A chance encounter between Melfest Producer Karin Gunnarsson and Engmans Kapell at a music festival prompted an invite for the band to enter the competition.

The folk band are making their debut in the Eurovision selection show this weekend, but if it wasn’t for Gunnarsson watching them perform live, they wouldn’t be in the competition at all. 

Click to read this story at a glance…

• Chance encounter at music festival lead to Engmans Kapell’s invitation to Melfest by producer Karin Gunnarsson
• Band’s song Norrland penned by renowned Melfest songwriters
• Performance in Gothenburg marks largest audience for Engmans Kapell

Speaking to The Euro Trip, frontman Pär Engman said: “It all came together. 

“One of the producers of Melfest saw us at a festival a couple of years ago and she told our manager, ‘Tell the guys to send in a song’. 

“At that time we’d just received a song from three songwriters we had been working with before and thought this would do great in Melfest.

“We sent it in and hoped for the best, and we were close [to being accepted] that year. We tried again the next year and now we get to enter.” 

Engmans Kapell’s song, Norrland, was written by the songwriting trio of Larry Forsberg, Lennart Wastesson and Sven-Inge Sjöberg. 

The threesome have been responsible for a number of Melfest hits over the last two decades, including Crazy In Love by Jill Johnson and La dolce vita by After Dark which placed third in 2004. 

Engmans Kapell have performed songs by Forsberg, Wastesson and Sjöberg in the past. 

Guitarist Jocke Blomgren said: “It’s fun to use their music once more.” 

Blomgren remembers getting the call to say the band would participate in Melfest in 2024, 12 months after being turned down for the show. 

“I remember standing in the garage having bad reception on the phone,” he said.

“Our manager tried to get us all together on a conference call to break the news. It took a while to get it running. 

“All of a sudden he said, ‘Well guys, you are going to be in Melodifestivalen’. It was quite a surprise because when Karin saw us, it was two years ago and [the idea of competing in Melodifestivalen] fell to the back of our heads.” 

Engmans Kapell’s performance in Gothenburg on Saturday night will be in front of the largest audience the band has ever played to. 

Reaching new audiences is something the band values as part of featuring in the competition. 

“That’s the most important part, to reach a new audience and perhaps get out more and get more gigs,” Engman said. 

“We want to play as much live as we can. Just entering the contest is a win for us.

“But then again, I would like to go to the final. I would be a bit disappointed if we don’t because you also have that feeling that it is a competition. 

“We are going to give it 100% to reach out to the audience.” 

Engmans Kapell will perform Norrland in the second Melodifestivalen heat on Saturday (February 10).