A little chilly on the outside but warm in my soul, I sit and write the review of the last stop on Markus Krunegård's Bastard Summer 2026 tour. The tour started on May 28 at Orionteatern and the nineteenth and final stop was also in Stockholm, at Gröna Lund.
The rain that had fallen over the city eased a few hours before the concert started, but despite this the evening was chilly. That was something Markus Krunegård was set to remedy.
After an unusual, strange, and fairly long intro sequence, the band and Markus entered. The audience cheered. The first song, "Fakta: Fucked Up," began the concert's musical journey, which offered everything one could wish for. Songs from the latest album "Bastard," old favorites, and a live debut. Guest artists, surprises, and a Markus Krunegård determined to give everything for the season's last concert.
The lyrics and the music live in symbiosis, fitting like a glove, sitting perfectly. Though the lyrics are personal and sometimes heavy, the music makes them soar, to find joy against all odds. There's a contagious hopefulness. We sing along to the songs, we know them.
Not all, however. Not when it's time for the Finnish sister duo Maustetytöt. Markus says that the band inspired him to start writing music in Finnish. And for the first time, they performed "Vaasankatu 4-ever" live. My Finnish is, to say the least, lacking, but as Baloo said to Bagheera: "Come on, katten. It's got a swing to it." And it definitely does. So maybe I'll listen to Maustetytöt and Markus Krunegård's Finnish album anyway; I got a little curious after the evening's two Finnish songs.
After "Inget halleluja" Markus shares that his daughter finds it a little boring to join him on the small gigs. That she was more interested in being there when it was arena concerts. So he invites Helli onto the Gröna Lund stage to sing one of the most personal songs on the latest album: "Cha Cha Shake". It's one of the evening's highlights. It was lovely to see father and daughter share the stage. And what a song it is, too.
The audience, and I, go wild when the tempo picks up and he says "Now damn it, let's go Gröna Lund!" to the sound of "Jag är en vampyr". Several times during the evening, Markus doesn't talk between the songs, but in the middle of them. The music fades out. Like in the middle of this song, when he thanks everyone who came tonight. Then he continues singing the same song. It's unexpected but skillfully done.
Markus announces it's time for the last song. "Askan är den bästa jorden" and he lets the audience sing along. Or not just sing along, but he lets us take over. He points the mic out toward the audience. We sing.
The band and Markus leave the stage and it's maybe a minute before they are called back in. There are three more songs and the conclusion is the fantastic "Korallreven & Vintergatan". This time the music fades out to bring in Mona Sahlin. She delivers a passionate speech three days before the election. She told what Nelson Mandela had said to her about the fight against racism in South Africa: "The most dangerous thing was not the hatred of the enemies but the silence of the friends." So she urged us to speak out against homophobes, racists, women-haters, and climate deniers.
She did not mince words. She said "Fuck off" to those who spread darkness. "Human dignity is not an opinion but a way of living. So what do we want, Sweden?" asked Mona Sahlin, "Human warmth, please come closer."
So yes. Markus, the music, and human warmth made us forget the cold. So thank you for that.
