SELJORD COUNTRYFESTIVALEN – NORWAY – JOE NICHOLS AND DRAKE MILLIGAN – JULY 26TH AND 27TH, 2024:
Just when I was thinking we had really “dodged” a bullet by missing the airline shutdown last week, I learn the hard way that Delta has not recovered. I left Nashville today for the Seljord Countryfestivalen featuring Joe Nichols and Drake Milligan as U.S. headliners. Joe headlines Friday night and Drake headlines Saturday night. Joe and his guys depart today (Tuesday) and Drake is already in Europe and will arrive on Friday.
I knew things were not going to go well when I got a phone call at 5:00 am (fifteen minutes before my alarm was set to go off!) from Joe’s tour manager saying Joe’s flight had been cancelled.
Joe was bringing his wife and two daughters, so it meant trying to find replacement flights for four people – not just one seat. The tour manager had been researching and not coming up with anything. I suggested I put him on the phone with my travel agent and pay her to relieve our stress! He agreed. The ONLY thing she could find was for Joe and his family to drive from Dallas to Houston and take a flight out of Houston to Paris. The Paris layover was 12 hours and then the flight from Paris to Oslo would not arrive until midnight. But, Joe agreed to do this. Of course, he got a notice not long after we booked it that his plane was going to be an hour late departing Houston! No problem. Just means he has an eleven hour layover instead of 12 hours!
The tour manager and one of the other guys were flying out of different cities and they both received notices that their flights were delayed and they would miss their connection in Atlanta. I’m flying with 7 musicians/crew out of Nashville and we were in the same situation.
I arrived at the airport at 8 am for the 11:15 am flight which was now delayed to 12:30 pm. We got everyone checked in and were hoping we would still be able to make our connection in Atlanta. I was talking to my travel agent non-stop and she suggested getting on the earlier flight out of Nashville because enough seats had just opened up on it. The ticket agent checking us in was so sweet and she began changing our flights for us. Then this really rude ticket agent next to her screamed at her saying she could not change our flights because we had checked bags. That same agent was “throwing” every bag that she checked in onto the belt as hard as she could. I was still talking to my travel agent and she told me to go to the gate and change the tickets there.
We all headed through security but instead of going to the gate, I went into the Delta Lounge – where they all know me by name. They started making the switch for us but it took 30 minutes just to “re-tag” my bags. The flight arrived that we were trying to get on and started boarding so I had to tell her to just leave us on the original flight.
We departed Nashville knowing we were more than likely to miss our connection to Amsterdam but nothing we could do about it. The other two passengers who were delayed out of other cities were re-routed through Boston and they planned to meet us in Amsterdam. When we landed Atlanta, I ran as hard as I could to get to the gate. They had just closed the aircraft doors and I begged them to please let the 8 of us get on since it is an international flight. She would not even consider it. Then, that plane sat at the gate for an additional 40 minutes before pushing back. It was so frustrating! Delta rebooked us on a flight about 2 hours later to Amsterdam which meant we would probably miss our connection from Amsterdam to Oslo!
We boarded on time and then a thunderstorm rolled in with lots of lightning and we were delayed even more. The flight attendants were really nice. I watched a really terrible movie and complained about the WiFi. I have always had free T-Mobile WiFi on Delta flights and today’s flight said that it wasn’t available. When I asked “why”, no one could explain it! So I paid $25 for WiFi.
The tour manager and production tech landed Amsterdam in plenty of time to make it the connection but once again, we had to “run”. The line for passport control had hundreds of people in it but they eventually let people with flights departing in 25 minutes go to the front of the line. That flight, of course, departed “almost” on time!
It was a quick trip to Oslo and the most amazing thing was – all our bags and equipment made it on the plane! What a relief! Our bus driver was waiting for us and I have to say, he was really not a good driver. He was at least ten car lengths from the car in front of him yet he would constantly slam on the brakes. I was nauseous by the time we finally reached the hotel three and a half hours later.
I was disappointed to learn the only little “store” in this area has closed. That’s where we could always purchase items we forgot plus water and snacks. The hotel pretty much looks the same as it did when I was here several years ago before COVID although I understand it has been renovated. They did have a fan in my room but no desk or table where I can work. I asked if they could find me a small table and they said they would but never did.
The dinner buffet was outstanding. There were about 10 different entrees, a table of bread and desserts, a table with fruit, cheese, salads, and any beverage you wanted. The guys loved it! And they had several different types of salmon!
The festival is providing a boat cruise on a beautiful lake tomorrow so I’m going to stop typing now at 12:30 am and try to get in bed by 1 am. Want to get up and jog tomorrow before the boat trip!
I have to say, NONE of Joe’s guys complained about the long trip, cancellations and delays. They are so great to work with! Joe and his family won’t arrive until tomorrow. They don’t arrive Oslo from Paris until midnight and are just going to get hotel rooms at the Radisson and stay there tonight. I’m sure they are ready to sleep in a bed instead of on a plane or in an airport chair!
Jude
THURSDAY, JULY 25TH – DAY “OFF” IN SELJORD:
Compared to yesterday, today was a “snow day”! I was awake most of last night worrying about my granddaughter who had a visit to the Emergency Room. But all is okay. Had planned to get up really early and jog but had to settle for a workout with my “bands”. Going to get in a long jog tomorrow or Saturday. The “fitness” room at the hotel consists of a treadmill, bicycle and elliptical! No weights but there is an indoor pool.
I wasn’t able to go on the boat trip with the guys because I needed to go out to the festival and discuss this year and next year. Seven of the group went on the boat trip and departed the hotel at noon. I waited until around 12:30 pm and met Joe and his family when they arrived. After getting them settled in their rooms, I walked own to the little “Ski Museum” to find some lunch. I was able to translate most of the items on the small menu with the exception of the first thing listed. I asked the lady at the counter if she could tell me what it was in English. She said, “Well, it is a white “goo” with butter and sugar!” I asked her if it was “like” oatmeal and she said it wasn’t. I decided not to try that.
David picked me up and drove me to the festival site. The TV in the hotel does not have ANY news channels so I have no idea what is happening…probably a blessing. He did tell me the lady who is head of the Secret Service resigned because of the assassination attempt. I had been glued to the news channel watching her hearing just prior to departing to Norway. I had forgotten how interesting the drive into the festival grounds is. Saw an “Indian” in full headdress and a girl wearing a thong (who should never have been wearing one). And, lots of beautiful classic cars!
I had a really good visit with Kjell and the other staff at the festival site. Walked over to the side stages and dressing room area to check those facilities. The weather was absolutely perfect. At this time, they are calling for rain with possible thunderstorms beginning at 8 pm tomorrow night – just as Joe is scheduled to perform. Hopefully they will be wrong again! I stayed at the festival site until around 5:30 and then came back to the hotel.
Had dinner with most of the group and then worked until almost 3 am. The guys enjoyed the boat trip and said it did go through the Locks. Drake Milligan and his band arrive tomorrow afternoon and Joe performs. No “snow day” tomorrow!
Jude
FRIDAY, JULY 26TH – JOE NICHOLS PERFORMANCE DAY:
Just getting around to writing this road report on Saturday morning and Friday seems like several weeks ago!
We were supposed to depart the hotel at 12:30 pm but only two passenger vans had been scheduled. There are 9 of us with 14 huge cases of equipment. We had to wait until the festival could find a cargo van to transport all the equipment to the stage so we started sound check about 25 minutes late.
It was sprinkling rain off and on throughout the day and much cooler than usual. But no torrential downpour. Things ran pretty smoothly with the exception of some wireless units which did not get loaded onto the truck of production equipment that came in from Oslo. It’s a 4 hour drive back to Oslo, so it would have taken 8 hours to go into Oslo and retrieve the items. Joe’s guys just made what was provided work for them.
I was able to spend some time with Kjell and also met the nice lady who is the committee chairman of the festival. Mike went back to the hotel with one of the drivers at around 2:30 pm to pick up Joe for sound check. Mike’s wife and Joe’s family rode over with him and they went out and walked around at the booth area in the festival entrance. They are selling “Country and Western wear” there – boots, hats, belts, belt buckles, chaps, fringed jackets, etc. Everything ran smoothly and we finished at 5:00 pm as planned.
Drake’s group arrived at the Oslo Airport at around noon. A sprinter van was waiting for them and they didn’t have any issues while traveling to the hotel in Seljord. They arrived about 30 minutes before we returned from sound check and their rooms were ready for them.
We all went back to the hotel to grab a quick dinner and then go back to the festival site. Drake and his musicians rode to the festival with us because they wanted to see Joe’s performance. People recognized him as he walked around in the crowd and he stopped to take photos and sign autographs for them.
The clouds were looking even worse when we arrived back but still only a few sprinkles every now and then. The show kicked off to a large crowd but it wasn’t “full” like I had anticipated. I was standing with Kjell and he said it just takes them a few minutes to move from one of the side stages to the main stage. He was right! By about the second song, there were thousands of people watching the show and singing along with every song. Joe Nichols was the perfect choice for this festival. About 30 minutes into his 90 minute set, it started sprinkling heavier than before but no one left. And, it stopped shortly thereafter. This crowd loves to sing and dance to the music and they love true “country” music – which is what Joe delivered. He ended his set with “Tequilla Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and I was amazed that no one started taking off their clothes!
We had a short Meet and Greet with some of the festival staff and some VIP’s. One of Joe’s fans had flown in from the UK with his family and he had Joe’s face tattooed on his arm!
Scott Scovill (Moo TV-Nashville) was performing on the side stage and Joe had agreed to walk over and sing one song with him. His show was in a tent but it was raining even harder when we had to walk over. Joe joined him for one song and then we loaded the bus and headed back to the hotel.
It was truly a great show thanks to Joe, Mike and the musicians/crew, and Kjell, David and all the Production crew. All Joe’s group were extremely easy to work with!
SATURDAY, JULY 27TH – DRAKE MILLIGAN PERFORMANCE:
Joe’s group departs to the Radisson Hotel at the Oslo airport at 9 am today so I got dressed to go for my “jog” and met them downstairs to see them off. Everyone was on time but I was shocked when the “bus” arrived to take them on the 4 hour drive to Oslo. It was not the tour bus we had agreed upon. It was a 15 passenger Sprinter van with a trailer attached! I thought maybe they were picking up someone else but it was for Joe. No one wants to sit elbow to elbow for 4 hours in a van but at that point, it was too late to get a bus to transport them. All I could do was apologize profusely.
I called the hotel and made sure they were going to be able to check in at 1:00 pm and the hotel advised that they were going to go ahead and pull their keys and have everything ready for them. About 3 ½ hours later, I got a message from Joe’s tour manager that the driver had taken them to the wrong hotel. Then about 10 minutes later, received a message that one of the guys had left his phone on the van. I called the driver and he said he was too far away to come back because he had another pickup scheduled. He suggested that the guy take a taxi and meet him or he would bring the phone to me tomorrow when he picks up Drake’s group. I knew the musician would not want to wait until Tuesday to get his phone back from me, so he took a taxi and retrieved his phone.
I went for my jog and that helped relieve some of the stress. It’s beautiful weather today and I think it will last through Drake’s show tonight. I showered and got a little work done. We were supposed to go to sound check at 1:40 pm but the guys had forgotten their laminates and had to go back to their rooms to retrieve them. Turned out to be a good thing because there was a classic car show taking place in front of the stage and we couldn’t bring the vans close enough to unload the equipment. By the time we arrived, everything had cleared out and we were able to pull in.
Sound check was scheduled for 3 hours but only lasted 2 hours. I was working in the dressing room upstairs over a small stage below us and heard someone singing Bellamy Brothers’s songs! We had a little time back at the hotel to eat dinner and then head back out to the show. The place was absolutely packed when we arrived and Staut was performing. They are a Norwegian band who plays at most of the festivals I attend. Really great music.
Drake did a short Meet and Greet with Sponsors, VIPs and festival staff then had a few minutes to relax before going on stage. All I can say about his performance is WOW! I knew he was good but had no idea what an incredible performer he is. He absolutely rocked the audience from start to finish. I had people coming up to me in the crowd asking if he could come back again next year! The festival organizers came by to say how fantastic his performance with and discuss a repeat performance.
We stayed for about an hour after the show and then headed back to the hotel. We have the sweetest young drivers this year and one of them gave me this really cool Norwegian Christmas ornament. First night I didn’t stay up until 3 am working. I was in bed at 2 am but then couldn’t fall asleep!
Jude
SUNDAY, JULY 28TH – TRAVEL FROM SELJORD TO OSLO AIRPORT HOTEL:
Lobby call was set for 10 am and I figured I’d better try to eat something before the 4 hour trip. Everyone was talking about how great the breakfast buffet had been. It was a lot like the dinner each night. They added scrambled and fried eggs, bacon, sausage and beans in place of the meats but still had salads and even desserts.
I headed down to the lobby at 9:30 am to make sure all incidentals had been paid and start getting the equipment out of the storage room. The Sprinter Van arrived and guess what? There was no trailer even after I told them to bring one yesterday. It was also a different driver who spoke very little English. Again, not much we could do but try to cram everything into the back. The driver yesterday insisted that the back seats could be removed if we needed more space but evidently this was a different van and none of the seats could be removed. That meant 4 of the seats we would have used for passengers were blocked by luggage/equipment. So, the 8 of us crammed into 9 seats, elbow to elbow, and began the 4 hour drive.
About 45 minutes from the airport – in the center of Oslo – the traffic suddenly went down to one lane. We were stuck for quite a while and of course, one of the guys needed to use the toilet. Once we got out of the traffic jam, the driver was able to stop at a gas station.
I had called the hotel before we arrived and asked them to “pull” our keys so the rooms would be ready when we arrived. It made check in so much easier. Only when we got to our rooms, none of the keys worked. We were all back down in the lobby getting new keys five minutes later.
I walked over to the airport to see if I could find the “miracle cold cure” and was able to find it at a pharmacy there. But, I didn’t find the “Lefsa” anywhere. Seems that it is a Regional delicacy and may not be available in the Oslo area. I’m going to check tomorrow after I get to the gate area.
I ordered an Oatmilk Macha Latte from Joe’s Juice and then ordered Pad Thai from Wagamama. All the guys were there ordering as well. It was really good!
I have to get up at 4:30 am tomorrow to walk over to the airport for my early flight.
Jude
MONDAY, JULY 29TH – OSLO TO NASHVILLE:
Well this is a first. I didn’t have time to write this Road Report before departing to Brazil! But, it is a boring report but a “good boring”. Absolutely no drama getting home which was a welcome change.
Checked in at the Oslo Airport 6:30 am and went on a search for cinnamon Lefsa and marzipan chocolate for the Z’s. Found the Lefsa after going into numerous stores but they only had chocolate and regular. They have never had chocolate so maybe they will like that! Found lots and lots of flavors of marzipan chocolate at duty free. Mission accomplished!
Had a few minutes in the Lounge and then boarded flight to Amsterdam. Landed on time and stood in the long line for passport control, spent a few minutes in the Amsterdam Lounge and then boarded and departed on time. This time I am going through Detroit which I haven’t done in a very long time. I was originally booked through Boston but after the bad experience earlier this month, I decided to route through Detroit. It was a much better experience. Had several hours in the lounge and used that time to work.
Flight to Nashville departed and arrived on time. I have two days at home before departing to Brazil!
Jude