Between Flatlands and Mountains: WARDRUNA

September 5, 2025 – From the Northern reaches of the world’s edge comes an ancient cry, one buried deep in the woods, muffled by the shrill winds of the stone mountain ranges that it claws its way out of. That cry is the primal chanting of Wardruna, the Norwegian folk ensemble who has just started the North American chapter of their ceremonious world tour. I was lucky enough to capture the majestic, ceremonious ritual at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Antonio.

Let me tell you a tale, then, and take you into the air of the Northern world…

Special guest, Chelsea Wolfe, was the opening star of the night. The queen of experimental-industrial-bluegrass-sludge opted to switch the heaviest of her distorted tracks for a more appropriate, tone-friendly set that featured a number of her softer, acoustic takes on her more atmospheric ballads. Tracks like the opener, “The Mother Road”, and my personal favorite, “Flatlands.” Accompanying these softer songs was a handful of stripped-down, melancholic renditions of traditionally more noisy tracks, such as “Dusk”, and “16 Psyche”. Wolfe’s set was absolutely gorgeous. As someone who’s been a massive fan of Chelsea Wolfe for a number of years now, this was my first time ever seeing her, and it was magical. The way she commands a room and directs the audience was truly a masterclass in performance.

Nordic tradition and modern innovation came to an exciting collision as Wardruna collected on stage to present the world of the deep, dark North to the seated audience. An impressive collection of lyres , animal-horns, deer-hide drums, traditional flutes, tagelharpa, mora-harp, and a range of percussion instruments and other historical sound sources all filled the stage with their players in tow. The sounds of the Norse gods came to Earth from Valhalla in a spectacle of soundscapes and larger-than-life displays of grandeur heritage. Songs like “Skulgge”, “Kvitravn”, and “Helvegen” struck distinct chords with audiences as they cheered in awe at the impressive scale that Wardruna performed them at.

The problem that many Americans and Westerners have is that they mistake folk music for just being bluesy tales sung by sad strangers on a beat up guitar. Granted, it definitely is that, but folk music is the music of a people, the ideals and messages of a culture as told through the voices of its artists. Whether that be Wardruna, Chelsea Wolfe, Leadbelly, Heilung, Bob Dylan, or Rhiannon Giddens, they all come from somewhere with a tale to tell, and a bag of culture to tell you about. If experiencing the folk music of the world is something you’d be into trying out – or if you’re already massive fan of Wardruna and their norse mythos – then see them as they travel the rest of the states. Tour dates are down below. We hope to see you there.

September 7 • Phoenix, AZ • Ikeda Theater
September 8 • Los Angeles, CA • The Greek Theatre
September 9 • Oakland, CA • Paramount Theatre
September 11 • Portland, OR • Keller Auditorium
September 13 • Seattle, WA • Moore Theatre
September 14 • Seattle, WA • Moore Theatre
September 16 • Salt Lake City, UT • Capitol Theatre
September 17 • Colorado Springs, CO • Pikes Peak Center
September 19 • Minneapolis, MN • Orpheum Theatre
September 20 • Chicago, IL • The Auditorium Theatre
September 22 • Toronto, ON • Massey Hall
September 23 • Rochester, NY • Kodak Center
September 24 • Boston, MA • Wang Theatre
September 26 • New York, NY • Beacon Theatre
September 27 • Philadelphia, PA • Kimmel Center
September 28 • Washington, DC • Warner Theatre

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Liam Tennant for ZRockR Magazine – (c) 2025 – All Rights Reserved.