We are Birgitte And The Dusty Trails – a country band from the Kongsvinger and Hamar area.
Our songs are country with inspiration from both blues and rock.
In 2024/25, we played 100 concerts around the country, including at Seljord Country Festival, Tornes Country Festival, Silppufestivalen, Hans Børli Days, and Fornebu Safari.
In October 2025, the band will enter the studio with Christer Krogh at Velvet Recording to record its first LP.
Read more about us below – we hope to see you on the road!
Birgitte
Emma Birgitte Ovlien has played in bands since she was 12 years old, but she formed Birgitte And The Dusty Trails in 2022. Here she is the vocalist, songwriter, and front figure. In addition, she plays guitar, banjo, and harmonica.
Birgitte is known from her participation in The Voice 2024 and as the winner of the talent competition Sjøorm 2023 at Seljord Country Festival (the largest country festival in the Nordics).
In 2025, she received a grant from the Norsk Komponistforening to write songs for a new album, and in September of the same year, she was selected to participate in the Mississippi Songwriters Festival in the USA.
PA
Per Andreas Brinck Strøm plays lead guitar in Birgitte and The Dusty Trails. In addition, he plays lap steel, mandolin, and sings backing vocals. Together with Birgitte, PA is a co-songwriter on several of the band’s original songs.
He started out as a guitarist in a blues band in Nord-Odal. Later came rock with the band Bråhast, which released two singles and performed at, among others, the Notodden Blues Festival and the Dalane Blues Festival.
Now, it’s all about country.
Tobias Strid
Tobias Strid is the bassist in Birgitte And The Dusty Trails. He is the rhythm of the band and also works as an arranger when Birgitte and PA write songs. Tobias is an experienced bassist who has played across many genres, from jazz, blues, funk, and rock to country. He has performed in several bands and on both small and large stages across the country.
Johannes Gjendem
Johannes has a background from the Music Program in Molde, the Rock Program at Trøndertun, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Didactics at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.
Johannes has become known as the “jack-of-all-trades,” since he plays with just about everyone on just about everything—but he admits that the country genre is where he feels most at home.
He has already contributed to releases by, among others, Jacob Simensen, Per Tore Gresseth, Nina Gaarden, Viljar Røysi, and Kenneth Norum.
