Richmond, VA – When you think trumpet, bagpipe, harmonica, piano, tap shoes, trombone, and ukulele, what is the first thing that comes to mind? If your answer was not The Swedish Queen of Swing, Gunhild Carling, then you have no idea what you are missing.
Gunhild made her solo Richmond and Tin Pan debut on October 4, 2025 and delivered a delightful jazz swing mix for the waiting audience.
She opened with a piece that she had composed, “Miller Avenue“, which as she freely admitted was a copy of “Bourbon Street Parade“… she only changed the melody, the lyrics, and all the chords. Did I tell you she had an awesome sense of humor as well!?
The fun continued with her cover of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” followed by another original, “Swedish Tiger“. For those who do not know it, there are no tigers in Sweden… at least not after she left. She, along with the band, were not quiet or humble, they went full force and had a blast!
Now it so happens there is one song she plays almost every show, and of course, she played it tonight. Starting with an almost ragtime sounding trombone transitioning to a uke and vocals, she had us all swinging to a “Just a Closer Walk With Thee“, bringing us all a little closer to her as she walked through the crowd!
Taking out the recorder, she introduced us to a little medieval music before going to some Samba music. What followed was a fun sing-along to a piece she just wrote on the spur of the moment, “The Tin Pan Blues” which included some very harmonica moments. The seated (and well fed) audience did so well, there were rumors she invited some to participate in her upcoming show in Nebraska!
It was a two set night. The remainder of the first set was a blast, even taking requests for “When the Saints”, which she promised would be later. Finishing off the first set was “C’est Si Bon“, which she requested for herself. We took about a 15 minute break so she could prepare her special Vaudeville act.
Starting with a bit of “Cheek to Cheek” followed by her suggestion that we all be introduced to some German opera. She prepared us to listen for four hours where everyone dies in the end. While the opera would have been cool, we settled for some German foreplay with a Deutches version of “Mack the Knife“, complete with almost every instrument under the sun.
Some Bossa Nova recorder followed by a very swingin’ jazzy “It Don’t Mean a Thing“.
Up until this point, I figured we have seen her entire array of musical instruments, but I was wrong. She proceeded with a piano version of “All of Me”
The set wound down with one that she plays almost every show, “La Vie en Rose” which led into another diverse instrumental treat, some Swedish bagpipe music.
The final songs summed up the night. There was some tap and trombone followed by a standing O and a short two piece encore which consisted of another soon to be Tin Pan hit which featured Gunhild playing the upright bass and trumpet at the same time (see the featured image at the top). The reaction on the face of the bass player was priceless as he saw it unfold before his eyes. The final piece was, as expected, her three at once trumpet solo to close it all out.
So there we had it, a night of a very talented, there was nothing she could not do, Gunhild Carling playing everything under the sun, the moon, and the starry sky. It was her first trip to the Tin Pan, hopefully it will not be her last!
Gunhild Carling Gallery
Show Date: October 4, 2025
