Nibe Festival

Nibe Festival is the four-day weekend in Skalskoven, by the Limfjord, in northern Jutland. The nickname is Den Lille Fede. The first one was on 1 June 1985 at Dyrskuepladsen, on Løgstørvej, for the International Youth Year. Torben Jakobsen left the town hall, crossed to the Jernkroen, and Peter Møller Madsen was sitting there. For the first two years the outdoor stage was two trucks, with local bands and free entry. After that the association Sildefestivalen was formed: Jakobsen as chair, Madsen, Lars Frandsen, Jens and Søren Askehave, Susanne Chessni and Astrid Sindbjerg, with the collectives Aktiv and Driv, The Weasels. In 1988 the first big name was Lars Lilholt. In 1989 it became two days and in 1990 three, and that year they started charging. In 1993 shots and slammers joined the bar. In 1993 Madsen said that in five years they would be in the forest; the move came in 1999. That move brought 70 mm of rain over three days, a turnover of 6 million kroner and 17,000 people across four days. The one they call the 40th ran from 1 to 4 July 2026. If 1985 were year one, the 2026 number would sit two higher: the two counts stay side by side. The office is at Industrivej 5, 9240 Nibe. The phone is 98 35 00 06 and the mail is anders@nibefestival.dk. CVR 12235607 is on the register from 1 July 1988, earlier as NIBE FESTIVAL AF 1992. Madsen speaks as spokesperson. In 2026 they counted more than 5,000 volunteers; in 1985 there were 12.

The walked night is the one Ove Nørhave tells in Maxazine on 3, 4 and 6 July 2025. It began warm and sunny and ended in rain, mud and soft ground. On the second day it read 19 degrees, with wind, and the figure was rising. He speaks of 20,000 people a day and a sales record. The photos are by Martin Damgaard, Hverdagsvinkler.

Minds of 99 open with a guitar and a voice. The first song is Hurtige hænder, acoustic, leaning back. The rest lasts 93 minutes. Sort som en sol, flad som en pandekage arrives with twelve high flames, and in the middle there is a long house and techno break leaning on that same song. The band sounds like hard rock, with a punk edge, and the crowd comes in on the choruses.

Christopher, the fisherman Elliot from the film Et smukt liv, keeps First Like on the list: awkward text messages about how he behaves and how he looks. He sings and barely stops dancing, between rock and roll and funk. Anne Linnet, at 71, does a garage version of Den jeg elsker and of Barndommens gade. Glor på vinduer lands with the force of a sledgehammer. She closes with Tusind stykker, the voice darker and worn, with and without Marquis de Sade. Dean Lewis, on the main stage on a sunny Thursday, hardens How Do I Say Goodbye, Half A Man and Be Alright. The hour feels short to the critic: several ballads resemble each other.

Jung, with Jonas Jung Larsen, go into Forfra forbundet and Hun kommer tilbage. The crowd talks as loud as the band and the soft pieces drown. Suspekt, Bai-D, Orgi-E and Rune Rask, take 80 minutes of rap, hip hop and techno. The crowd does more than sing: they shout the explicit lines. Jonah Blacksmith are the brothers Simon and Thomas Alstrup, from Thy, and the name comes from grandfather Johannes, a blacksmith. In 55 minutes they pass Monster Under My Bed, House on Fire, Up and Yellow Bike. Simon Astrup steps down to set up a rain dance while Søren Bigum stays on a solo. Danser Med Piger, four friends since kindergarten, lean on the song that carries their name, with Daniel Mølgaard Christensen on sax, between funk, disco and Latin rhythms. Anastacia, Anastacia Lyn Newkirk, from Chicago, steps onto the festival for the first time. Seventy minutes: she opens with The Simpsons theme, passes through Sick and Tired, Broken Wings and Sweet Child o' Mine, and closes with The A-Team theme. She says she comes from the United States to stop the rain, at least for a while. The pace Nørhave describes starts at 120 kilometres an hour.

The forest is still the early-July date. The homepage opens day-pass sales on a 1 October and says the full passes were gone in under 55 minutes. That sale stays a date notice. The songs above are the ones that were walked.