Öland Roots 2022
Öland Roots will be held on 14 to 16 July on Sandbergen at the town of Stora Frö on Öland.
Some who play at this year’s festival are Clinton Fearon, Kalle Baah, Sister Sol, Queen Omega, Glesbygd’n, Aurelia Day, Amanda Warren and Angelica Mava.
In addition to concerts, the festival has 70 program items with activities and workshops for different ages.
New features for this year include live podcasts, nature vigilance, and nightly small animal safaris.
Öland Roots was started in 2004 by Johan Grusell and Alexander Sjöbäck.
Last year, Öland Roots was one of the few festivals held despite corona restrictions, but then with an extremely limited audience. Now the festival goes back to its roots and is carried out as usual, with both dance classes and group yoga, but above all with music.
– The reggae scene is alive and well, says Kalle Palmgren, organizer of the festival.
He says that it was the association’s toughest decision ever to cancel the 2020 festival. The fact that the festival has nevertheless survived financially through the pandemic is largely due to the fact that many visitors chose to give away their tickets. In addition, a slimmed-down version of the festival was carried out last year.
Clinton Fearon and Sister Sol
This year there are several great artists on the concert schedule. One of them is Clinton Fearon from Jamaica, who has been active since 1969. First as a member of the group The Gladiators and then as a solo artist.
– It is a big name and really a long-awaited act, says Kalle Palmgren.
Sister Sol also steps up on stage as usual. She is a clear audience favorite after being a regular at Öland Roots since the festival started 18 years ago. This year, she ends the entire festival on Saturday night.
There are also some newcomers on the list. Amanda Warren and Angelica Mava are two Swedish bubblers in the genre who also perform at the festival.
Isabella Sandblom better known as Sister Sol performs at Öland Roots 2022. Stock Photography.Half women on stage
Three years ago, the festival had only female main artists. This year, the concert schedule consists of half men and half women, something that Öland Roots plans to continue with in the future.
– It is important for us that everyone who comes here can identify with those who are on stage, says Kalle Palmgren.
Right now, the area looks like a large workplace where there is full speed in different corners. But everything is going according to plan for Thursday, when the area is filled with 4,500 visitors between the ages of 1 and 80 years.
– There are no typical “Öland Roots visitors”. There are mixed ages and everything from neighbors on the island to long-distance guests. But the common denominator is that everyone likes to create together and is looking for open meetings with other people, says Kalle Palmgren.