Performer Bios
Art Bjorngjeld
Art Bjorngjeld is a Minneapolis musician who performs a mixture of old-time and Scandinavian tunes on the button box accordion and fiddle. Grandson of Norwegian immigrants, Art grew up in a family that loved music. His grandfather was a fiddler, his father and uncle Oliver played the accordion for dances in North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota and his aunts, “The North Dakota Sweethearts,” were very popular in music halls in North Dakota. Art was a long-time member of the LeRoy Larson Minnesota Scandinavian Ensemble and performs with Ole Olsson’s Oldtime Orkestra.
ASI Lillalag
The Lilla spelmanslag is a youth fiddle/cello folkmusic group made up of young musicians ages 8 through 18. We learn traditional Swedish folkmusic, for example walzes, schottis, and polskas. We welcome new members. In 2022 we traveled to Sweden to connect with three youth folk music groups in three different parts of Sweden and attended a folk music festival and a fiddle camp. We learn by ear with the help of rehearsals and on-line recordings.
ASI Male Chorus
The ASI Male Chorus began in 1936 to preserve Swedish heritage. They are members of the American Union of Swedish Singers (AUSS). The chorus has sung internationally, nationally, and around Minnesota. In June of 2026, we hosted the National Convention of the American Union of Swedish Singers, concluding with a sold-out mass concert in Benson Hall at Bethel College.
ASI Spelmanslag
The ASI Spelmanslag is the fiddling group of the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play the traditional folk music of Sweden, primarily from the region of Dalarna. Repertoire includes traditional dance tunes such as waltzes, schottisches, and polskas. The ASI Spelmanslag, organized in 1985 with a dozen players, grew out of fiddle classes Paul Dahlin taught at the American Swedish Institute. The group has played nationally and in Sweden.
Button Boxers
The ‘Button Boxers’ are a loose collective (gang?) of button accordion players that gather to play tunes on a weekly basis. The group originated when Mia Burgstede discovered her Grandpa’s old two row box and decided to learn to play it herself. Gradually the group grew as other elder accordionists came out of the woods to join the fun, including Jim Leedham, Ted Hodapp, and Art Bjorngjeld. Peggy Runquist often joins in with recorder and flute.
Char, Brynn & Judy
Char, Brynn & Judy are three women on buttonbox and fiddles who will be playing many gammeldans tunes. Gammeldans tunes are dance tunes, waltz, schottis and polka variations. The trio enjoys playing Norwegian, Swedish and Danish tunes.
Cloudberries
Carolyn Johansson and Margareta Beyer co-founded the ASI Cloudberries in 2004. They are a member of the American Union of Swedish Singers (AUSS). The chorus has sung in Illinois, Wisconsin, Portland, and Connecticut along with events in Minnesota. The majority of the songs are sung in Swedish. They are a proud recipient of an American Scandinavian Foundation 2026 grant which supported a summer study tour.
Feleboks
Feleboks is the name of an acoustic folk music duo consisting of musicians Mia Burgstede (on the two-row accordion) and Jim Bannon (on the hardingfele and fiddle). They perform traditional Nordic tunes and are known for hosting community folk jams and appearing at cultural festivals.
Hardingfelelag
Twin Cities Hardingfelelag (Hardanger Fiddle Group) is dedicated to the performance of traditional hardanger fiddle music. The group provides dance music at Scandinavian events around the Twin Cities and in outstate MN. The hardanger fiddle is the national folk instrument of Norway. It is ornately decorated with pen and ink designs called rosing and inlaid mother-of-pearl. The hardanger fiddle is like a violin, with an additional four or five sympathetic strings that run underneath the fingerboard. These add a unique droning sound when the top primary strings are bowed. The members of the group wear bunad, Norwegian folk costume, with each bunad coming from a particular area of Norway.
Isaac and Howard
Isaac and Howard are members of the Icelandic-American Hekla Club. Howard is Icelandic by marriage, and Isaac has Icelandic ancestry and has spent three summers in Iceland, including this past summer where he attended several workshops at a folk music festival. In addition to playing Icelandic folk tunes, Isaac also plays the Norwegian hardanger fiddle. Howard plays and sings mostly folk and Bluegrass songs, but also does Scandinavian music. He is a member of the ASI Spelmanslag, and has learned some Icelandic songs.
Keyed Duo
Keyed Duo plays traditional Swedish folk music on the nyckelharpa or keyed fiddle that has been played for more than 600 years, in Sweden. The two musicians in this group are Elise Peters and Renee Vaughn. Besides playing together, Elise and Renee are active in the Swedish community involved with other music and dance groups.
Kisirit
A Finnish American Folk Dancers, located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, continues to promote Finnish culture in America since 1972. They have promoted awareness and appreciation of the Finnish culture in America through Finnish folk dance and music.
Lauluaika
Lauluaika, Finnish for “Song Time”, is a group of musicians who share a passion for singing and playing Finnish folk tunes for audiences who enjoy listening or dancing. Their repertoire includes Finnish couples dances such as waltzes, polkas, humppa jenkka, mazurkka, and hambo, as well as lively group dances for all ages to enjoy.
North Star Nordic Dancers
The North Star Nordic Dancers perform village dances from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark to live music performed on the fiddle, guitar, nyckelharpa (Swedish key fiddle), hardingfele (Norwegian Hardanger fiddle), and mouth harp. They frequently perform at regional Scandinavian cultural events, museums, and festivals. Dances range from smooth and graceful to springy and energetic. They feature lots of turning and precise footwork. We dance primarily in couples rather than in sets or lines, as many “International” folk dances are danced. Our repertoire includes schottisches, mazurkas, waltzes, snoas, and many forms of pols and polska (a dance done in 3/4 time, often with syncopated footwork during turns).
Nya Duvemåla Folkmusiklag
Nya Duvemåla Folkmusiklag was formed in 2021 by a group of musicians who love to play music, especially Swedish folk music. They want to share this beautiful music and keep the traditions alive. The group consists of violin, nyckelharpa, mandolin, guitar, accordion and bass violin. They are also known as the “Karl Oskar House Band.”
OK Then
Ok Then keeps the Danish folk music traditions alive. Their music is upbeat, your feet can’t stay still. Ok Then can lead you in dance as they play by ‘calling’ the steps of the dances, which makes this a fun dance for everyone!
Paul Sauey
Paul Sauey is a musician from Minneapolis, MN where he has been playing and performing for nearly twenty years. Alongside his classical training on cello, he is one of the preeminent Nordic guitar players in the Midwest bringing the pure, authentic sounds of Nordic music and combining them with American folk inspirations.
PONYFOLK: Paul & Alex
Ponyfolk was formed in 2014 by Clifton Nesseth (vocals, strings, guitar, synth/keys) and Paul Sauey (vocals, strings, guitar, bass). Based out of Duluth and Minneapolis, MN, the pair’s multi-instrumentalist abilities and vocal harmonies have carved them out a reputation of creating maximalist soundscapes that are defined by droning layers of guitars, strings, and synth textures – undergirding emotionally evocative lyrical imagery. Over the last few years, the band has expanded to include Aaron Hays (drums), Alex Nelson (keyboards), Mikey Marget (cello), and Lewis Franti (percussion). Paul & Clif are 2024 American Scandinavian Foundation awardees.
Renee Vaughan & Laura MacKenzie
Renee Vaughan (nyckelharpa) and Laura MacKenzie (säckpipa and wooden flute) share a passion for traditional Swedish folk music and its quirky, captivating instruments. They both studied their respective traditions during the summer of 2026 as American Scandinavian Foundation grant recipients. Together, they’ve performed at Norsk Høstfest and as teaching artists with Minnesota Public Radio’s Class Notes program.
Sutter Brothers
For more than thirty years, The Sutter Brothers have performed lively shows that integrate Bart’s original poems with Ross’ versions of traditional Nordic songs and tunes. Best known as a singer, Ross also plays a variety of instruments: guitar, button accordion, dulcimer, and Irish drum. Bart, who has won three Minnesota Book Awards, complements the songs with story poems drawn from his collections. Whether the boys are featured at the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh or Braham Pie Day, their shows are always colored by their rural background and their Nordic heritage.
Tjärnblom
Tjärnblom, Swedish for “woodland lake flower”, is a Scandinavian-style string band featuring a beautiful blend of Nyckelharpa, Octave Mandolin, Harmonium and Cello. They travel a modern “Snoose Boulevard Highway” in a musical journey, and play a repertoire of both old and new Swedish, Finnish, and Minnesota tunes for dancing and for listening. They’ve performed across the state of Minnesota, and have appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion show. The name Tjärnblom is in honor of the Swedish grandfather of one of the band members.
Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag
The Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag (Key Fiddle Group) was formed in 1998 to practice and perform Swedish folk music. Their repertoire is drawn mostly from folk tunes in Uppland, Sweden, where the nyckelharpa tradition has its roots. Whether leading a procession, playing for dancing, performing in concert or providing focus for special events, the TC Nyckelharpalag enthusiastically carries on Swedish traditions through music. In performance members of the group wear folk-dräkt, folk costumes modeled after clothing worn on special occasions in the 19th century.
Vasa Jr. Folk Dancers
The Vasa Junior Folkdancers was formed in 1927 through the Vasa Order of America in MN. Vasa is a fraternal, cultural and educational organization that began in 1896 and named after Gustav Vasa, 16 century king of Sweden. The dancers are 3-18 years old and practice at the American Swedish Institute.