15th anniversary of the Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, Norway. goto: www.punktfestival.no

PUNKT 2019 is the 15th festival edition, connecting voices of memory with future sounds, and expanding the festival’s venues to include the Sørlandet Art Museum, the Kilden Performing Arts Centre and the city’s cathedral Domkirken, in addition to Kick Scene. A limited number of earlybird 3-day passes are available now, see below for details.

Thurston Moore comes to Punkt 2019 with the Thurston Moore Ensemble, the quartet will perform at Kick Scene on Friday 6 September. Thurston Moore will also take part in this year’s Punkt Seminar, curated by David Toop.

Bugge Wesseltoft's Scandinavian supergroup Rymden with former Esbjorn Svensson Trio rhythm section Dan Berglund (bass) and Magnus Öström (drums) will close the festival at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre.

Guitar innovator Steve Tibbetts performs in the cathedral with Marc Anderson, preceded by an organ concert by Ståle Storløkken and the vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices performing “Folklore”, composed by Helge Sten and Ståle Storløkken.

First encounters: Punkt 2019 presents Dai Fujikura's Shamisen Concerto (Orchestra version World Premiere) performed by Japanese shamisen virtuoso Hidejiro Honjoh and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and the debut concert by Dark Star Safari, a new band project by Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset and Samuel Rohrer who release their debut album in May.

Since its founding in 1980, Frankfurt based Ensemble Modern has been among Europe’s leading New Music ensembles. On Punkt’s opening day, the ensemble will perform at the Sørlandet Art Museum, a concert that will also provide sonic material for the aforementioned performance by Dark Star Safari.

Also at the art museum: Under the moniker Azkadenya, string duo Vilde & Inga meets Sidsel Endresen. Azkadenya plays free improvised music with acoustic instruments, amplified to acheive a more rough and intense expression. Later in the festival, Sidsel Endresen & Jan Bang will perform a duo concert at Kilden.

Guitarist Kim Myhr plays at Kilden with his project You | me, featuring David Stackenäs, Håvard Volden, Adrian Myhr, Tony Buck, Ingar Zach and Hans Hulbækmo.

More concerts, Live Remixes and seminars will be announced later.