In the far reaches of northern Norway, beyond the Arctic Circle, where the sun refuses to rest during the headiest of summer months, something magical unfolded. The Soria Gathering, a solstice celebration that merges nature, music and community, found a new home in one of the most remote and awe-inspiring landscapes on Earth: Værøy, an island in the Lofoten archipelago. With towering mountains, windswept beaches and the world's most powerful maelstrom as its backdrop, this festival is anything but ordinary.

"Værøy is special for its remoteness, mind-bending landscape and its everlasting nights of sunshine," explains the festival's organiser, Berner Garvik. “It’s one of the most dramatic landscapes there is to be seen anywhere on this planet's surface.”

Soria Gathering, much like its setting, is an experience that transcends the usual expectations of a festival. It’s a return to something primal, a pilgrimage to reconnect with the earth, the elements and the rhythms of nature. The team behind Soria Gathering have been organising club events in Norway for almost a decade but felt an urge for change. “I was a bit tired of artificial urban environments,” says Garvik. “I had an inner call to return to nature and reconnect with the elements in its purest form.”

That call was answered in the most striking way possible: by taking Soria Gathering to one of the northernmost points in Norway. "This year, we wanted to do it in the north of Norway under the never-setting midnight sun," he continues. "The theme for this year's gathering was a pilgrimage to the north, where the sun never sets."

The relationship between Soria Gathering and Shepherd Sound Systems goes beyond the technicalities of providing high-quality audio. The two have partnered for years, with Shepherd Sound Systems delivering Funktion-One systems for all of Soria’s events, explains Garvik: “We have used only Funktion-One in all our events for several years because only the best is good enough. They share our vision.”

That vision is rooted in a deep respect for the power of sound, not as mere entertainment, but as something much more profound. “We don’t see music as entertainment but as the most advanced language there is in the universe,” he explains. For Soria, music is a tool for transformation and the sound provided by Shepherd Sound Systems is a critical part of this equation.

“I can’t even speak about that experience without getting goosebumps,” says Shepherd Sound Systems founder, Fredrik Bekkby, about his experience at Værøy. “We had established a beachhead on the tip of this island, under these gigantic mountains towering over us and the never-ending day. We survived the first storm and were rewarded with two magnificent days of bliss. Actually, there were no days, just an endless day at the end of the world.”

For Bekkby, every gig, whether it’s a local techno party in Oslo or a festival in the Arctic Circle, is a chance to bring people closer to that transcending experience. It’s not just about the music, it’s about the entire soundscape and the way it interacts with the environment and the audience.

“At the Sun Gate we attempted to generate a sound image that harmonised with the stage so that the natural sweet spot would converge with the alignment of the sun gate itself,” says Bekkby. “We had some initial issues with the infills, but once we got them on, timed and sitting happy with the rest of the system, I found the experience out there to be pretty powerful and breathtaking. It was like the sound came through the sun gate.”

On the third day, things took a turn, leading to the festival being cancelled. Bekkby describes waking up to find out that their Funktion-One stacks had been simultaneously lifted up in the air by a huge gust of wind and tipped over. “At the time we got this news, I had no reaction. It was too surreal,” he recalls. “I can only give you the perspective from the festival site itself. It was at times like a warzone and at other times like the place where heaven and earth meet. Something so raw, so wild and out of this planet I never experienced. I felt like a sailor lost at sea.”

Solstice celebrations are deeply embedded in Nordic traditions, where the seasonal extremes shape the culture and the way of life. Over the years, Soria has hosted events on both solstices and equinoxes to mark these shifts. The 2024 event, however, was particularly ambitious.

“This project was spectacular and challenging. It required a lot of micromanagement all the way until the end,” says Garvik. “The sheer remoteness of Værøy, coupled with its isolation from the digital world, posed logistical hurdles from the start. But it was precisely this disconnection from the noise of modern life that made the event so appealing. It was probably both the best and the worst experience of our lives. We learned to focus on the basics, be flexible, determined, and to never ever give up.”

Despite the obstacles, or perhaps because of them, Soria Gathering emerged as a testament to human resilience and the power of community. At times, the harshness of the elements was tempered by moments of sheer beauty, where the line between the natural world and the musical experience blurred. “The sound experience in Soria Gathering was absolutely amazing," says Garvik. “The speakers sounded great in the organic environment. At times, it was hard to know for sure if the sound came from the speakers or from the landscape itself, it was almost like the mountains were singing along in the background.”

As the dust or rather the Arctic mist settled after this year’s Soria Gathering, the organisers took stock of what they had achieved. The event was gruelling at times, but transformative. “It was a truly life-changing experience and we will be forever grateful for it,” says Garvik. The festival’s theme of pilgrimage felt more than appropriate: those who travelled to Værøy not only made a physical journey but also undertook a spiritual and emotional voyage.

The future of Soria remains open-ended. “We have not decided on Soria 2025 quite yet,” admits Garvik, “but we will go back to Værøy at some point, that is for sure.”

Wherever Soria Gathering goes next, its mission will remain the same: to create spaces where nature, music, and community come together in a transformative celebration of life. In a world that often feels increasingly disconnected from those very things, Soria is a pilgrimage worth making; a reminder that, even in the most remote corners of the Earth, we can find connection, transformation and a little bit of magic under the never-setting sun.

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Interview: Shepherd Sound Systems' Fredrik Bekkby