I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: November 7, 2026] Icona Pop

My wife and I were in Sweden visiting our son who is studying in Umeå.  I thought it might be fun to see a show in Sweden and there was actually an interesting show on our last night in Umeå, a singer name Mi Von Ahn who I hadn’t heard of but who I listened to and thought would be fun to see (she’s kind of a mellow shoegazey type of artist).  Especially since she was going on at 9 and there was an event in the same venue scheduled for ten, so I knew it wouldn’t be too long.  Well, our plans changed (for the better) and we did not get to Stage Umeå.

Den 6 november släpper Mi von Ahn sitt tredje album Delta Veins. Samma kväll firar vi releasen på Stage i Umeå, med både Mi von Ahn och albumaktuella Hök på scen!

On November 6, Mi von Ahn releases her third album, *Delta Veins*. That same evening, we’ll be celebrating the release at Stage in Umeå, featuring both Mi von Ahn and Hök—who also has a new album out—on stage!

Early on we decided that it would be less stressful to return to Stockhom on Saturday and then fly home on Sunday, rather than trying to get a connecting flight, etc.  That’s when I saw that Icona Pop were playing Stockholm on Saturday night!  And they are from Stockholm!  Crazy.

This was such a weird even to buy a ticket for.  First, it was in Swedish KR, then it was in a hotel (!) and I wasn’t entirely sure that it was a real concert.  Maybe it was some kind of “night of Icona Pop music” like we have here for other pop bands.  So I double and triple checked (it’s a hotel with multiple venues for events) and made sure (yes it’s really them).  But why didn’t this relatively small venue sell out?  No idea.

So we walked to the venue, went through the labyrinthian coat check process (I don’t have a local bank account, so I couldn’t just scan the QR code, it was a whole thing).  But it all worked out and we went upstairs into a gorgeous ballroom.  Chandeliers, balconies, art on the walls…. amazing.  And people were dressed to the nines and drinking champagne in glass flutes.  This was no US club, that’s for sure.  I was underdressed–wearing Merrell boots, I was afraid of crushing toes.  And everyone around us was chatting with their friends (mostly in Swedish).

There was no opening band (yay) but they didn’t go on until 8:30 (a promised start time of 8).  The stage was set with candles and moody lighting and a cage thing suspended over the stage.

Plenty of fog filled the stage and with thunderous applause, and then Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt came on stage.  Caroline was wearing a kind of fur shrug on her shoulder and Aino was wearing a baseball hat with spikes and reflective sunglasses.  Both were wearing leather one piece outfits–both sexy and also un-restrictive.

I don’t know much about Icona Pop’s music.  I’ve been aware of them for a long time, possible since they released their big hit I Love It, but possibly for other reasons that I can’t remember.  But I didn’t know them at all.  I listened to their new album briefly before the show and found it really strong. And the opened with the title track and I was blown away by how good their voices sounded.  And mid-way through the song, the beats started and the song turned into a major banger.  And really the temp barely slowed down for the entire show.

Between upbeat love songs (Butterfly Feelings), to ragers that sounded familiar (All Night) [this was a BIG hit with the crowd].  There wasdancing in the crowd and serious dancing on stage.

There were two musicians on stage–a keyboard player and a drummer.  They may have been introduced but everything the women said was in Swedish, so I don’t know).  And occasionally Caroline and especially Aino would do some kind of sound manipulation on the table in the center of the stage.  Most of the time I could see Aino’s hands (and long fingernails) pressing or tapping buttons.

So yea, it was weird and wild having them talk in Swedish.  Their songs are all in English, but they only spoke Swedish and I had no idea what they were saying.  But the crowd was totally into it, which was really fun.

I really enjoyed First Night.  Not knowing much about them, which went

The first time we got high
The first time we got drunk
The first time we fell in love
And things will never be the same
And that’s okay
That’s okay

Let’s go to Stockholm, let’s run away
Do all the things that we used to say
Let’s go to Stockholm (let’s go to Stockholm)
Let’s run away (let’s run away)
Do all the things (do all the things)
That we used to say (we used to say)

I assumed from the lyrics, that they were not originally from Stockholm (they are) and that going to Stockholm was a big deal for two young singers.  But I see that they were just playing to the home town crowd (who loved it) because the original lyrics are Let’s go to Paris.

The early part of the set was mostly new songs (they played 8 of the 10 songs from the album) but about half way through the show, they brought out a guest.  I didn’t recognize her and she was wearing a backpack that looked like it had dinosaur spines on it.  She sang Shit We Do for Love and I later found out it was Yaeger, a young Swedish singer who sang on the original.  She was wild and fun and added a new wilder element to the set.

They followed it with Emergency, which has a great siren-like melody that I loved immediately and the whole crowd responded enthusiastically.

They left the stage for a moment and the red neon in the cage above the stage lit up and they played the slightly slower We Got That Cool and Fall in Love.  And then… the moment everyone was waiting for.  They played I Love It (and not as an encore).  Sure, Charlie XCX didn’t come out. but it did not matter.  They sounded great and the roof was, I believe, raised.

They moved over to the keyboard area and, I believe, poured water on themselves before starting Spa.  The both wore Ritual Spa robes (which sounds like a merch idea to me) and I thought it was the most Swedish song ever

Just take me to the spa
‘Cause I wanna feel the sweat
From the steam room and the sauna

They stayed on Club Romantech for a but with the super catchy Faster (are you talking to me?) and the bratty Stick Your Tongue Out.

They ended with a song that sounded familiar to me, but it’s on the new album, so I’m not sure where I would have heard it before, it’s the super catchy Dance to This.

I didn’t know if they would do an encore (the shows had all been pretty short according to setlist), but the did come back out.  First Aino had everyone sing Happy Birthday (in Swedish of course) to Caroline and then they sang an acapella version of We Got the World, which I also recognized.  But I was utterly blown away by how incredible their voices sounded together.  Their harmonies were gorgeous.

It was such a fun an unexpectedly wonderful show.  And a great end to our stay in Stockholm.  We walked home and immediately crashed getting ready for our flight home in the morning.

1. Ritual ®
2. Butterfly Feelings ®
3. All Night ⇓
4. Yellow Top ®
5. Stockholm at Night ¢
6. First Time €
7. Manners Ø
8. Mad Love ®
9. Didn’t Mean It Like That ®
10. Foreverness ®
11. Hurt ®
12. Shit We Do For Love ¢ (featuring Yaeger)
13. Emergency €
14. We Got That Cool (single by Yves V featuring Afrojack and Icona Pop)
15. Fall in Love ¢
16. I Love It Ø
17. Spa ¢
18. Faster ¢
19. Stick Your Tongue Out ¢
20. Dance To This ®
    encore
21. Ja må du leva
    (For Caroline Hjelt’s birthday)
22. We Got the World Ø

® Ritual (2026) [did not play Cooler or Never Over]
¢ Club Romantech
Ø Icona Pop
€ Emergency EP
⇓ This is… Icona Pop

single (2019)

Here’s a fun write up (in English) from Your Living City about the show.