Mentoring young artists

Each year, Vill Vill Vest picks one special artist to play at Vill Vill Vest. In 2021, singer-songwriter Michelle Ullestad performed a beautiful concert in front of an enthusiastic audience. Ullestad sings in Norwegian and has rapidly been carving out her own space in the Norwegian music scene. Her story and her texts touch people. We decided to sign her for our one year mentoring programme. In collaboration with Chartmetric, we tracked and followed Michelle's career for several months. In 2022, Michelle played both at the Bergenfest and Øyafestivalen, and she won the NRK award “årets Urørt”. Her story is a great example of what the essence of our work is: help young artists succeed. Read more here.

Martin Rokkones - From volunteer to booking chief

It is easy to highlight artist stories from Vill Vill Vest, but a more concealed success story is what happens on the inside. One of our most important collaborations is with UFLAKKS, a group of young and inspired people that wants to learn more about the music industry. They are invited as members of the booking committee, both because we want to include young people in the process, but also because of their experience and knowledge. The first year of Vill Vill Vest (2016), Martin Rokkones was both a volunteer and a member of the booking committee. His drive, his knowledge and willingness to learn did not go unnoticed, and he has been invited back every year since. He is now the head of booking in Vill Vill Vest, and a valued member of the staff.

GRIP - Inspiring more female sound engineers

In 2022, we cooperated with GRIP, a network that focuses on recruiting more women as sound engineers. We invited their newest members to “shadow” the professional sound engineers at Vill Vill Vest, and with great results. In addition to getting paid for their work, several of the participants were offered permanent positions after Vill Vill Vest. This was the goal, and is an example of a pilot project that succeeded above all expectations. We will continue the collaboration in the future. Read more about GRIP.