The Source pay tribute to Oslo
A unique opening concert
March 20, 2026:
Oslo Jazz Festival is proud to present The Source: of Oslo as this year’s opening concert at The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet on Sunday, August 9! Tickets go on sale Friday March 20th at 11.00.
On the occasion of Oslo Jazz Festival’s 40th anniversary, we invite you all to a grand tribute to the city and the music metropolis of Oslo with The Source, who will showcase the capital’s diverse expressions at the Opera House this evening.
“Oslo Jazzfestival’s identity is deeply rooted in our diverse city. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to present an opening concert that will celebrate Oslo’s musical soul — in the most creative and unpredictable way possible! I’m certain that The Source and their guests will give us a unique concert experience we won’t soon forget,” says festival director Line Juul.
Oslo is a city that has inspired and produced a vast amount of fantastic music depicting everyday life and celebration, the beautiful and the terrible — the big city of Oslo in both its best and worst aspects. Oslo is also a city that musicians from all over the world now call home. The Source have dived into this material, selected their Oslo favorites, and arranged the songs in a distinctly recognizable The Source style. As tradition dictates, the band has also invited a number of star guest performers to appear on stage. The guests will be announced continuously.
Over the past three decades, The Source has become a jazz institution in Norway, with an irresistible blend of virtuosity and joy for life. The quartet — saxophonist Trygve Seim, trombonist Øyvind Brække, bassist Mats Eilertsen, and drummer Per Oddvar Johansen — celebrated the 30th anniversary of their project “The Source: of Christmas” in 2025 at the Cosmopolite Scene, where they performed a weekend of marathon concerts to standing ovations.
The Source: of Oslo was originally scheduled to open Oslo Jazzfestival in 2020, but was put on hold when the country shut down. With the festival’s 40th anniversary, the project has been revived, and we will finally have the opportunity to experience this grand celebration on the main stage of the Opera House with The Source: of Oslo.