Nobel Peace Center and Øya Festival present ‘Songs that Changed the World’

Music can change the world! Together with the Øya Festival and Asbjørn Slettemark, the Nobel Peace Center is inviting young artists to perform and discuss songs that have had a major impact on society.

The ‘Songs that Changed the World’ event will be staged for the first time at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Wednesday, 9 May. First up will be the artist Amanda Delara, who at the age of just 20 has not only carved out a position at the top of the hit lists, but has demonstrated a strong personal engagement in social issues. The song she will perform is being kept under wraps until 7pm on Wednesday evening. But it will be a song that has meant a lot to many people.

“Some songs have done more than just entertain, they have changed the world and have gone down in history as symbols of important events. With this in mind, we contacted the Øya Festival to create a series of events with a difference for a slightly younger age group,” says Event Manager Lisa Tennevoll Jensen from the Nobel Peace Center.

After an on-stage discussion between each featured artist, music journalist Asbjørn Slettemark and the Nobel Peace Center’s Director of Education Toril Rokseth, the guest artist will perform their cover version of the selected song.

Music journalist Asbjørn Slettemark says that he has always been fascinated by songs that rock the world a little bit. “Whether they are songs that everyone remembers, like We Are the World or Do They Know It’s Christmas, revolutionary songs like Fight The Power or American Idiot, or deeply political songs like Standin’ In The Way of Control. That’s why I jumped at the idea of discussing a selection of such songs with artists and experts. And I couldn’t think of a better setting for that conversation than in the middle of the Nobel Peace Center’s exhibitions.”

The song that is selected for each event will be linked to an exhibition on display at the Nobel Peace Center. This time, the starting point is the exhibition ‘Generation Wealth’ by the award-winning American photographer Lauren Greenfield. The exhibition is the result of over 25 years’ work, and offers a unique insight into how the quest for material goods and sexual capital has developed over time, over large parts of the globe.

Singer-songwriter Amanda Delara thinks her music fits perfectly among Greenfield’s images. “The exhibition gives us a glimpse of unimaginable lifestyles, which makes you start to reflect (whether you want to or not) on what’s right and what’s wrong. That’s like many of my songs. They tell stories which make you think. I feel that this exhibition reflects that aspect of my music, so taking part in this event felt very right!”

The Nobel Peace Center has worked closely with the Øya Festival on this programme of events. The plan is for a ‘Songs that Changed the World’ event to be staged four times a year, with different artists and songs each time.

“Those of us who work with the Øya Festival know just how influential music as a form of communication can be, and we use our own position to take an active standpoint on issues such as the environment. We were therefore delighted to receive this proposal from the Nobel Peace Center,” says the festival’s Marketing Director Birgitte Mandelig,

The ‘Songs that Changed the World’ event will premiere at 7pm on Wednesday, 9 May. It is free of charge and will take place at the Nobel Peace Center at Rådhusplassen in central Oslo. Tickets are available via the Nobel Peace Center’s Facebook page.

For further details or to arrange an interview with those taking part, please contact:

Nobel Peace Center: Ingvill Bryn Rambøl, tel: +47 9245 2944; email:ibr@nobelpeacecenter.org

Øya Festival: Birgitte Mandelid, tel: +47 9777 6381; email: birgitte@oyafestivalen.com