The band DEAL was formed in 2022, after its members met while studying on the Blues and Americana programme at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN).
Since then, they have developed a strong musical interplay and a distinctive sound combining americana, blues and roots music, with a clear focus on live performance and audience engagement.
The band is currently finalising its debut EP, with a single release planned for spring 2026 and a US tour scheduled for the autumn. Before that, however, they will travel to Potsdam to perform for approximately 600–700 guests at the university ball hosted by USN’s alliance partner, the University of Potsdam.
“Taking our band abroad and performing for an academic audience at a formal ball with several hundred guests feels like a dream,” says DEAL’s vocalist and guitarist Alexander Årnes Østbye. “We are really looking forward to the atmosphere and to meeting people from all over Europe in such a special setting.”
Østbye travels to Potsdam together with Eskil Boyesen Molde and Anders Sæther. All three musicians play both electric and acoustic guitar, with Eskil also performing on mandolin. Alexander and Eskil share lead vocal duties, while all three contribute backing vocals and close harmonies.
Partnership in Action
The University of Potsdam and USN are close partners through the European university alliance EDUC Alliance – European Digital UniverCity.
- EDUC - University of South-Eastern Norway
- EDUC Alliance – Open your world of European education (educalliance.eu)
Each year, the German EDUC partner hosts a university ball bringing together students and staff for an evening of music, dancing and community.
In 2026, the event will take place on 14 February at the University of Potsdam’s Griebnitzsee campus.
This year’s programme has a distinctly European focus, with food, drinks and music contributed by partners from across the EDUC alliance. The theme, European Dancing UniverCity, is a playful twist on the alliance’s name, replacing “Digital” with “Dancing”.
“The university ball in Potsdam demonstrates how education, culture and international cooperation are closely connected,” says Stephan Hamberg, Vice-Rector for Education at USN and USN’s representative on the EDUC Steering Committee. “When USN contributes music from the stage, the partnership becomes tangible and alive. Encounters like these strengthen relationships and remind us why European cooperation in higher education matters.”
Hamberg will attend the ball together with USN Rector Pia Bing-Jonsson.
An Open Showcase
“This concert is an excellent example of how our study programmes can open doors far beyond the classroom,” says Espen Fjelle, Head of USN’s Blues programme, who will be travelling with the band, mentor and roadie duties included.
Fjelle will travel with the band and looks forward to meeting the curiosity of ball guests about DEAL and about USN, the only university in Europe offering a practice-based, credit-bearing degree programme in blues and americana.
- Study Performing Blues and Americana at USN
- Blues, exchange programme at USN
- The international sound of Notodden, USN
“DEAL’s performance at the University of Potsdam ball highlights both the Blues programme and USN’s work on internationalisation through the EDUC alliance,” says Heidi Tovsrud Knutsen, Institutional EDUC Coordinator at USN. “In this way, music becomes part of a broader collaboration centred on mobility, cultural exchange and shared European learning environments.
