Perry Stenbäck: Modernising the sound of Scandinavia

By Malin Norman

Named one of the best guitar players in Denmark, Perry Stenbäck won the Danish Folk Music Prize in 2025 together with his wife Christine Dueholm. Scan Magazine catches up with the Swedish musician, who is based in Denmark, on the recent folk music award, his bands and many side projects.

Born in Stockholm but living in Gadbjerg, between Jelling and Give in Denmark, Perry Stenbäck is an advocate for modernising the sound of Scandinavia. The singer, songwriter, guitarist and fiddler (the instrument nyckelharpa) has no less than four bands and countless productions in collaboration with other musicians.

Perry performs with his own music but also tours with, for instance, the immensely popular Danish singer, guitarist and songwriter Sebastian and, most recently, with singer-songwriter Henrik Huldén from Finland.

Perry Stenbäck: Modernising the sound of Scandinavia

Perry Stenbäck & Dekadans. Photo: Signe Find Larsen, signefind.com

“Growing up in Stockholm in the 1970s, my parents were part of the music scene; my father played folk music, and my mother loved to sing Swedish ballads, called visor,” Perry says. “When studying music at Södra Latin, my ambition was to become a guitar hero, but when I did my Master’s Degree in music performance at RMC (Rhythmic Music Conservatory) in Copenhagen, I realised that my unique quality was more related to the Nordic folk music.”

Specialising in the folk music and songwriter tradition, Perry also plays everything from classical, blues and jazz to country and hard rock. His biggest inspiration is Cornelis Vreeswijk, the Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter known for reforming the Swedish ballad. “Folk music and the visa tradition are my main focus, but I happily mix this with Jimi Hendrix,” he smiles.

Perry in the Danish power blues and roots band Weltmeister Syndicate. Photo: Perry Stenbäck

Multiple Danish music awards

As early as 1984, Perry did his first performance on stage as a professional musician. The 40^th anniversary was celebrated in his garden in 2024 with a few hundred guests. Named as one of the best guitar players in Denmark, Perry has won the prestigious Danish Music Awards (Grammy) twice, in 2009 and 2019, and was nominated once again last year.

In 2025, he was awarded the Danish Folk Music Award (Den Danske Folkemusikpris), presented at Skagen Festival, together with music partner and wife Christine Dueholm. Previous winners include Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Dubliners and Danish folk rocker Lars Lilholt. Only one Swedish musician has won this award before: Mikael Wiehe in 1998.

“It’s quite unusual, and a great honour, to win this Danish music award as a Swede, who also writes and performs in Swedish,” says Perry. “In this way, I’m further advocating the Swedish folk music and visa tradition.”

In 2025, Perry won the Danish Folk Music Prize together with music partner and wife Christine Dueholm. Photo: Perry Stenbäck

Dekadans, Bragr and Weltmeister Syndicate

The productive musician’s main project is his band Perry Stenbäck & Dekadans, where he performs his own songs and interpretations of Cornelis Vreeswijk, for instance. The band has produced two albums so far – Kärlek och felsteg and Just nu – plus a concert DVD. A new album is in the works and will be released later this year.

“For the new album, I’m working with songwriter Jimmy Ginsby on translating and modernising the lyrics from old American folk music,” says Perry. “One song is about a man who travels between Chicago and New Orleans. In my version, a man travels from Sweden to Denmark and experiences a lot of things on the way – it’s a story about finding your way home.”

Perry also keeps busy with Weltmeister Syndicate, a Danish power blues/roots/rock quartet, as well as Bragr, which plays contemporary Scandinavian folk music with both traditional tunes and original compositions. During concerts, the band presents the melodies with humorous anecdotes and interesting stories about the old fiddlers, from whom they inherited the material, bringing the music to life.

“It’s important with storytelling and musical emotions,” confirms Perry. “With Bragr, our ambition is to move people, both emotionally and physically. We want to show people attending our concerts that this genre isn’t just tradition but, on the contrary, a vibrant mix of beautiful melodies and acoustic heavy metal from the 17^th and 18^th century. On top of that, we also bring in our own compositions, written in the traditional style.”

Family band and songs for Simon

Together with wife Christine, son Robert and the son’s girlfriend Smilla, Perry has a band called Familjebandet (The Family Band). “We’re going on smaller tours in Sweden, Norway and Denmark – and this year, we’re also going to France for the second time,” he says. “I’m not a fan of beach holidays; I would much rather work, play music and meet the audience. This is a fantastic way to experience different countries, together with my family, when we also have a real purpose with our journey.”

Not surprisingly, Perry is involved in plenty of other projects and has his own recording studio in the family’s large house in Gadbjerg. “Over the years, I must have taken part in over 200 recordings, including the theme song for the Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla,” he laughs.

After the couple lost their youngest son, Simon, in a traffic accident five years ago, Christine wrote an album called Sange til Simon, which was produced by Perry in the family’s studio. “Our passion is music, and it’s an important driving force in everything we do, including processing grief,” reflects Perry. “Music is universal, and we’re hoping that others can find comfort and joy, too.”

For more info, you can take a look at perrystenback.com