Moddi & Kajsa Balto

What Does It Mean to Belong?
Both Pål Moddi Lue and Kajsa Balto have spent their lives using music to explore questions of identity and belonging. In this collaboration, the two singers—and their traditions—come together for the first time through music. Moddi’s Northern Norwegian ballads and Balto’s Sámi songs merge into a concert where their languages, moods, and stories complement and push each other forward.

Singer-songwriter Moddi grew up on the island of Senja with a mother from Eastern Norway. Over the years, he has established himself as one of Norway’s most prominent musical storytellers, earning a devoted following far beyond the country’s borders. Similarly, Kajsa Balto grew up navigating a space between identities. Raised in Oslo’s Sandaker neighborhood, she learned to speak Sámi from her parents and has continued to use music and joik to explore her Sámi heritage. Today, she is recognized as one of the leading Sámi artists, known for milestones such as the first Sámi Christmas concert at the Oslo Opera House, performed alongside the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

This project was initiated by the Márkomeannu festival in Evenes. With support from Musikk i Nordland, the concert has toured Nordland and Troms counties and is now finally arriving in Tromsø as part of the Northern Lights Festival.

On Stage:

• Aleksander Sjølie – guitars
• Karoline Bjørhei – drums
• Ragnhild Tronsmo Haugland – cello
• Torjus Eggen – bass
• Kajsa Balto – vocals and joik
• Pål Moddi Lue – vocals

Martin Nordvik Olsen – sound technician