Wardruna: Barbican Centre, York – Live Review

Wardruna | Jo Quail
Barbican Centre, York
22nd March 2025

Wardruna are currently in the midst of a world tour in support of their latest release, Birna. The date in York promised to be something special, given the city’s significance in terms of Nordic history, so we despatched Andy for another encounter with the Norwegians, and it did not disappoint. 

Over the past ten years or so, Nordic folk has exploded in mainstream popularity. A leading exponent of the genre (although the label tag doesn’t do justice to their music) are Norway’s Wardruna, who have grown from a very niche act into an international name regularly selling out large venues across the globe. The driving force, and face of the band, Einar Selvik, ensures historical accuracy and authenticity as much as possible, with a modern-day interpretation of the Norse cultural and musical traditions. As such, instruments such as the Kravik Lyre, Tagelharpa, Lurs and Goat Horn all feature in the music and, of course, the live shows. Tonight was no exception, but more about that later. 

A large queue gathered outside the venue, patiently queueing in the rain, and once the doors opened the crowd filed in and seemingly all made their way to the merch stand, with anticipation high for tonight’s headliners and their first visit to York.

Opening proceedings for the evening was the fantastic virtuoso cellist Jo Quail. As with Wardruna, Jo’s popularity has grown exponentially over recent years; in part due to her work ethic, regularly playing on stages here in the UK and beyond, her talent, and her fairly unique musical outpourings. Using her electric cello, and looping techniques, she builds her tracks from humble beginnings into complex masterpieces which enthral the audience, and tonight was no exception. Taking to the stage as a lone figure with her logo projected onto the backdrop, Jo launched into the wonderful Rex Infractus, the opening track from her debut album back in 2010. This was followed by a new track Embrace, which will be on the new album due out in September. Jo explained that the track is about the thread which binds us all together, and as the track evolved, momentum continued to build. However, all too soon, the short set was brought to a close with a brooding rendition of Adder Stone. Jo was beaming throughout the set and looked genuinely humbled by the reception she was given. I’m sure we shall be seeing a lot more of her over the coming years, as her career continues to grow.

The stage was now set for Wardruna, with white netting across the back, and foliage placed across the two-tiered stage, as well as the strategically positioned instruments that would be used during the show. The white backdrop would serve as a screen during the show both for projected images which added depth to the music, as well as a canvas for silhouettes and shadows of the performers to be projected onto. 

The lights went down as the familiar tomes of Kvitravn filled the hall, with images of a white raven being projected onto the back of the stage. New track Hertan followed and sounded as though it had been part of the set for years, with the appreciative crowd lapping it up. The sombre drones of Skugge followed, with the track soon exploding into its more upbeat melody and climax. Momentum was kept up with the life-affirming Solringen and its infectious melody building to a rousing finale, performed in front of a green backdrop with a golden sun ring looking out over the venue.

Vindavlarljod followed, with the stage bathed in orange light and the band appearing as silhouettes before the pulsating Heimta Thurs. A blue-tinged image of a mountain accompanied Lyfjaberg, before the band left the stage leaving Einar to deliver a mesmerising, Skaldic version of the wonderful Voluspa, a highlight of the night. Sections of the crowd were unfortunately becoming quite rowdy and disrespectful by this time, with raucous laughter and shouting overpowering the intimate performance. They were soon told to be quiet, but unfortunately this continued during the rest of the show, tainting the atmosphere a little. 

Eilif Gundersen joined Einar at the front of the stage, both playing a lur, with shadows of the two men and the imposing instruments projected behind them for an emotive rendition of Tyr. The talented Lindy-Fay Hella took centre-stage for the opening of Isa, before the track steadily built in intensity. Without any delay – in fact, there had still been no interaction with the crowd – Grá followed and saw Einar sitting at the top of the stage playing a frame drum as part of the pulsating rhythm section. Halfway through, the lights switched onto the crowd, giving a sense of connection between the band and the audience. Himinndotter, from the latest album, followed, before the sound of cawing and waves crashing heralded the arrival of an older track, and live favourite Rotlaust Tre Fell with more hypnotic, pulsating rhythms as it built towards a dramatic climax, culminating in a lightning strike on the backdrop. Another older favourite, Fehu, followed which pulled the crowd under its Nordic spell with subtle melodies and hypnotic chanting. 

At this point, the band paused as Einar spoke with the audience for the first time in the evening, pointing out that this was the first time the band had played in Jórvík and thanking the crowd for the overwhelming, warm welcome. I had expected the band to reflect a little more on this given the significance of the city to Nordic culture and history (deliberately avoiding the “V” word!). However, this was skipped over and Einar went on to reflect on the significance of tradition, while emphasising that Wardruna was not about trying to relive the past, or trying to be Vikings, reflecting that many things belong in the past and we should learn from these things. He went on to muse that it is important to keep some traditions alive, including the tradition of singing, explaining that, historically, there would be songs for all aspects of life, including death. This inevitably served as an introduction to Helvegen, with Einar explaining that the track is about death, dying, remembering and honouring, as well as singing a person across to the other side and letting go. 

Eilif lit a flaming torch, which triggered five others to light, with the whole stage bathed in red light as the sombre, emotive melody filled the hall. The song was poignant and I got goosebumps as the line “…dei spora eg trår er kalde, så kalde” (“… the tracks I tread are cold, so cold”) was repeatedly left hanging in the heavy atmosphere. As the song was brought to a close with Einar’s solo passage, the band was greeted with rapturous applause and cheering from the audience. The band stood together and took a bow before Einar asked whether the applause was the York way of asking for one more song. Of course, this was greeted with a loud cheer, before Einar brought the evening to a close with a solo rendition of Hibjørnen.

This had been an evening to remember – a true celebration of emotive music and Nordic culture, and the stature of the band deservedly continues to grow with each show and each album. Long may it continue and hopefully we will welcome them back to these shores before too long. 

~

Wardruna are on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp

Jo Quail is on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp

Words and pictures by Andy Pountney who can be found on Instagram