Merit Hemmingson - Pekkos Per & Jag

Facts Merit Hemmingson is a composer, arranger, organist and singer from Jämtland. She has devoted her life to exploring and crafting her own musical landscape, which both bends and challenges genres in ways that have often caused a stir. Since the 1960s, her personal style has carved out a unique space in Swedish music history where jazz, groove rock and, above all, folk music converge.

In autumn 2026, a new album, ‘Pekkos Per å Jag’, will be released, and Merit will embark on a tour with her band.

Pekkos Per (1807–1877) is a legendary figure in Swedish folk music. For Merit Hemmingson, he is a constant source of inspiration. Hemmingson has now recorded parts of Pekkos Per’s repertoire in a new interpretation that is as familiar and clear as it is swirling, inspired and exploratory.

“Pekkos Per from Bingsjö in Dalarna has always been, for me, one of the absolute heavyweights of Swedish folk music," says Merit Hemmingson. “Many of his tunes are in both major and minor keys, which I find both challenging and exciting.

The songs have mostly been played by fiddle players, but here I want to present them in a different and unconventional way on my favourite instrument, the Hammond B3."

The album, recorded at Sandkvie Studio on Gotland with musicians including Juan Romero, Sara Parkman, Mats Edén, Ola Winkler and Mattias Bärjed, was produced by Anton Sundell. A first taster will be released before the summer, followed by a full album – “Pekkos Per å Jag" – in early autumn via Supertraditional Records.