After surviving a long, dark winter, Finns rejuvenate themselves in the summer when the sun barely sets.
For many, that means going to a music festival of some kind — especially last summer after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
There is probably always some kind of festival going on somewhere in Finland from June to August.
To narrow them down, Yale News has listed the country’s biggest rock and pop music gatherings for the summer. Readers should be aware that there is considerable overlap between artists and festivals, as domestic and international artists may perform at multiple events during busy periods.
At the time of this article’s publication, tickets were still available for most of these events. But festival ticket prices have risen, in some cases, significantly in recent years, so potential buyers should be prepared to pay a little more.
Here are the 10 leading pop, rock, metal and hip hop festivals in Finland for summer 2023 in chronological order.
summer peace
From June 16th to 18th, people flock to the southwestern city of Turku to enjoy a little summer peace, or Kesarauha as the Finns call it.
More than 50 artists are expected to perform at the alternative and indie event, many of which are domestic artists, including alternative veterans. 22-pistepilcoSinger-songwriter Anna Pu’u And even the runner-up of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest rapper.
Kesarauha headliners include Norwegian players loixop and sound, from Sweden. His three-day ticket for the event is €165.
Numilock
Finland is known for its heavy metal and power chords abound during the mid-summer weekend of June 21-24 on the shores of Lake Numijärvi, about 100km northwest of Tampere, at the Numi Rock Festival.
Nummirock’s roster includes a wide lineup of national and international metal groups, as far as you can read the scribbles on the band’s logos.
Advance tickets for 4 days of headbanging on the shores of Numi Lok start at €169. Note that tickets are more expensive at the gate.
Organizers say the nearest ATM is 25 kilometers from the forested festival grounds, so remember to bring your camping gear and plenty of cash.
state
One of Finland’s oldest and largest rock festivals, Provinci takes place from June 29th to July 1st in Seinajoki, South Ostrobothnia.
Artists scheduled to perform at the three-day event include the eerie but hugely popular Swedish metal group Ghost1990s British electronic dance hit duo chemical brothersProvinssi also offers Finnish soulful pop stars Alma and singer-songwriter VV (Ville Valot), previously leading the Finnish metal band HIM to international success.
Three-day tickets to Provinci start at €209, and the festival also offers hotel packages and many other options and upgrades.
fang
From June 30th to July 2nd, Helsinki hosts one of the biggest metal festivals, Taska. Nearly 49,000 headbangers turned out for the event last summer, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Now in its 24th year, Tasca will offer three days of cranking metal from afternoon until midnight in the city’s Suvilahti district, a former industrial area slated for major renovation.This year’s headliners include the aforementioned Ghost and VV, as well as his quartet of French metal Gojiraeven as Marco Hietala Nightwish fame.
Some tickets and all VIP passes for Tuska are already sold out, but this year the price for a 3-day pass was €209.
lewis rock
Finland’s OG festival, Ruisrock, was founded the year after Woodstock in 1970 and is the longest-running rock music mass gathering in the country.
Held on the beach of Ruissalo Island in Turku from July 7th to 9th, this year’s Luis Rock will offer visitors a wide menu of hip-hop, electronic and pop artists.
Including US rappers Lil Nas XAmerican DJ/Producer SkrillexUS rapper/rocker machine gun kelly and British slow tie.
Ruisrock Domestic Artists Include Duo JVGnew wave rapper Credoslight pop maker Riti and veteran singer-songwriter Maya Wilkmaa.
A three-day ticket to Lewis Rock is €225, but tickets for Friday to Saturday are already sold out. The festival will also sell camping and caravan spots.
irosaari rock
The city of Joensuu in North Karelia in eastern Finland has hosted Ilosaari Rock since 1971, making it the country’s second oldest rock festival.
This year, it will be held from July 15th to 17th and will feature a wide list of domestic artists, including the aforementioned Alma and Maija Wilkmaa, as well as rappers. Paper Tpop band hot and electronic costume cyan kick.
Foreign artists scheduled to perform at Ilosari include: genius and years and years from England, Maximum value and Benson Boone From the United States, and from many others.
Norwegian band, according to organizers Wolf will also present “a stoic black metal avant-garde music and synthpop landscape” at the festival.
3-day tickets for Ilosaari Rock start at €199.
kuopio rock
At the 20th iteration, kuopio rock U.S. Metal Legends Appear at North Sabo Festival Megadeth It also includes a long list of domestic hard rock and pop artists including VV, Growlul. Amorphis Former Sunrise Avenue frontman Sam Harbor, autumn poet There are many others.
Kuopio Rock takes place from July 27th to 29th and a 3-day ticket costs €155.
weekend festival
On August 4th and 5th, the weekend festival’s EDM beat craze can be heard in eastern Espoo, with attendees dancing to well-known DJ/producers from Finland and abroad.
The event features a British-Norwegian DJ/Producer Alan Walker (He recently dropped a remix of Käärijä’s Eurovision submission Cha-cha-chaand they also performed live on a Helsinki tram in June).
The weekend festival will also feature Dutch DJs/producers Martin GarrixUS DJ/Producer Steve AokiDJ/Producer hardwell Dutch-born French DJ and producer David Guetta.
Tickets for both days of the weekend festival start at €185 per ticket, with additional fees for VIP area entry and after-party tickets.
flow festival
Flow Festival is an internationally renowned pop/indie music and visual arts event in Helsinki, now in its 19th year.
Flow regularly recruits A-listers to tour Finland where they can’t stop. British newspaper The Guardian ranked it among the 10 best European music festivals of 2017, and the event is regularly featured in British music publication NME.
This year’s Flow will be held from August 11th to 13th and will feature international artists such as New Zealand singer-songwriters. Loadsurvivor of 90s Britpop Bluran award-winning French electropop outfit christine and queensNigerian R&B star Wizkid, etc. As usual, Flow will also feature a long list of national artists.
It will be the last time the event will be held in Helsinki’s Suvilahti district since the venue moved there in 2007, as the dilapidated area is due to be completely renovated.
Launched in 2004, Flow got off to humble beginnings as an outgrowth of the city’s techno and jazz club scene, initially drawing around 4,000 people. Last summer’s Flow drew nearly 90,000 festival-goers over three days.
block resistant
Before summer finally leaves, Tampere hosts Blockfest, a huge hip-hop festival on August 18th and 19th.
Held in the area around the city’s Latina stadium, the two-day festival is billed as the biggest hip-hop event in the Nordic countries.
Blockfest features 10 international stars and over 60 artists from Finland.
The domestic lineup includes it was, Etta, Credos Coreron, god of water and shati.
The festival features international performers including: playboy books, Akon, metro boomin Others from the US as well, D Block Europe and Ray from England and Brady from sweden.
A two-day ticket to Blockfest costs €185.
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