Naja P performs at SPOT Festival

Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen, lead singer of the band Naja P, will perform at SPOT Festival, an annual music festival and cultural network conference in Aarhus.

Here she will perform with her band, consisting of guitarist Jaaku Sørensen, bassist Qillaq Petrussen, drummer Jens-Christian Lyberth-Lennert and keyboardist Laura Lennert Jensen.

Together they will perform on May 1st at 2:00 PM at A Huset. However, the road to it has been anything but smooth, as the band's first application for participation was initially rejected.

- Our application was initially rejected, and I was so disappointed! But a few days later I got an invitation email from SPOT Festival, and my first thought was: “OMG, WHAT?!”, says lead singer Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen, and continues:

- At that moment my thoughts flew to the festival and all the preparations. I got excited again, something in me ignited, and suddenly there were many balls in the air.

Financial bump in the road

The band will be responsible for the transport to Aarhus themselves, and therefore the week since the invitation has been busy and hectic. Vahl Olsen sought support from, among others, NAPA and Eqqumiitsuliornermut Aningaasaateqarfik, but was rejected.

- All the funds we applied to replied that the application deadline had passed. At that moment, I felt hope disappear, even though the festival was pulling me. I felt so desperate, explains Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen.

Because of the rejections, she turned to local companies, but the expenses of the trip were still not covered. Therefore, Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen shared a video on social media, where she explained the situation and asked for support, and it finally gave results.

The Cultural Association in Aalborg, Tikiusaaq, agreed to support the band financially in exchange for them performing at the association. A similar agreement applies to Esme Lounge. They have agreed that the band will perform at Esme Lounge, and that the earnings will go towards the band's trip. The lead singer also highlights Tupilak Travel and Niinas Psykologi as contributors to the costs of the trip.

- I sent around three hundred emails to different companies over the course of a week, and since that did not give the desired result, I instead focused on social media, where we got the necessary funds for the trip. We are therefore very grateful to the individuals who have sent us money from their personal wallets, says the lead singer of Naja P.

Good expectations

In addition to the three hundred emails and the application deadline for the pool for the next release at Vahl Olsen, her daughter's first birthday also fell in the same week.

- I don't know how I made it all happen. I sent emails, applied for funds for my next music release, and at the same time the preparations for the coffee party, on the occasion of my daughter's first birthday, were in full swing, says Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen.

What can the audience expect from your performance?

- You can expect to be swallowed into another world, where we welcome all emotions and the spirit of our ancestors and not least a tribute to our Inuit culture. At least that is what is stated on the invitations we have sent to music industry people around the world.

Vahl Olsen expects to meet bookers, agents and possibly a manager, although she is currently in dialogue with a potential manager.

- I can't mention any names, but I am in dialogue with my potential future manager, but I hope to meet more bookers and agents, Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen says expectantly and continues:

- We haven't made a set list yet, but I know that we will be performing some of my released songs as well as two unreleased English songs that I have written myself. The two English songs are planned for release in my next project, possibly in 2027.

Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen has not had an easy task planning the trip to Aarhus, as she has had to handle other appointments at the same time. It is only now that she really realizes what the upcoming trip entails.

- We went to the Arctic Sounds Music Festival the day after we bought the tickets, so I didn't really have time to digest that we are also going to the SPOT Festival. Only now is it really starting to sink in, and sometimes my heart constricts at the thought that it will be the first time I will be away from my daughter, concludes Naja Parnuuna Vahl Olsen.