“Who tours in the middle of February?” was the rhetorical question from Sylvaine, the opening act for Eivør’s latest North American tour. Well, the answer is Vikings! Vikings tour in February! Sylvaine hails from Norway, so it was comical to hear her discuss how cold it was. What was NOT comical was her performance at The Fillmore Silver Spring, opening for Eivør. She played a solo set that was both sweet and haunting.
Before wrapping up with a reworking of an old Norwegian folk song, “Eg Er Framand” (a capella, no less), Sylvaine thanked everyone on the tour from Eivør and her band to the lighting and sound guys, to the bus driver. That set a tone of gratitude for both artists. This was the last show of the USA tour and they wanted to make sure it was a wonderful send off.
The first time I saw Eivør was as an opener for Heilung, last summer. She hails from the Faroe Islands and is highly influenced by traditional and modern Scandinavian music. She definitely made an impression; so much so that as soon as I saw she was touring the USA, I jumped at the chance to review the show at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Feb. 23. This time around, she’s playing with her full band, and it was glorious.
The show was sold out. This time, The Fillmore was set up a bit differently from the other shows I’ve seen there. The floor where general admission usually crowd together was filled with reserved seats. General admission was two sections in the balcony and whatever space was left on the floor by the bars.
Eivør’s set began with the first four tracks from her latest album, Enn, including the ethereal “Ein Klóta.” She played every song on her latest release, save two. One of the highlights was the title song, “Enn.” The song’s driving beat was more intense in a live setting. It’s a perfect bed for Eivør’s voice.
Stream Enn by Eivør on YouTube:
In addition to music from her new album, Eivør played crowd favorites like “Skyscrapers” and “Trøllabundin.” But my personal highlight from the main set was the first song I heard by Eivør, “Í Tokuni.” At this point in the concert, she made an attempt at a “call and response” moment in Faroese with the audience. Although it was one of the more humorous moments in the show, the audience really did give it a shot.
Eivør also played music she wrote for The Last Kingdom, Hymn 49. Throughout the night, Eivør said a lot of thank you’s and told some tour stories. It was obvious that finishing the tour had made her a bit sad.
Before beginning the final song of the set, “Gulspunnin,” Eivør introduced the band and thanked everyone on the tour.
After a short break, The band reemerged for a short encore. They played one song, but it was one of my favorite songs in her catalog. The band performed a beautiful version of “Falling Free.” After a one song encore, the show was over. If you enjoy the music of Heilung, Wardruna, Vikings, and The Last Kingdom, make sure you see Eivør the next time she tours the area.
Setlist
- Ein klóta
- Jarðartrá
- Hugsi bert um teg
- Purpurhjarta
- Let It Come
- Skyscrapers
- Trøllabundin
- True Love
- Enn
- Upp Úr Øskuni
- Hymn 49
- Salt
- Í Tokuni
- Gullspunnin
Encore
Here are some photos of Eivør performing at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Feb. 23, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Marc Shea.
