January •
12 • Norwegian singer
Sigrid is named winner of the
BBC's "Sound of 2018" award. • The 22nd Folklandia Cruise starts in
Helsinki, Finland, running until 13 January. •
13 – Composer
Paavo Heininen, considered by many to be Finland's most influential musician, celebrates his 80th birthday with a concert at the Järvenpää Hall, Helsinki. •
19 – The 37th annual Djangofestival starts in
Oslo, Norway, to run until 20 January. •
28 – Jazz guitarist
Gustav Lundgren and his trio perform a tribute to
Django Reinhardt at
Stockholm Concert Hall, featuring
Aurélien Trigo and
Antoine Boyer. •
30 – Danish composer
Hans Abrahamsen is awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2019.
February •
10 – The 38th
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is won by "
Higher Ground", performed by
Rasmussen. •
14 – Norwegian singer
Sigrid wins Best New Artist at the
NME Awards ceremony. •
22 – It is announced that
Agnes Obel has signed to
Deutsche Grammophon, who will have a joint arrangement with
Blue Note for North American releases.
March •
3 – At Söngvakeppnin 2018,
Ari Ólafsson is selected to represent Iceland in the
2018 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Heim". After winning the context, Ólafsson is criticised on social media for crying on hearing the result. •
7 – Fifteen-year-old cellist
Birgitta Elisa Oftestad wins the Virtuos 2018 competition and is named Norway's representative at the
Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 contest. •
9 – Finnish band
Nightwish begins a nine-month world tour titled
Decades: World Tour, accompanying a new 2CD compilation called
Decades. •
10 – The final of
Melodifestivalen 2018 takes place in
Friends Arena,
Stockholm, Sweden. •
12 – The
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under
Hannu Lintu, begins a week-long series of concerts in Germany. •
25 •
Swedish House Mafia unexpectedly reunite for a performance at the 20th Anniversary of
Ultra Music Festival in Miami, United States. • Greenlandic singer
Nive Nielsen stars as "Lady Silence" in a new US horror series,
The Terror, her first international TV role.
April •
27 –
ABBA announce that they have recorded some new songs, the first since 1983.
May •
8 – In semi-final 1 of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Iceland's entry is eliminated, but Finland's
Saara Aalto finishes 10th and makes it to the final. •
10 – In semi-final 2 of the Eurovision Song Contest, Norway's entry finishes in first place, Sweden 2nd and Denmark 5th; all three countries make it to the final. •
12 – In the Eurovision final, held in Lisbon, Sweden does best of the Scandinavian countries, finishing in 7th place. •
23 - The
Bergen International Festival opens in Bergen, Norway, running until 6 June. Guest performers include
Meow Meow, Selene Muñoz and Helsinki Songs.
June •
6 – The 26th
Sweden Rock Festival opens in
Norje, running until 9 June.
The Quill are forced to withdraw the day before the festival begins, because lead singer Magnus Ekwall is recovering from emergency surgery.
July •
3 – The organizers confirm that the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, normally held after the awards ceremony in Oslo, will not take place in 2018. •
4 – The 19th
Folk music festival of Siglufjordur opens in
Siglufjordur, Iceland, running until 8 July. •
5 –
Gregory Porter guest stars at the 2018
Kongsberg Jazzfestival in Norway. •
27 – The
Uppsala Reggae Festival opens in Sweden, running until 28 July, headlined by
Jimmy Cliff.
September •
5 – The Copenhagen World Music Festival opens, running until 9 September. •
6 – The
Lahti Sibelius Festival opens, running until 9 September.
November •
7 – The
Iceland Airwaves music festival opens, running until 10 November. Guests include
Blood_Orange,
Cashmere Cat and
Stella Donnelly.
December •
6 – Icelandic Music Day is celebrated. ==Albums released==