged in a conversation with outgoing TV 2 chief, Alf Hildrum. The musical performance was by Aurora Aksnes.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6TH, PEER GYNT HALL
Final words
Of all the entertainment choices they could have chosen, the picked Aurora to do the opening of this event. I find that very interesting and cool. Made Management, with Geir Luedy at the wheel, really did an amazing job in promoting her - and putting her on some really important scenes. I love that 🥰.
Have a day
Rune
https://www.midtsiden.no/aurora-i-vinden
https://nordiskemediedager.no/om-oss
https://kyber.blob.core.windows.net/nmd/1186/2015-rapport.pdf
This is so beautiful, I have never seen these early, pure versions... Imagine being in that room and hearing Murder Song as your introduction to Aurora, blows my mind...