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Spoonful of Blues
Photo: David Been (press photo, Notodden Blues Festival)
Modern

Spoonful of Blues

• Norway• Active: 2000s–present
Nordic BluesElectric Blues

Blues-rock band from Notodden — home of Norway's biggest blues festival — built around Jostein Forsberg's vocals and harmonica and Morten Omlid's guitar, cutting original songs steeped in their hometown's blues tradition.

On November 24, 2023, Spoonful of Blues released their sixth album, "Songs From Notodden Norway." The next day, drummer Eskil Aasland went looking for guitarist and co-founder Morten Omlid, who hadn't shown up to rehearsal, and found him dead at home. He was 62. The band's planned release concert in Oslo the following day never happened (Kilde: Telen). Spoonful of Blues was built around the childhood friendship of Jostein Forsberg and Morten Omlid, both born and raised in Notodden — the small Telemark town that hosts Norway's largest blues festival — and both sons of touring musicians. They had played together continuously since the mid-1980s, debuting as a band two decades ago with the album "Three Car Garage" (Kilde: grammofon.no). Omlid, in particular, was a foundational figure in Norwegian blues well beyond the band itself: he served as the first director of the Norsk Blues Union and received Norway's national Bluesprisen in 2007, and spent decades teaching guitar and blues history while also performing for over twenty years with the group Damer i Blues (Kilde: Telen). The band — Forsberg on vocals and harmonica, Omlid on guitar and vocals, Eskil Aasland on drums, and Tony Caddle (originally from Barbados) on bass — built a large following through relentless touring across Norway and internationally in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Poland and the United States, earning live reviews that called their shows "the concert of the year" and "the best of all time" (Kilde: bluesfest.no). Their most significant recognition came with "Chikadelic," a collaborative album with Mississippi hill-country artist James "Super Chikan" Johnson, which won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year — a rare honor for a Norwegian act. The band also backed Louisiana artists Lazy Lester and Louisiana Red on albums that themselves earned Blues Music Award nominations (Kilde: grammofon.no). "Songs From Notodden Norway," recorded at the town's own Juke Joint Studio and produced by Omlid and Forsberg with engineers Bård Gunnar Moe and Halvor Halvorsen, contains eleven original songs written entirely by the two founders — guitar-and-harmonica-driven blues carrying the hypnotic pull of Mississippi hill country alongside Chicago West Side grit, built for dancing festival crowds (Kilde: bluestownmusic.nl). It went on to earn the band their first-ever Spellemannpris nomination — Norway's Grammy equivalent — a recognition Omlid did not live to see. "He would have been so proud of this record," Forsberg has said of the nomination, which arrived after his friend's death (Kilde: Telen). The band has continued since Omlid's death, with guitarists Øystein Ytterbø and Jens Fjelle stepping into the lineup to carry the songs, and the legacy of Notodden's own blues tradition, forward (Kilde: bluesfest.no).

Musical Influence

Spoonful of Blues carried Notodden's local blues identity onto international stages for four decades, and their collaborative album "Chikadelic" with James "Super Chikan" Johnson — winner of a Blues Music Award — is a rare instance of a Norwegian blues band earning recognition directly from the American blues establishment. Co-founder Morten Omlid's legacy extends well beyond the band itself: as the first director of the Norsk Blues Union and a decades-long guitar and blues-history teacher, he helped shape Norway's blues education infrastructure, a role recognized with the national Bluesprisen in 2007 (Kilde: Telen; grammofon.no).

Influences

Mississippi hill country bluesChicago West Side blues

Formative experiences

  • •Mid-1980s: Jostein Forsberg and Morten Omlid, childhood friends from Notodden, begin performing together. (Kilde: grammofon.no)
  • •Debut album "Three Car Garage" released, roughly two decades before "Songs From Notodden Norway." (Kilde: grammofon.no)
  • •Wins a Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year for "Chikadelic," recorded with James "Super Chikan" Johnson. (Kilde: grammofon.no)
  • •November 24, 2023: Releases sixth album "Songs From Notodden Norway." (Kilde: Telen)
  • •November 25, 2023: Co-founder Morten Omlid is found dead at home, age 62, the day after the album's release. (Kilde: Telen)
  • •The album earns the band's first-ever Spellemannpris nomination, posthumously for Omlid. (Kilde: Telen)

Instruments & Equipment

Guitar

Guitar & vocals (Morten Omlid, 1961–2023)

Founding member and guitarist; died the day after the band's sixth album was released.

Vocals

Vocals & harmonica (Jostein Forsberg)

Founding member; lead vocals and harmonica.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Founders Jostein Forsberg and Morten Omlid were childhood friends from Notodden, both sons of touring musicians, who played together continuously from the mid-1980s onward. (Kilde: grammofon.no)"
"Morten Omlid was found dead at home on November 25, 2023, the day after the band released "Songs From Notodden Norway" — drummer Eskil Aasland discovered him after he failed to appear for rehearsal. (Kilde: Telen)"
"The band's planned Oslo release concert, scheduled for the day after Omlid's death, never took place. (Kilde: Telen)"
""Songs From Notodden Norway" went on to earn the band's first-ever Spellemannpris nomination — a recognition Omlid did not live to see. (Kilde: Telen)"
"Omlid was the first director of the Norsk Blues Union and received Norway's national Bluesprisen in 2007. (Kilde: Telen)"

Collaborators

James "Super Chikan" Johnson

Mississippi hill-country artist; collaborated on "Chikadelic," winner of a Blues Music Award.

Lazy Lester & Louisiana Red

Backed both Louisiana artists on Blues Music Award-nominated albums.

Eskil Aasland

Drummer, percussion, vocals; longtime band member.

Tony Caddle

Bassist, originally from Barbados via London.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Spoonful Of Blues - Hold me in your arms tonight

From "Songs From Notodden Norway," the band's Spellemannpris-nominated final album with Morten Omlid.

Tor Kenneth Talmo

SPOONFUL OF BLUES One of the boys (M.Omlid/J.Forsberg)

SPOONFUL OF BLUES One of the boys (M.Omlid/J.Forsberg)

Spoonful of Blues - Three Forks Store (Forsberg/Omlid)

Spoonful of Blues - Three Forks Store (Forsberg/Omlid)

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
2004Three Car Garage——————Debut album.
2013Chikadelic (with James "Super Chikan" Johnson)—————James "Super Chikan" Johnson (Guitar, vocals)Won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year.
2023Songs From Notodden NorwayMorten Omlid, Jostein Forsberg—Bluestown Records——Jostein Forsberg (Vocals, harmonica), Morten Omlid (Guitar, vocals), Eskil Aasland (Drums, percussion, vocals), Tony Caddle (Bass)Recorded at Juke Joint Studio, Notodden. Engineers Bård Gunnar Moe and Halvor Halvorsen; mastered by Njål Frode Lie. 11 original songs. Released Nov 24, 2023 — the day before co-founder Morten Omlid's death. Earned the band's first Spellemannpris nomination.

Famous songs

01Hold Me in Your Arms Tonight
02One of the Boys
03Three Forks Store
04Hellraiser

External links

YouTube Music Notodden Blues Festival

Booking / Contact

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Sources

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