Espen Fjelle

Espen Fjelle, born in 1958, is a Norwegian keyboardist, festival organiser, and music educator whose influence on the Norwegian blues landscape extends far beyond the bandstand. As a player, promoter, and academic pioneer, Fjelle has shaped the infrastructure of blues in Norway in ways that few individuals can claim.

As a keyboardist, Fjelle has performed at the highest level. His CV includes collaborations with American blues legends Jimmy Witherspoon and Robben Ford — the latter at the 1991 Notodden Blues Festival, a career-defining moment that placed Fjelle alongside one of the most technically accomplished guitarists in modern blues. He has also performed with the Ike Turner Revue, adding a chapter of raw, classic rhythm and blues to his musical story.

On the domestic front, Fjelle has been a long-standing member of the Kåre Virud Band and Norsk Utflukt, two acts that have been pillars of the Norwegian blues and roots scene for decades. His keyboard work — rooted in gospel, boogie-woogie, and deep soul — provides a harmonic richness that elevates every ensemble he joins.

Beyond performing, Fjelle played a pivotal role in building the Notodden Blues Festival into a world-class event. He served as the festival's manager from 1988 to 2000, overseeing a period of extraordinary growth that transformed the small Telemark town into an international blues destination. Under his stewardship, Notodden attracted headline acts from around the world and cemented its reputation as one of Europe's premier blues festivals.

Perhaps Fjelle's most lasting contribution, however, is in education. In 2018 he founded Europe's only university-level blues programme at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) in Notodden. The programme offers students a rigorous, academically grounded path into blues performance, history, and culture — a groundbreaking initiative that ensures the next generation of Scandinavian blues musicians has access to formal training rooted in the genre's traditions.

Player, festival builder, educator — Espen Fjelle has dedicated his life to ensuring that the blues not only survives in Norway but thrives, grows, and reaches new audiences.