Abundant summertime sunshine, an aesthetic obsession with modernism and arrestingly handsome residents—we'd say Stockholm and Los Angeles have more in common than you think.
LA is showing Swedish pop music and its host nation some love with the inaugural Stockholm, CA festival. The hauntingly dancey Little Dragon and buoyant duo Icona Pop will headline the all-Swedish fest, set to take up residence at the Shrine Expo Hall and grounds on Saturday, Oct 15.
Tickets start at $40 and go on sale Friday, July 22 at 10am.
Stockholm, CA promises "music by Sweden, weather by California." As far as we can tell, only one act—Veronica Maggio—sings solely in Swedish. The rest of the lineup's English-speaking Scandinavian exports consist of shiny pop and slick dance from Otto Knows, Rebecca & Fiona, Elliphant, Mapei, AronChupa, Salvatore Ganacci and Nause.
The festival is slated to be a celebration of all things Swedish, with more information about activations and vegetarian food and beverage options to be announced in the coming weeks. For now, we know that Scandinavian Airlines and Swedish brewery Pripps have their name attached to the event, as does 7th & Hill Productions, a Santa Monica-based joint venture of two of Sweden's largest music promoters.
Between now and October, start brushing up on the legacy of Swedish pop music—from ABBA to hit-maker Max Martin—and, at the very least, sample some of the best (and worst) food at IKEA.