Meet the Swedish music industry at Live at Heart

Preparations for the thirteenth edition of the Swedish showcase festival Live at Heart are in an intense phase and many important pieces are now in place.

We’re happy to announce that many influential names from the Swedish music industry are coming to this years festival.

Karin Gunnarsson, Fredrik Strage, David Mortimer-Hawkins and Bernard Löhr are all well-known in the Swedish music industry. In addition, Live at Heart are happy to announce a long-term collaboration with Swedish Live (Svensk Live), the voice of Swedish Live Music Industry, with over 200 members.

Swedish Live is a network of clubs, festivals, non-profit organisations, amusement parks, promoters, arenas and agent companies within Sweden. Swedish Live work closely together with their sister organisations within the Nordic countries and are members of the European network Live DMA and the European festival network Yourope.

– We have set our sights on creating a long-awaited and inspiring meeting place and it feels great to present several big names from the Swedish music industry, says Martin Qvarfordt, CEO of Live at Heart.

David Mortimer-Hawkins

David Mortimer-Hawkins is the senior A&R manager at Sony Music Sweden where he is responsible for artists such as Miss Li, Bo Kasper’s Orkester, Albin Lee Meldau, Diskopunk and Eah Jé. He has a background as A&R at Stockholm Records and Universal Music where he has worked with artists such as The Cardigans, Anna Ternheim, Lisa Miskovsky, Stakka Bo, Eric Gadd and In Flames.

Bernard Löhr

Bernard Löhr is a well-known name in the industry and has worked with Celine Dion, Robyn, Westlife, Tomas Ledin and Lisa Nilsson. Löhr has worked closely with Benny Andersson and Abba since the early 80’s, most recently with the recording of Abba’s album I Still Have Faith in You, which was nominated for a Grammy in the category Record of the Year. During Live at Heart, Bernard will give us an insight of some of his work with ABBA.

Karin Gunnarsson

Karin Gunnarsson is a competition producer for Melodifestivalen and leads Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest as head of delegation. She succeeded Christer Björkman in 2020. Karin is a TV producer and music editor and has previously worked for Swedish Radio P3.

Fredrik Strage

As a writer, podcaster, author and DJ, Fredrik Strage has for more than 30 years devoted himself to pop music. During Live at Heart, he offers “Strage on Stage”, an entertaining show about his life at the riot fence and about rock mythology, idol worship and unreadable band logos.

Tomas Andersson Wij

With his voice, his songs and a combination of thoughtfulness and warm humor, Tomas Andersson Wij has found his way to the hearts of his listeners. With frequent touring and more than a dozen albums, he has for over 20 years built his career and steadily increased his audience. This autumn, he will release a new record. Among his other projects is the popular and acclaimed podcast Hundåren, where he talks to artist colleagues about their worst adversity experiences.

In this year’s Live at Heart, Tomas Andersson Wij participates in a diacert (dialogue + concert) where he both plays his songs and in a conversation talks about life and music. The diacert is arranged by Studieförbundet Bilda.