Aurora (the Norwegian Singer, Not the Lights)

Aurora Aksnes (born 1996), known professionally as simply Aurora, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began writing songs, playing the piano, and learning to dance as a young girl, and had signed a recording contract by the time she was 18.

She is currently on tour supporting her fifth studio album, What Happened to the Heart?, which is why we were able to see her in Philadelphia at The Fillmore Philadelphia. I’ve linked below to a full-length show from the tour (though not the one we saw).

This was Doug’s doing, as I had never heard of her, but was happy to go along. I knew absolutely nothing about her before arriving, and was shocked at the line of people waiting eagerly to get in. Well, I was in for a treat.

Her music is a blend of electropop, folk, new-age, and more, but she infuses it all with a joy that was a delight. She seemed genuinely thrilled to be sharing time and space with us, and spent lots of time talking to us and expressing her gratitude. She has an incredible vocal range, often sounding ethereal.

You may actually have heard her vocals before, as she was featured on Into the Unknown on the Disney Frozen II film and soundtrack.

Aurora’s sister works with her as her makeup artist and costume designer. She is very attuned to the natural order of things, calling herself a “forest person.” She is an LGBTQ advocate, mentioning several times how everyone was embraced at her shows. Even though I knew nothing of her before walking in, it was truly delightful to spend a couple hours with her and experiencing her joy.

Doug says that Aurora was one of his musical discoveries when he was researching our trip to Norway a few years ago.

During the pandemic, he ended up listening to Aurora quite a bit, felling that she threw light into the world during the dark times.