Demand from the grassroots

The rock band Sator, with the Manndalian Kent Norberg (Dalheim) as front man has engaged «half the village» in a wish to book the group for this summer's festival.

The fans have spoken

The man behind Facebook group «Sator to Riddu Riddu 2014» is a musician with a fondness for rock'n'roll. Odd Isaksen have long wanted the Swedish rock band to play at Riddu, and this fall he created a group on Facebook to see where others stood. – I thought that Facebook was a good medium to see if my wish of Sator to Riddu got support, and it did, says a pleased Isaksen. Per Ivar Jensen calls himself an old punker, who supported the peoples demand of getting Sator to Riddu. He is clear of why: -We old guys have continuously liked Sator. I was introduced to the band myself after a violent Kåfjord-lobbying in the late 80's, and since I have been a fan, says Jensen.

High status

Many of those who were part of starting the Riddu-festival has a dear relationship to Sator. It's mainly the band's front man Kent Norberg (Dalheim) who links to the big fan base in the core of Riddu's grass roots. -Kent's mother was from Manndalen, and all his summer vacations were spent in Manndalen, tells Odd Isaksen, himself a good friend and relative of Sator's big star. -It's of course not enough to just be from Manndalen to play at Riddu, but Sator does concerts on several stages in Europe and have a very high status within their genre – so they are definitely good enough for Riddu, Isaksen points out.

Compliments the commitment

-It's not often I can say it, but in this case I was too young to understand how big Sator is for the gang who has worked with the festival from the beginning of time, says festival director Kirsti Lervoll. Lervoll points out that she of course has noted Sator's high cred amongst their fans in many countries. With music video played on MTV and many critical acclaimed albums it's without a doubt she does a thumbs up for the Sator-booking. -What's very swell about this booking is the commitment the grass roots have shown and almost demanded that Sator got to play at Riddu. It's something very «Manndalian» in just that, admits Lervoll