Grace Jones:
When a pop culture icon takes over Kongsberg
On stage, she is known for her eccentric costumes, theatrical stage shows and magnetic presence. Now, one of pop culture's most enigmatic and groundbreaking artists is coming to Kongsberg Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 5, for an exclusive Norwegian concert.
Grace Jones photographed for the Los Angeles Times in 1984, at the height of her fame as an artist, actress and global celebrity. Photo: Gary Friedman / UCLA Library Digital Collections / Creative Commons 4.0
"Grace Jones. Grace f****** Jones. That should be enough", it says in her own artist biography. And for many, she is just that: a pop cultural icon and role model who inspires both awe and curiosity.
This summer we will get to experience her up close, when she takes Kongsberg Jazz Festival's new stage in the scenic amphitheater down by Lågen, with space for up to 5000 spectators. Saturday, July 5th, is the date that deserves a big cross in the calendar, an evening for Kongsberg's already rich musical and star-studded history books.
An evening for Kongsberg's history books
– Grace Jones is uncompromising, charismatic and simply iconic. The fact that she is doing an exclusive Norwegian concert at Kongsberg, and on our new stage Kvarten, is huge for us, says festival director Ragnhild Menes enthusiastically.
– She has challenged stereotypes in many ways and has been a boundary-breaking figure in many categories within pop culture. That is why she fits so well on stage at a jazz festival like ours, reflects Menes.
Buy a ticket / Buy a 2-day pass to Kvarten
From Studio 54 to Kongsberg
Grace Jones was born in Jamaica in 1948 and moved to the United States as a teenager. After a brief career as a photo model in Paris, she was discovered by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler. She then moved on to music. She became a central figure in the legendary nightclub scene around Studio 54 in New York, and albums such as "Nightclubbing" (1981) and "Slave to the Rhythm" (1985) are considered milestones in her career.
On stage, she is known for her eccentric costumes, theatrical stage shows and magnetic presence. Many remember her performance at the Øya Festival in 2016, where she of course repeated one of her most popular tricks; dancing with rocking while singing. At that time, she was added to the program at the last minute, but remained a highlight of the Norwegian festival summer that year. The reviews after the concert described her as a "visual and musical masterpiece", a living legend still capable of offering a spectacular and charismatic show.
Buy a ticket / Buy a 2-day pass to Kvarten
More than just a concert
It is precisely the combination of performing arts, music and visual iconography that makes Grace Jones more than just a pop artist. She is a spectacle in her own right, a hybrid of music, fashion, performance and mystery.
Musically, Grace Jones has moved seamlessly between genres such as disco, reggae, new wave, jazz and electronica, and she has maintained her integrity throughout.
– When Grace Jones enters the stage, she "takes" the room with enormous authority and charisma. There is something magical about that authority, and how she manages to hold the audience in the palm of her hand, says festival director Menes.
Grace Jones' iconic James Bond role
In addition to her music career and her heady years at the crossroads of catwalk and disco, she has also played memorable roles in films. Two of them stand out in particular, also because the roles came during the same period as her recording career peaked, in the mid-1980s.
In 1984, she played Zula alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and NBA basketball star Wilt Chamberlain in the action-fantasy hybrid “Conan: The Destroyer.” Zula is actually a male character in the comic book that the film is based on, but Grace Jones has always challenged gender roles and stereotypes, so her casting was a hit then and is now.
The following year, she played the unforgettable May Day in the James Bond film "A View to a Kill", which was released the same year as "Slave To The Rhythm", a female "super-villain", both bodyguard and assassin. "Has James Bond finally met his match?", it was said in the promotional material for the film, which showed Grace Jones standing back to back with Roger Moore in his very last film as James Bond.
It's hard to imagine where Grace Jones herself ends and her character begins. The film is otherwise known for a Duran Duran Bond song of the same name, an epic and breath-taking ski scene in the opening sequence, and Christopher Walken's priceless proto-villain Max Zorin.
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A rare moment in the history of the jazz city
The concert in Kongsberg will be one of the few opportunities to see Grace Jones in Europe this summer, and the only one in Norway.
In a year where Bob Dylan turns 84 and is still touring intensively, and 81-year-olds Mick Jagger and Keith Richards continue to play around the world and excite three or four generations of fans, Grace Jones is a pure young lady when, at 77, she brings out the rock and roll scene again, this time with Lågen as the backdrop.
How to buy tickets to Grace Jones
Ticket sales for the Grace Jones concert are already well underway. In addition to Grace Jones, Fay Wildhagen is on the bill on the Kvarten stage on Saturday. Aloe Blacc and Sivert Høyem will be on the same stage on Friday, July 4. For those who want to attend both days at Kvarten, we are offering a very good deal in the form of a discounted 2-day ticketWe have several current tickets and passes if you want to see Grace Jones, for example Saturday pass og festival pass.
Buy Grace Jones ticket / Buy a 2-day pass to Kvarten
Read more about all our tickets and passes here.
