When?

Friday, August 15 to Saturday, August 16

Where?

Spritan in Ödåkra - Fabriksgatan 2, SE-257 74 Ödåkra

How to get here?

Ödåkra is conveniently close to everything.

Train

The Pågatågen stops right at the festival area, allowing smooth travel from Halmstad, Båstad, Ängelholm, and Helsingborg directly to Spritan

With frequent service, it’s also easy to get here from Copenhagen in 1 hour and 40 minutes, and from Gothenburg in just over two hours.

The train from Helsingborg C to Ödåkra station takes only 8 minutes. From the station, it’s a short, well-signposted walk to the entrance.

Bus

You can’t get closer than by bus. Line 5 regularly departs from Helsingborg C and takes you directly to Ödåkra via Väla shopping center in about 20 minutes. The bus stops right at the main entrance of the festival area.

We challenge all festivals in the country to show us a bus line that stops closer to the entrance. Step off the bus and you’re right there. Smart, right?

All travel information can be found at Skånetrafiken.

Boat

You can’t get all the way to Ödåkra by boat, but you can get pretty close. Sundsbussarna and Öresundslinjen operate between Helsingør and Helsingborg. Once you've crossed the short distance over the Sound, just hop on a train or bus. Sjælland is practically a part of Ödåkra’s archipelago 

All travel information can be found at Sundsbussarna and Öresundslinjen.

Car

There is only one place in the country where two major European roads meet, and that is just outside Ödåkra. So if you prefer driving, it’s easy. From the E4 and E6, choose the Helsingborg N exit, and drive off at Väla Centrum. Turn right at the first roundabout, straight through the second, and left at the third where it’s signposted Ödåkra. Once in the village, signs will guide you correctly.

Sound complicated? Set your GPS to Spritfabriken, Ödåkra, and we’ll see you when you arrive.

Motorhome

Want to sleep nearby? No problem if you have a motorhome. We offer motorhome parking right at the area.

We recommend traveling by public transport, but regardless of your mode of transport, we look forward to seeing you this summer!

Who Are We?

Föreningen Ödåkra Jazz (Ödåkra Jazz Association) is a completely non-profit organization that is exactly what its name suggests. We unite the village of Ödåkra, its residents, and visitors with jazz and everything related.

The idea of a jazz festival at the old distillery, Spritan, in Ödåkra arose one summer evening at Spritan. The exact spot was by a beer tap, and the conversation was between the trio Björn Lindgren, Stefan Ed, and Björn Ingelstam. The first two are the creators of Ödåkra Brewery at Spritan, and the latter is the creator of sweet tones on his trumpet and various other instruments.

Opportunities were found.

With the brewery as a base in the middle of the Spritan area and with Ödåkra native Björn Ingelstam’s extensive network in the jazz world, the conditions were set to create something fun

Föreningen Ödåkra Jazz was formed and Ödåkra Jazz Festival was born – in the midst of the pandemic.

Unlike most others, the association chose to stay calm and prepare a festival for late summer 2021. The infection rates decreased, restrictions eased, and by August, Ödåkra was practically the only place in the country to see live music.

It was sold out, and the association was encouraged.

The festival returned and was spiced up with smaller gigs over the years.

Here we stand now, on the brink of yet another festival.

Stefan Ed is now the majority owner of the brewery. Björn Ingelstam has become a father. Otherwise, most things are the same. Spritan is still there, the association is still working, and the festival is coming back. We’ve all just gotten a little older, a little smarter, but very happy to welcome you all for another year. 

Where are we?

Ödåkra Distillery, Spritan, was founded in 1897 as Helsingborgs Spritförädlings aktiebolag (Helsingborg’s Distillation Company) by Johan Isaac Nelson. A resourceful man who started the factory at a location as close to his birth village Allerum as possible, finding both railway and water.

Through another resourceful man, NP Mathiasson, the factory grew and broke into the Swedish alcohol market, which at the beginning of the 20th century was dominated by the Karlshamn factory and Reymersholm outside Stockholm. Mathiasson allied himself with several other factories, and Ödåkra’s power grew stronger. He bought up Karlshamn and, through clever maneuvers, finally took over Reymersholm.

By 1910, all the country’s distilleries (except a smaller one in Tyringe) were under Ödåkra’s control. It was said to be “a state within a state.” There was a monopoly on alcohol, and it was controlled from a small village in northwest Skåne.

When the state wanted better control of alcohol production, it simply turned to Mathiasson in Ödåkra and made a deal. AB Vin & Spritcentralen was born. 

As a result, we later got Systembolaget. A political system to manage alcohol to this day.

When Swedes began drinking more wine and less liquor in the 1960s, Vin & Spritcentralen bought tankers to transport wine to Sweden. And those familiar with Ödåkra’s geography know that while we may be a jazzy area like the Mississippi delta, there is no port here.  

That was the beginning of the end, and on Walpurgis Night 1976, the last bottle left the factory line. And as the bitter aftertaste of a closure can have, the bottle contained the brand “Bitter Drops.”

So it is indeed a classic and historic place that now serves as the venue for Ödåkra Jazz Festival – the smart festival that finds simple solutions to make people feel at home.

Johan Isaac Nelson and NP Mathiasson would have liked it.