Halmstad

Roxette In Concert 2025 – Halmstad – 27th July 2025 – #25

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The last summer show on the Roxette In Concert 2025 tour happened at Brottet in Halmstad. It was the 25th gig on tour, also sold out.

The support act was Melodic Fluke, just like the previous day, and they played for appr. 30 minutes from 20:00. Roxette took the stage a few minutes after 21:00.

After Sleeping In My Car, Per greeted the crowd and said it was nice to be back. He thinks Brottet is Sweden’s most beautiful venue and it’s always fun to play there. Mr. G also introduced the newest member of the Roxette family, the absolutely incomparable Lena Philipsson. The crowd cheered her loudly.

The setlist was the same as the night before, so the gang stuck to 20 songs.

For the last show, the hardcore fans prepared with two flashmobs. One of them – based on Sandra Knospe’s idea – was to raise our hands in the shape of a heart during It Must Have Been Love. So when Lena dedicated the song to our beloved Marie, we raised our hands and kept them in the air for almost the entire song. At least the first 2 rows in the audience did. Dea noticed the action and she also formed a heart.

During the band presentation, the front part of the audience was preparing for the next flashmob: they were blowing up balloons. It was Basia Konarzewska’s initiative to bring back the balloons for Joyride. Christoffer played Kärleken är evig as the intro to Joyride and it was wonderful to see Per and Lena’s faces, and then the crowd’s sing along reaction was cool too when they recognized what song it was. After the intro, the fans were waving the balloons and released them into the air when it came to the lyric „in a wonderful balloon”. It looked fab! Here you can see videos of it from two different angles (1; 2).

When Per and Lena returned to the stage for the encore, Per thanked the band and their fantastic crew for this tour as it was the last show until autumn. He thanked the support act as well. Then someone from the audience shouted he should thank Lena too, so Lena was laughing and she thanked Per and Per thanked Lena. Then they performed Spending My Time.

For me it’s hard to say which of the last three shows was the best, so I would say the second Gothenburg gig and the two Halmstad shows are in my Top5, along with the best concert in Munich and another amazing gig in Madrid.

The energy during all the shows was wonderful both on and off stage. Hats off to Dea, Clarence, Christoffer, Jonas, Magnus and Norpan for their amazing instrumental and vocal contribution to the Roxette sound! All the love to Lena for accepting the challenge and giving us the opportunity to enjoy all our most beloved Roxette hits live again! She is the newest member of the Roxette family and has earned the love of the South African, Australian and European audiences.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the genius who wrote all these hits and who always has the best sense of what works best with the song catalogue. Mr. G, the driving force behind it all!

And last, but definitely not least, Marie stays with us and is not only remembered during It Must Have Been Love, but her spirit is there throughout the entire show. Pelle is not forgotten either, Norpan keeps his light shining. Marie and Pelle, forever in our hearts!

After the concert we bumped into Valdemar Wahlbeck (who played Per in the Sommartider movie), Ville Löfgren (who played MP) and Moa Bondesson (who played MP’s girlfriend). It was their first Roxette show and they were impressed by it. No surprise!

The party was over at Brottet, but Hotel Tylösand organized a Roxette-themed afterparty at Leif’s Lounge, so most of the fans went to the hotel to join the fiesta. Per and the band together with their guests (with Jonas Åkerlund among them) had a separate summer tour leg closing party, also at Hotel Tylösand, but at Leif’s Terrace. When the band members arrived, we were able to thank them for the wonderful shows and the memories we had made together.

The DJ at Leif’s was a bit hard to convince to play Roxette songs at a Roxette-themed afterparty attended by Roxette fans, but sometimes we managed, so he played The Look, It Must Have Been Love, Neverending Love and Dressed For Success. He inserted some Gyllene Tider songs as well and Ännu doftar kärlek by Marie and Kärleken är evig by Lena in between ABBA songs and songs from the ’90s. Towards the end of the party we asked him to play Sommartider. At first he refused to play it, but then he realized that he couldn’t go against our will. Haha. So the night ended with Sommartider at 3 am. It was lovely to party together, not only at the concert, but also after the show.

Setlist

1. The Big L.
2. Sleeping In My Car
3. Dressed For Success
4. Crash! Boom! Bang!
5. Wish I Could Fly
6. Opportunity Nox
7. Fading Like A Flower
8. Vulnerable
9. Milk And Toast And Honey
10. Almost Unreal
11. Stars
12. She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)
13. It Must Have Been Love
14. How Do You Do!
15. Dangerous

Band presentation

16. Joyride

Encore

17. Spending My Time
18. Listen To Your Heart
19. The Look
20. Queen Of Rain

Now 3 months off and the next stop is Budapest on 4th November! Check out all the tour dates and links to ticket sales sites HERE!

Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres. More photos HERE!

Per after the gig:

Yoohoo! Amazing Sunday gig in Halmstad! 11000+ showing up. Fab vibe + super weather + band on its toes! Love this. Thanks for an amazing summer. See y’all in November but more pics + vids + love letters will pop up. Maybe some new music…. Stay tuned, folks!

Lena before the show:

Tonight it’s the last concert for this summer. This second tour with Roxette 2025. Thank you, Per, for bringing me along! It’s been a real joyride (well..literally haha, don’t know if I’ll ever bring back the keys…).

And thank you everyone for coming to see us. You’ve given us a lot of love. Sooo very happy about that, big kisses and hugs to you all! See you tonight!!

Lena after the show:

Amazing last show yesterday in Halmstad! I’ve had so much fun this summer. Thank you everyone for everything, thank you crew, musicians and production, you have all done a super job! Thank you Per and Åsa (all your photos!!) Thank you everyone who came to listen! Next tour around Europe in november-december 2025!

Roxette In Concert 2025 – Halmstad – 26th July 2025 – #24

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The last two shows on the summer tour leg are two sold-out gigs at Brottet in Halmstad. HERE you can watch a video of how long the queue was before the gates opened. So cool!

The support act was Melodic Fluke and they played for appr. 30 minutes at 20:00. Roxette took the stage a couple of minutes after 21:00.

After Sleeping In My Car, Per greeted the crowd and this time he also took the opportunity to welcome all the international fans in English. After that he couldn’t go on with his talk, because the front row started to sing „Olé, olé, olé, olé, Roxette, Roxette”. It was fun!

Mr. G also introduced the newest member of the Roxette family, the fantastic Lena. The crowd cheered her loudly and shouted her name: „Lena, Lena, Lena!” She said she felt great, „who wouldn’t feel great when in Halmstad.”

The setlist was the same as at the second Gothenburg gig, so Wish I Could Fly stayed in the set.

During the band presentation, all members got cheered loudly by the audience. Jonas played a little bit of Iron Man by Black Sabbath as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. (Thanks for recognizing it, Daniel Rezmann!)

Christoffer played Ljudet av ett annat hjärta as the intro to Joyride.

Before Queen Of Rain, Per thanked the audience for coming and said he hopes they would have a further nice summer and „see you next time! Maybe tomorrow?” Haha. „Take care of each other, it’s a crazy world out there!”

This show is definitely among the best gigs on this tour leg. It couldn’t top Munich, but it was very close to that. The energy on and off stage was incredible! I must say that Lena is always fabulous, but last night it felt like she wanted to do extra justice to the songs in their hometown. She was outstanding! I think it was her most powerful performance in her Roxette history so far.

In the audience there was Mats Olsson, Sven Lindström, Jan-Owe Wikström. Anders Roos was taking photos during the concert.

Setlist

1. The Big L.
2. Sleeping In My Car
3. Dressed For Success
4. Crash! Boom! Bang!
5. Wish I Could Fly
6. Opportunity Nox
7. Fading Like A Flower
8. Vulnerable
9. Milk And Toast And Honey
10. Almost Unreal
11. Stars
12. She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)
13. It Must Have Been Love
14. How Do You Do!
15. Dangerous

Band presentation

16. Joyride

Encore

17. Spending My Time
18. Listen To Your Heart
19. The Look
20. Queen Of Rain

Without a day off, the next and last stop on this tour leg is Halmstad on 27th July! Check out all the autumn tour dates and links to ticket sales sites HERE!

Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres. More photos HERE!

Per after the show:

Halmstad #1. Wow, what a gig! Unbelievable! Thx so much for all your beautiful voices! See you tonite for the summer finale!

Lena after the gig:

Thank you, Halmstad, for an amazing night!!

The Gyllene Tider Experience – Halmstad pop-up exhibition

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On 25th June, a completely unique pop-up exhibition opens at Klammerdammsgatan 4 in Halmstad city. The Gyllene Tider Experience is more than an exhibition. It is an experience that creates emotions. It’s retro and it’s contemporary at the same time.

This exhibition has really engaged the members of the band. All five have opened their hearts and searched their stashes for memorabilia and gadgets that create a picture of Gyllene Tider’s dreams when they started their careers. In one corner you will find the rehearsal room set up as it once looked, taken from the film Sommartider. In another part, you can sing along to Gyllene Tider’s songs. Maybe you also want to share your dreams. You can do that here.

The pop-up exhibition is about Gyllene Tider’s first year, with a connection to the upcoming movie Sommartider, which will premiere in Sweden’s cinemas on 17th July. As Micke Syd usually says, “we are merchants of joy”. And that’s exactly how it is. Per Gessle’s song Här kommer alla känslorna på en och samma gång will probably be familiar to many visitors. Because music is life, at all stages. And Gyllene Tider has been with us all the way – for a long, long time.

Gyllene Tider brings happiness and pride

Per Gessle says:

Halmstad is and has always been the place in our hearts. When I was contacted that a pop-up exhibition was in the works, connected to the upcoming “Sommartider” film and the fantastic audio guides that were recently launched, it felt obvious to open the archives and treasure chests. We in the band, as well as those who work with the exhibition, have had many memories revived, which feels enormously fun. I think many visitors will be happy with this exhibition.

Stefan Pålsson (S), chairman of the municipal board in Halmstad says:

Since the band’s start, Gyllene Tider has meant a great deal to Halmstad. In their tracks, with all the songs depicting the city, history has been written and created an infinite pride in all of us who live here. Their music has always brought visitors to our fine city and with the exhibition we look forward to even more tourists and that Halmstad residents will also go to Klammerdammsgatan 4 to walk along the Gyllene Tider memorial trail.

The Gyllene Tider Experience opens on 25th June and can be visited until 31st August. Halmstad Tourist Center is in the same premises and there you can buy tickets to the exhibition. Tickets are also available at ticketmaster.se.

Opening hours

Tuesday–Friday 10.00–18.00
Saturday 10.00–16.00
Sunday 12.00–16.00

Mondays – closed

 

 

 

Photos by Destination Halmstad

Gyllene Tider city guides in Halmstad

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Destination Halmstad released 2 new Halmstad guides related to Gyllene Tider and each of them includes 11 videos.

Discover places featured in song lyrics, places that have meant a lot to the band, and places where musical magic has been created. Through film clips, audio stories, Per’s memorial notes, letters from fans and song lyrics, you get a deep dive into Gyllene Tider’s history. Also Roxette, Marie Fredriksson and other musicians that Gyllene Tider encountered or have a connection with appear in the guide.

If you want to hear more stories from and about Gyllene Tider, visit HalmstadStories.se. For each film clip, there is also an audio narration and text with more in-depth information. The guide will also be translated into English shortly. The guides are produced by Sweetspot Studio and photographer Anders Roos.

Gyllene roadtrip – video playlist HERE

1 – En kavalkad av konserter på Brottet
2 – Prins Bertils stig – en resa
3 – Tylösand och Tylösun
4 – Champinjoner i Frammarp
5 – Studio Tits&Ass 1.0
6 – Trum-petaren som byggde seniorboende
7 – Repen och Börjes café i Harplinge
8 – Bio Reflex – Gyllene Tiders första konsert
9 – Åled – tur och retur på moped
10 – Studio CMP och första skivan
11 – En vacker dag ska vi spela där i Folkparken

Gyllene promenad genom stan – video playlist HERE

1 – Pers lägenhet på Torsgatan
2 – Studion Tits & Ass 2.0
3 – Roxette bildas på konditori Regnbågen
4 – Succén på Stora torg
5 – Tuppen på S:t Nikolai kyrka
6 – Slottet i Sveriges Liverpool
7 – Jag väntar vid Picasso
8 – Nissan å, livslinje och tidslinje
9 – Tony på Kays radio och TV
10 – Vi passerade Norre Port
11 – Örjans vall och Gyllene Tiders sista spelning någonsin

Stills are from the videos in the above mentioned playlists.

He is Halmstad! – Per Gessle is awarded the cultural prize of Halmstad municipality

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Halmstad municipality’s cultural prize 2023 goes to Per Gessle. This was decided by the cultural committee at its meeting on 30th November. A grateful Per Gessle says that he is especially happy to have inspired others to create music.

Halmstad Municipality’s cultural prize has been awarded since 1967. This year the prize sum is SEK 30,000 and 55 cultural actors were nominated by the public.

This time, the cultural committee chose to praise a super-famous songwriter and artist who has been of enormous importance to the municipality for more than half a century and is still relevant.

Per Gessle says:

Many thanks for this great prize. It has been a long journey for me in the wonderful world of music. In the ’60s in front of the gramophone. In the ’70s in front of the microphone and in the rehearsal studio. Then it got rolling. Extra lovely if I and all my collaborators have succeeded in inspiring and engaging other people to fantasize, create and be creative. Nice. Thank you so much.

The cultural committee’s justification:

Per Gessle is the recipient of the Cultural Prize 2023. The Culture Committee considers this musician to be equal to Halmstad. He started his career by entertaining and playing at nursing homes and hospitals in the municipality and has since contributed to making Halmstad a music metropolis. We don’t think there is anyone in the municipality or in the country who can’t hum at least one of Per Gessle’s songs. He is a cultural personality who created an incredible song catalogue, and lyrics that have the ability to evoke all emotions at once.

Per Gessle is one of Sweden’s most successful artists and songwriters. He started writing songs as a child, breaking through with Gyllene Tider from 1978 and continued the successes with the duo Roxette, formed in 1986.

At the moment, among other things, he is involved with a newly written book about Gyllene Tider, a film about the same band with a premiere in the summer of 2024, and a newly written musical based on Roxette’s songs that will be staged at Malmö Opera with a premiere in the fall of 2024.

Per Gessle has always been loyal to his home municipality and he has received a number of awards. Among other things, he became an honorary citizen of Halmstad Municipality in 2007.

Facts regarding Halmstad municipality’s cultural award:

  • The prize sum this year is SEK 30,000.
  • This year, 55 different cultural actors were nominated by the public.
  • The prize is awarded in December each year to a person, group or organization that is recognized for particularly valuable contributions in the field of culture. The prize winner must be active in the municipality of Halmstad or, through their activities, have or had a close connection to the municipality.
  • The culture award is one of three different awards and scholarships awarded by the cultural committee in Halmstad municipality.

Photo by Anders Roos