by Astrid Wiezell

Stockholm has often been called the world’s most beautiful capital, due to its gorgeous mix of water, parks/green land, and the land that it's all built on. And having lived here all my life, I do love it for feeling so CLEAN. Perfectly good tap water that has been deemed the best in the world is just the icing on the cleanliness cake! Stockholm has a rich cultural life and it is here young bands often move to when they try to “make it.” The music scene is very much alive with bands like Suburban Kids With Bibilical Names, The Concretes and The Legends, to name a few! In summer, few things beat sitting at an outdoors bar by the water, people-watching, as the sun sets at about ten thirty and rises again at about three thirty in the morning around late June!

Metropolis
Fridays at Riddarkällaren, Södra Riddarholmshamnen 19. T-bana station Gamla Stan. 9pm–4am. Age limit: 20 (they ususally won’t change their minds either, so it’s not worth trying if you’re younger!) 70 kronor including wardrobe.
Metropolis is a classic indie night with several dancefloors/DJs. People always come because they know they’ll have fun, they know what they get. Indie and pop is what is generally played here, and the ages are in general quite low here too. This has grown to become one of the most popular club nights in Stockholm and recently celebrated their 3rd year. UPDATE: Metropolis has now closed. RIP.
(www.metropolis.se)

Baba Sonic
Wednesdays at Café Tivoli, the basement (separate entrance from Mariatorget), Hornsgatan 31. T-Bana station Mariatorget.10pm-3am. Age limit: 20 for boys, 18 for girls. 40 kronor entrance, free before 23:00.
Baba Sonic is one of those club nights that’s been around for ages. Good old-fashioned indie fun for the youngsters of Stockholm. The DJs usually vary, but in general they play indie with a leaning toward the more poppier side. Always worth a visit!
(www.cafetivoli.se)

Fritz’s Corner
Saturdays (and sometimes the odd weekday) at Debaser, Karl Johans Torg 1, T-bana station Slussen.
8pm-3am. Age limit: 20, 18 for members of Fritz’s Corner. 80 kronor for non members, 50 kronor for members.
Fritz’s Corner’s describe themselves as a pop and rock club who focus on live music. Some bands who have played this spring: Subsonics, Totalt Jävla Mörker, The Realistics, Hell On Wheels, Jesse Malin, Grand Tone Music, Shout Out Louds, Superheroes, etc.
(www.fritzscorner.nu)

Debaser
Den Franska Bukten, Karl Johans Torg 1, T-bana Gamla Stan, Outdoor bar from 3pm-1am. Age limit: 20 years. Den Franska Bukten: Wednesday – Saturday, 7pm–3am.
Debaser has quickly become a Stockholm favourite for me. Good clubs and great gigs, but what was before just storage space at the back of the club has now been turned into a panoramic bar called DFB; Den Franska Bukten, and it's a lovely place to chill out. In the summertime, the outdoor part of Debaser in the front is also a nice place to eat, watch acoustic gigs, have a couple of drinks and just take it easy. Check the website to see what’s going on at the moment.
(www.debaser.nu)

Indigo
Götgatan 19, T-bana Slussen. Monday to Friday 5pm-1am, Saturdays 3pm-1am.
Easy-going bar where people of all ages and styles mix. Food is on the menu but not too cheaply. A relaxed, nice bar to get the right Södermalm feel .

Pet Sounds Bar
Skånegatan 90. T-bana Medborgarplatsen. 4pm-1am.
The world famous record store of more than 20 years has now started a bar, where the feeling is as intimate and friendly as it is in the store on the same street. Food, bar, and a fun place for music nerds!

Pet Sounds
Skånegatan 53, T-bana Medborgarplatsen. Monday-Saturday 11am-5pm, Sunday 1pm-3pm.
Known as one of the best record stores in the world, Pet Sounds really is a special record shop. The staff areknowledgeable, friendly and always willing to help with things like finding you similar artists to those you already like. Now with a café part and book/DVD section, this place is a bit pricey, but so nice it’s worth it!

Record Hunter
S:t Eriksgatan 70, T-bana S:t Eriksplan. Monday-Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday 11am-4pm.
This great store is a must to visit on your record-shopping tour of Stockholm. Friendly staff here too, the top floor has new records, some fanzines and DVDs, whilst the basement has a huge selection of used records, and good ones too! A favourite.

Freak Scene
S:t Eriksgatan 64, T-bana S:t Eriksplan. Monday-Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday 11am-3pm
This is a tiny record shop filled with obscure records. Used and new, vinyl and CD, it’s all there. Although mainly focusing on punk and heavier music, there’s also quite a lot of indie and soul to be found here.

Local Bands

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
This duo have swept us all of our feet! With their charming pop music it’s hard to not smile when hearing them or seeing them live. Also recommended is the record label they are on and their site, for some great Swedish pop music!
(www.labrador.se/artists/suburban.php3)

The Legends
Another cute pop Swedish band on the Labrador label. Listen to songs on the Labrador site:
(www.labrador.se/artists/legends.php3)

The Concretes
These veterans have gained a big following outside of Sweden and praise in the press. Swoony, dreamy pop music. The drummer and journalist Lisa Milberg is together with her boyfriend, journalist Andres Lokko, one of the most influential people on the Stockholm scene when it comes to contacts, club nights and bands!
(www.theconcretes.com)

Skansen
Skansen is a big outdoors park, with a zoo part and a lot of Swedish history incorporated into it with buildings from different eras etc. So if you’re interested in getting to know Swedish history a bit better, and would like to see animals like bears and wolves, this might be worth a visit. Gorgeous view over Stockholm from there as well.
(www.skansen.se)

Links that might be helpful:

www.stockholm.se – The official site
www.alltomstochkolm.se – Site with events and calendar, everything from shoppig to night clubs.

If you'd like to recommend a club, bar, record shop, band or any indie delight for inclusion in the Indie Travel Guide, please email us. If we've included a link to your band/shop etc, it would be lovely if you could link back to us. Thank you!