37 And Still Keeping Skaw

Not all the money has been counted and not all the bills have been paid, but Skagen Festival artistic director Peer Andersen believes this year’s sellout should achieve a decent financial result.

The 20,000-capacity, 37-year-old event on the northern tip of Denmark, locally known as "The Skaw," is the country’s oldest festival, a position it shares with Roskilde.

It’s also the home of The Danish Folk Music Award, named "The Campbell Award" in honour of what Scottish singer Alex Campbell did for folk music and Skagen.

This year it went to Donovan, another Scottish singer/songwriter whose career has lasted even longer than Skagen.

He was one of the headliners of the July 3-6 festival, which also had a folk, blues and Cajun bill that included The Dubliners, Rosheen, Savage Rose, The Ploughboys, The Borderers, Almost Irish, River Zydeco, Trouble In The Kitchen, and The London Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra.