BJÖRNS VÄNNER (S) live @ RiP 11/4!

BJÖRNS VÄNNER coming to Norway for the first time, and RiP are the ones making it happen! What do you get if you pour a dose of bob hund, a dash of Håkan Hellström and a teaspoon of Neutral Milk Hotel into a bowl and stir well? Well, out of the bowl rises Björns Vänner from Malmö! 

We saw Björns Vänner at Viva Sounds in Gothenburg at the end of November, and at least two board members from RiP stood and wiped their tears during the concert, and that with a band that was completely new to all of us even though they have been playing since 2001 in Sweden! The fastest booking of the year was completed and on April 11th Björns Vänner will be making the trip out of Sweden for the first time (!) to play a concert, and the only stop is Porsgrunn and RiP! And you know us so well now that you know that you HAVE to come to this show! 

Formed sometime at the end of the last century, Björns Vänner have since released three or four albums at regular intervals, depending on how you count. With their melodic indie-inspired pop rock – with Richard Schicke's direct yet poetic, humorous yet poignant lyrics at their core – they've garnered an enthusiastic fan base and consider themselves to have a pretty good ratio of "heard" to "liked". Songs that stand out from the era include the epic life story "Åkrar och himmel" and the humorously self-revealing tirade "Vad ska jag med ett foto på dig?" – both still favorites in the band's live repertoire, as well as slightly later works like the teen anthem "Svart på vitt", the digital self-revelation "Print Screen", and many more.

The band's latest album was released on November 7th. "All tid i världen" is the sound of a group of Björns Vänner who, after about six or seven years, are starting to get warm in their clothes. Much of this is due to all the members living in the same country for the first time in a very long time. The result is recordings where sounds and rhythms are woven into each other in an organic way, and you can hear that it is being played in the moment. Everything has been steered to port with a firm and gentle hand by Jocke Lindberg.

The band themselves say "For some reason, the musical motto when we started practicing was "ghost language". We wanted to make a collection of songs with a more restrained approach, a little more minor and mysterious. And the album also pulls more in that direction than before, but we are also a band where everyone is eager to play – but at the same time where maybe no one wants to stand wide-legged in front – and in the songwriting the prosaic, direct aspect is always present, so it is inevitable that the result will still be quite forward-leaning." All we can say is that this may be your new favorite band if you already like bob hund, Håkan Hellstrøm, Neutral Milk Hotel, Doktor Kosmos, Västerbron, Vasas Flora & Fauna, Avantgardet and Pascal.

- ENGANGSGRILL -

The band writes energetic and dynamic rock and with a sound rooted in an open approach to all genres of guitar-based music. Calm introspective indie, chill surf rock and alternative rock comes together when Engangsgrill takes the stage. It's a treat - these local youngsters, all 18-19 years old, impress with a set consisting exclusively of their own songs.

Nicolai Hanns (vocals and guitar), Birk Lehmann (drums) and Theodor Jupskås (bass) are Engangsgrill.

BJÖRNS VÄNNER + Engangsgrill - live @ RiP Saturday, April 11, 2026.

18 years of age required, limited number of guardian seats.

Tickets on Tickster now.

20:00 doors open

21:00 Engangsgrill

22:00 Björns Vänner