2 Sept 2025

A wrap-up of favourite musical moments from my ‘Christmas in August’.

5 min read

On my first morning in Denmark, I sat drinking tart Danish coffee from a Christmas mug, as a chatty volunteer explained to me that in Tønder they have a saying.  “Tønder has two Christmases – the small one in December and the big one in August”.

Hence the reindeer mug.

Last week I attended my fourth Tønder Festival.  I won’t lie – it’s one of my favourite music festivals in the world, and the perfect way to end the long European summer.

Tønder Festival, 2025.

Since 1974, this festival on the flat marshland of south-western Denmark has grown into one of the largest and most respected folk and roots music festivals in Northern Europe.

It’s also developed a reputation as a great place to see artists on their way ‘up’. Like watching Tyler Childers tear up the Klubscenen tent back in 2019, two years before his Top 10 album.

The festival itself is a four day smorgasbord of music spread over 6+ stages – from the massive Open Air stage to smaller venues like the intimate Bolero spiegeltent –  all supported by a loyal audience, a small army of volunteers, and a whole lot of hygge.

Tønder Festival, 2025.

This year felt like the most relaxed Tønder Festival yet. Something about the mix of artists, the fine weather and the fact that there’s finally enough distance between us and the pandemic to make it feel particularly easy and enjoyable. As they said at the volunteer party on Sunday, it was “the best festival yet!”

I neglected my musical homework this year, so arrived knowing only a handful of artists and songs. Instead I grabbed a schedule and set out on a mission to discover some new music. And boy did it pay off.

Charles Wesley Godwin on the Open Air stage, Tønder Festival, 2025.

It’s hard to pick favourite moments at a festival like Tønder that is full of them but here are just a few that stood out.

SG Goodman

A piece of advice: don’t let SG Goodman’s low-key cool Kentucky vibes fool you.

She is a powerhouse and a shapeshifter – easily slipping between big bluesy riffs, soaring vocals and moody indie rock. You’d be forgiven for thinking Lucinda Williams is being channelled here, too.

SG and her band had Tent 2 utterly transfixed for the whole set, with ‘Work Until I Die’ and the much-covered ‘Space and Time’ providing a couple of highlights. I was so in awe that I came back and watched her do it all over again when she played the next day.

SG Goodman

Fantastic Negrito

Without doubt, THE high-energy performance of the festival.

After being delayed by a storm, Fantastic Negrito was a lightning bolt of blues and gospel that dispelled the rain and had the entire crowd jumping. Channelling Prince in both energy and flair, it was hard not to be impressed by the way he balanced (sometimes only just) vulnerability and healing – shouting down the past and its old foes through music. 

Fantastic Negrito

The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter

I first suspected something interesting was about to go down when I saw a guy walking through the backstage bar with a sousaphone.

The large horn wasn’t the only thing that was eye-catching about this Canadian old-time music act, based on a fictitious character created by front man Li’l Andy.

While they are certainly a rollicking good time with their jumping old-timey tunes, there is some real pay-dirt if you listen carefully. I literally stopped in my tracks when I caught the lyrics to “Jesus was a Marxist”.

Check out this snippet from their Bolero show

Ian Noe

This “break your heart open” Americana master was devastatingly good,  with an intense performance that let the songs speak for themselves.

Ian Noe’s skill lies in the understated way he tells powerful stories carried by sweet Appalachian tunes. I’ve listened to Letter to Madeliene a hundred times, but I can now confirm that listening to it played live will bring you to your knees as if it were your first listen.

Ian Noe

Lyle Lovett

For me, the biggest show of the festival was also the biggest surprise. I expected to watch a few songs and dutifully tick it off my list before heading off to see something else. I didn’t expect to watch the entire set, caught off-guard by the genuine warmth and thoroughly engaging performance.

The show was steeped in storytelling, with Lyle asking his band one by one to tell the story of their first visit to Denmark. This excited the local audience while also introducing some of the most legendary session musicians of all time.

So perhaps the only part of the show that wasn’t surprising was that the band was incredible. With names like Ross Kunkel, Jim Cox, Jeff White, Stuart Duncan and the imitable Leyland Sklar, you quite literally are listening to the best of the best, with hundreds of years in the music industry between them.

Lyle Lovett

Topping it all off was the incredible voice of Amy Keys, whose soaring vocals and stage presence acted as the perfect counterpoint to Lyle’s gravelly drawl. There’s apparently been a lot of chatter about his voice in recent years, and while it’s certainly not what it once was, the heart and soul of his live performance is about so much more than just a velvety voice.

Despite being on the big stage and watched by around four thousand people, it felt like an intimate show – like sitting in a living room with a new friend showing you around some favourite tunes from their record collection. A perfectly constructed set that journeyed through the highs and lows of life, with Lovett’s trademark humility and grace (and a dash of good humour) riding shotgun.

A few more Highlights

(l-r) Elephant Sessions; Amy Keys; Kellermench; Sons of the East; John Smith; Ainsley Hamill; Jeffrey Foucault; Jack Rollins. 

And finally, a personal moment…

…witnessing the marriage of festival favourite and dear friend, Irish Mythen.

Irish met her fabulous Danish bride Lotte, at Tønder Festival last year. Exactly a year later, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a gentle breeze swept the bride down the aisle to an incredibly nervous Irish and an unforgettable garden wedding. There were a many tears of joy shed. I managed to keep it mostly together until Kellie Loder played their song ‘Suit and Tie’ – and then we were all a blubbering mess.

A beautiful ceremony and celebration for two beautiful people. May everyone in the world be allowed to be their true selves and love their true loves.

Congratulations Lotte & Irish.  xx

Kellie Loder playing for the newlyweds