Nordland Music Festival was established in Bodø in 1980 under the name St. Olaf ´s days, and started as an olsok celebration. The festival took in 1987 the name Nordland Music Festival, and has since then been organised as a foundation. The festival is held annually the second week of August.

The meeting between culture and nature is unique to Nordland Music Festival. The festival is known for concerts in unconventional places such as at the top of Keiservarden, Nyholmen Skandse, in Bodø town square or other outdoor places like Mjelle, Bremnes Fort, Røssnes, Røst and more. Also concerts are organised in churches and concert halls throughout the city and in the county of Nordland. Nordland Music Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Norway, and it is a music festival that presents a wide range of genres. The program consists of classical music in addition to jazz, contemporary, folk, musical theater, dance, pop/rock and more. We aim to be one of the leading festivals in the Nordic region with a distinct profile of classical music as the mainstay of the program. The festival takes initiative to commission works, and prioritise own productions that will challenge both audiences and performers. The festival will combine the best of international music with national and regional resources. Established musicians and ensembles will be challenged to create unique programs at the festival. This may well be world premieres and exciting collaboration with other artists. We want to foster interaction between nature and culture, and combine the region's unique nature with different musical experiences. We want to be an attractive and inspiring meeting place for music talents. It is therefore important that young talents is given an opportunity to perform at the Nordland Music Festival.

From 2013 we also have another festival - Nordland Music Festival Winter - which takes place in March. This festival lasts three days and is a collaboration with the Arctic Dialogue conference. The concerts are mainy classical music.