Fri 12-Sun 14 June
Provinssirock
This festival in beautiful surroundings
by a rollicking riverside has
traditionally kicked off the summer
festival season, and this year is no
exception. Expect a full-rounded
line-up of metal, rock, and pop. The
headline act is Australian singer/
songwriter Nick Cave, who makes
a rare visit with his band The Bad
Seeds.
Other interesting acts include Britpop
from past and present – Placebo,
Supergrass, Editors and The
Ting Tings – as well as Icelandic
indie princess Emiliana Torrini.
And of course a slew of great Finnish
bands!
Törnävänsaari, Seinäjoki
www.provinssirock.fi

Thu 18-20 Sat June
RMJ Party Camp
This alcohol-soaked Midsummer
classic has toned it down a notch
and given up some of the more outdated
eurodance acts. While the
programme now includes a plethora
of mainly Finnish favourites, from
Paula Koivuniemi to Disco Ensemble,
the Party Camp still maintains
a difference to your average festival
affair. Instead of just listening
to bands, the three-day event offers
diverse programme from giant
outdoor discos to karaoke bars and
various theme-party areas.
Kirjurinluoto, Pori
www.rmj.fi

Fri 26-Sat 28 June
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival
If you prefer black over, well, any
other colour, and have no problem
spending one of the hottest weekends
of the year dressed in spikestudded
leather, you’re probably
going to Tuska. This annual sinfest
turns Helsinki’s Kaisanemi Park into
a netherworld of Goths and metalheads,
and the output is heard
for miles. This year’s offerings include
My Dying Bride, Suicidal Tendencies,
Amorphis and Volbeat. For
those who love it hard and loud.
Kaisaniemi, Helsinki
www.tuskafestival.fi

Fri 26 June-Fri 3 July
Imatra Big Band Festival
A full eight days and nights of every
kind of rhythm music imaginable,
almost 50 acts and a variety of
sideshows, picnics, evening clubs
and other programme make this one
of the broadest festivals in Finland.
Don’t let the name fool you, as the
programme offers something for everyone:
from Chicago Blues veterans
Billy Boy Arnold and John Primer to
Eurovision sensation Waldo’s People
and Pop Idol favourite Anna Abreu.
Imatra
www.ibbf.fi

Sat 27 June-Sun 28 June
Pitkä kuuma kesä
The “Long hot summer” (a name
soaked in irony in the Finnish context)
has existed as a series of
loosely connected club performances
for some years now, but this
time the old Suvilahti power plant
offers suitably urban surroundings
for a two-day outdoor event as well.
And what an even it is shaping up
to be! The impressive line-up includes
American punk rockers Social
Distortion, quirky indie legends
The Flaming Lips, mas-up maestro
Girl Talk, Swedish favourites
Soundtrack of Our Lives and The
Sounds, and many, many more.
Suvilahti, Helsinki
www.pitkakuumakesa.fi

Sat 1-Sun 2 August
Ankkarock
The closest thing to a rural festival
in the capital region, Ankkarock
takes place in a park in Vantaa,
within walking distance from
the Korso train station. It used to
be a free event, but over time it has
grown into just another rock festival.
Though previous years have made a
note of ending the festival year with
a line-up celebrating Finnish favourites,
this year’s Sunday line-up takes
an unusually indie oriented shape:
TV on the Radio and The National
wrap up the festival season. Other
main acts include Testament, PMMP
and Eppu Normaali.
Korso, Vantaa
www.ankkarock.fi

Fri 15-Sun 17 August
Flow
Teetering on the fine line between
cooler-than-thou and friendly-andfascinating,
Flow offers a meticulously
picked selection of some of
the most interesting artists in contemporary
popular music. From jazz
and soul to indie, electro and club
music, the festival is a thoroughly
urban affair, aimed at those who
know their music. The slight snobbish
airs are not dispelled by the
gourmet food stalls and crowds of
hipsters who flock about, but in
terms of musical content it’s one
of the most interesting weekends
of the year: Lily Allen, Ladyhawke,
Yann Tiersen, Vivian Girls, Fever
Ray, and many more.
Suvilahti, Helsinki
www.flowfestival.com

JULY

Fri 3-Sun 7 July
Ruisrock
Finland’s oldest rock festival is
staged in a beautiful location in the
middle of a field by a picturesque
sandy beach. The organisers have
again compiled a line-up worthy of
salivating. Friday is metal day, with
Slipknot, Disturbed, and Children of
Bodom sharing headlining duties.
Saturday will sate appetites of indie
and electro fans, with Mew, The
Sounds, Glasvegas and Ladytron
taking the stage. Finally, Sunday
has a more eclectic mix to offer,
with the ethnically tinted Calexico
and Gogol Bordello playing alongside
legendary rap-metal pioneers
Faith No More.
Ruissalo, Turku
www.ruisrock.fi

Thu 2 July-Sun 5 July
Konemetsä
Electronic music in the middle of
the woods, laser beams slashing
the night as a monotone beat whips
dancers into a shamanic frenzy?
Sounds like a sure-fire Finnish peculiarity!
This year’s DJs and live
performances include international
guests Oli (Far Too Loud), Legowelt,
Eat Static and Arne Weiberg, and
practically everyone you can think
of from the Finnish electronic/club
music circles. It’s bound to be a unique
experience, but the question
remains, how to get there...
Ollila, Marttila
www.konemetsa.net

Fri 3 July-Sat 1 August
Savonlinna Opera Festival
The medieval Olav’s Castle dating
back to 1475 has functioned as the
venue for this fantastic opera festival
since the year 1912. The festival
offers some breathtaking performances
and stunning sets, all staged
in the beautiful historical surroundings.
Instead of just hard core opera
fans, the festival draws in a diverse
audience, all eager to enjoy
the music and magic. This year’s
selection includes Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly and Turandot, Arrigo
Boito’s Mefistole and Donizetti’s
Lucia di Lammermoor. Visiting performers
come from the famed Teatro
Massimo house in Palermo.
Olav’s Castle, Savonlinna
www.operafestival.fi

Wed 8-Sun 12 July
Seinäjoki Tango Festival
For the 25th time the Tango Festival
brings crowds of Finns to the
city centre of the small Ostrobothnian
town of Seinäjoki, to tango to
the night away. Instead of spicy Argentine
tango, on offer is the Finnish
brand, one part Slavic melancholy
one part Finnish rural nostalgia.
Suspense is heightened when
the national finalists face off for
the title of King and Queen of Tango
2009. Elsewhere scores of performers
croon Finnish evergreens in
the romantic summer night, while
audiences dance the night away.
Seinäjoki
www.tangomarkkinat.fi

Fri 10-Sat 11 July
Summer Up
This small-scale festival for Hip
Hop and RnB lovers is organised
for the seventh time on the Mukkula
beach in Lahti, now for the first
time as a two-day event. Summer
Up is the largest festival in Finland
specializing exclusively in urban
rhythms, and it offers a great
opportunity to check out what’s hot
in the field of Finnish Hip Hop. The
line-up includes Asa, Ceebrolistics,
Cheek, Redrama and Signmark, just
to name a few.
Mukkula beach, Lahti
www.summerup.fi

Sat 11-Sun 19 July
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
The largest folk music festival in Finland
offers a broad spectrum of ethnic
sounds, from world music superstars
to local talents. This year’s programme
again includes music from
all corners of the world: Fado from
Porutgal, modern Mandika from
Mali, traditional Chinese music, and
of course some good old-fashioned
Finnish fiddlin’. More than 170 concerts
and events are organised, and
the programme stretches across an
entire week, so picking and choosing
from the sea of colourful folk music
and dance on offer can be tricky.
Among the main attractions this year
are Portuguese Fado star Mafalda
Arnauth and a 35-strong orchestra of
traditional Chinese instruments.
Kaustinen
www.kaustinen.net

Sat 11-Sun 19 July
Pori Jazz
Brian Setzer, Duffy, De La Soul,
Raphael Saadiq… The Pori Jazz
festival has again drawn up an impressive
line-up of established
world class stars and hot young upand-
comers of jazz, soul, funk, RnB
and just plain old pop. The main
location in Kirjurinluoto offers a
beautiful natural amphitheatre,
perfect for a jazz picnic – If only it
were not stuffed to the edges with
music fans.
Kirjurinluoto and other locations,
Pori
www.porijazz.fi

Fri 17-Sun 19 July
Ilosaarirock
With a reputation as the friendliest,
most easy-going and fun-loving
festival in Finland, Ilosaarirock
has sold out year after year. Perhaps
it’s the laid-back North-Carelian
atmosphere or the picturesque
surroundings that turns festivalgoers
into such mellow and cheerful
crowd here. The line-up is always
fascinating, at least. This year
offers alternative rock by Isis, reggae
and sunshine by Beenie Man,
new wave gloom and doom by the
reunited Killing Joke and afro-beat
jamboree by Femi Kuti & The Positive
Force.
Laulurinne, Joensuu
www.ilosaarirock.fi

Wed 29 July-Sun 2 August
Faces Etnofestival
The locally global celebration of
music, dance, poetry and art goes
on for a full five days this year in
the traditional Billnäs estate loca-
tion! For neo-hippies, world music
lovers and world-healers alike, the
festival offers a veritable horn of
plenty of organised programme and
the all-important random encounters
with likeminded souls. The musical
programme ranges from rock
(Pintandwefall, Underwater Sleeping
Society) to reggae (Puppa J.,
Paprika Korps), afro-beat (Faso
Kan) and something completely unclassifiable
(Frank Zappa Memorial
Pancake Breakfast).
Billnäs, Karjaa
www.faces.fi