Erik Grönwall Ignited Gröna Lund: A Rock Night Marked by Passion and Pyrotechnics

Erik Grönwall expressed his joy at being back at Gröna Lund for a concert – and it all kicked off as soon as he stepped out on stage. He started at full throttle with "Born to Break" and "Headless Cross", and during both songs, the warmth from the stage pyrotechnics washed over those of us in the photo pit.

"Bad Bones" was the third and final song in the pit before we had to continue photographing from the park. He lined up rock song after rock song, including "18 and Life" and "Black Velvet", resulting in a fantastic vibe in the crowd. I don't think there was a single arm not raised in the air.

Erik spoke about his time battling leukemia and how he decided, "If I get through this shit, I’m going to sing for the rest of my life." He then performed "Written in the Scars", a calmer song that he played live for the first time in honor of the evening.

Then it was time for more pyro as he performed "Hell & Back", which was followed by "Save Me". During "Twisted Lullaby", Erik urged the audience to give even more energy back to the stage by shouting: "Scream now for hell’s sake!" – and the crowd responded enthusiastically. It was evident that Erik and the band were having fun on stage, something he himself expressed when he said: "This is so much fun. Damn, I'm having a blast."

Erik introduced the band members during the evening and specifically mentioned how Jona Tee on keyboard had been a great support for him during tough times. Both were in the group H.E.A.T – which the audience clearly knew well – and the two have now also become YouTubers together.

He called out to the audience: "Let it out!" and then launched into "Living on the Run", which ended in a dense fog of smoke on stage.

After "Highway Star" he again went down into the photo pit, one of several times during the evening, to get closer to the audience and said: "Now, damn it, I'm going to feel you." He delighted fans with both autographs and selfies, to the audience’s great joy.

Before the next song, Erik explained that it was the first song he knew would be on the album. He talked about the importance of putting health first and that this is exactly what "Who's the Winner" is about. After yet another burst of pyro, he finished the song with “Who is the winner now” with his arm held high in the night air. "How High" was then succeeded by "Lost for Life", for which he brought out his guitar. This song also ended with plenty of pyro and smoke.

Erik’s version of "House of the Rising Sun" started quietly. The musicians stepped back and the atmosphere became very intimate. Then the music took off, the band came forward again, and suddenly the tempo was much more rocking. After more pyro, he calmed things back down and the song ended as calmly as it began. It gave chills.

Before Erik started singing "Higher", he admitted that when the concert at Cirkus was booked the album wasn’t even finished yet. The song ended amidst a shower of confetti and the whole concert was wrapped up with "Praying for a Miracle (I Will Always Love You)". The final burst of pyro both lit up the stage and raised the temperature further on a stage that was probably already red hot.

The audience, mostly made up of people from middle age and up, knew why they were there. They wanted to see their idol, many of whom have followed him since at least the H.E.A.T era. The atmosphere was high both in the audience and on stage.

Erik has a fantastic voice! It is both powerfully rocking and tenderly soft when needed. He handles both low and high notes effortlessly, so his vocal range is impressive. It’s almost hard to understand how the voice holds up throughout an entire concert. Erik is an incredibly skilled singer and I think he should be in more musicals – a genre he already has experience with.

It's difficult to rank the songs and performances since they all maintain such a consistently high quality, so I simply won't. Erik and the band seem very tight-knit and it genuinely felt like they enjoyed themselves and had fun together on stage.

In summary, it was an outstanding concert. I would gladly have stayed if they’d played longer than the roughly 90 minutes the concert lasted. The pace and energy were top-notch throughout the concert and the many stage effects certainly didn’t detract from the experience.

As I left Gröna Lund, I was filled with positive energy and thought: "Damn, that Erik Grönwall is good!"

I usually hold back a bit on handing out a rating of five so it doesn’t lose its value... but tonight’s concert with Erik Grönwall absolutely gets a five out of five.

Thank you Erik for an amazingly good concert!