Nordic Roots Festival

In a herculaean feat involving customs negotiations, visas, and all sorts of other international red tape, the Cedar manages to import a couple dozen Scandinavian musicians each year for its Nordic Roots Festival. The music itself is even more amazing. This year’s lineup includes traditional players like Norway’s Knut Hamre (a master of the lovely and lugubrious Hardanger fiddle) and modern stylists like Sweden’s Hoven Droven, a groovy, giddy bunch of rambunctious folk-stomp-rockers. This year’s highlight, however, may be the collaboration between Swedish fiddler Ellika and Senegalese kora player Solo, who will be joined by Bill Frisell on guitar and Bruce Molsky on guitar. Obviously, this isn’t the festival’s most chilly, purist Nordic experience, but it should be a fantastic border-crossing experience. 612-338-2674; www.thecedar.org