Live Music in Copenhagen
Copenhagen is known throughout Europe as a center for world class classical music. The city is open to the world renowned Copenhagen Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the Royal Theatre Orchestra and the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra. All are professional orchestras of the highest caliber. The two symphony orchestra’s perform year round at ceremonies, concerts, and events in and around Copenhagen, and all people are welcome to come and hear them.
Copenhagen also hosts the highly prestigious Royal Danish Opera and Ballet companies. Both the national opera and ballet companies have traditionally performed on the “old stage” in the stately theater in Kongens Nytorv. However, new venues have reopened in recent years, and the Royal Opera and Ballet have performances at the StÃ?¦rekassen “new stage”, the new Opera House, and even in the newly renovated concert hall in Tivoli Gardens, as well as in their traditional home venue. Whether you are seeking history or modern styles, the ballet company provides quality entertainment each and every performance.
Jazz, while largely thought of as an American musical tradition, has a much larger presence in Europe than many people realize. Copenhagen, in particular, is regarded a major center for jazz in Europe. For those who are so inclined, the prime event for Jazz fans visiting Copenhagen is the Copenhagen Jazz festival, which occurs every July and consists of a week and half of great Jazz music. Through the course of the festival, hundreds of concerts are performed in major Copenhagen music venues as well as churches, caf�©s, and of course, street plazas. If you cannot make it in July for the Jazz Festival, a number of Jazz clubs operate in the city year-round.
Of course a wide selection of live popular music can be found in Copenhagen, as in most modern cosmopolitan cities. A good place to check out is the “free colony” of Christiania. Christiania was founded in the 1970s by a band of hippies, who took over a section of the city and declared it a “free city” completely independent from Denmark, where they legalized cannabis and set up their own government. Their presence there is completely illegal of course, but they have been operating there for nearly three decades and the Danes seem to have accepted them. Christiania is a thriving arts center, and frequently hosts excellent live alternative rock events.
The most famous popular music event in the Copenhagen area is probably the Roskilde festival. The festival takes place in the ancient town of Roskilde, about 30 miles or so south of Copenhagen, and draws more than on hundred thousand visitors annually. The festival, unfortunately, is probably best known to Americans as the site of a tragic “stage rushing” accident during a Pearl Jam performance in 2000, which resulted in the deaths of nine people. However, the Roskilde festival, which occurs every June, continues to be one of the most significant popular music events in Europe, and regularly hosts major artists in a wide variety of genres including pop, hard rock, hip hop, and rap.
