Ida Elina has demonstrated the versatility of the Finnish national instrument, the kantele, in the 2010s. She is a skilled singer and pop kantele performer, gaining attention on YouTube with her covers of popular songs by artists like Michael Jackson, Adele, and Toto, which have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views. In addition to her cover songs, she has developed her own style as a songwriter, incorporating gospel influences alongside pop elements. Trained in classical music, Ida Elina developed her distinctive playing technique after observing slap guitar players on YouTube.

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Steve 'n' Seagulls made their name by carrying out simply impressive bluegrass covers of famous heavy metal songs, which has even taken them to the number one spot on the Billboard Bluegrass albums chart. To date, the group has covered tracks such as "Thunderstruck," "Aces High," and "Cemetery Gates," to name a few, but the band's fourth album, "Another Miracle" (2020), was their first one to boast a track listing with more original songs than covers.

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DANTCHEV:DOMAIN portrays cinematic melodies and Bulgarian rhythms. The band, helmed by Finnish-Bulgarian singer-songwriter Anna Dantchev, journeys musically between the aesthetics of traditional Bulgarian music and jazz & blues, all provided by Dantchev’s compositions. Their debut album was awarded as folk music album of the year in 2020. The second album, "The Lions We Are" (2022), was the first Finnish full-length album released in Dolby Atmos format.

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Anna Murtola, born in 1983 in Oulu, North of Finland is the world’s northernmost flamenco singer. Considered as one of the pioneers of Finnish flamenco singing, the singer has found her own strong voice as an interpreter of this passionate Spanish tradition. She is also known as a versatile and charismatic performer who is constantly reaching out across genre and culture borders. In 2018 Murtola’s debut album "Fuego Por Dentro" was released by Alba Records as the first album by a Finnish flamenco singer. Her 2nd album "La Tierra Blanca" is released by the award-winning German record label Nordic Notes in 2023.

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Gulf Stream Riders is a folk/country rock duo with one foot in New York and the other in Turku. The band is an American-Finnish-Swedish collaboration that, in addition to Ahlstedt, consists of the American singer Chris Anderson. Anderson and Ahlstedt have played together since the early 90s, when they had a band called Wighthouse Wanderland. Still these days, the band's multi-instrumentalist and producer Nalle Ahlstedt can be associated with many different music projects.

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Inspired by Northern mythologies and nature, the Joensuu-based folk music duo Hurja Halla combines folk music with experimental elements. The collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Janne Ojajärvi and cellist Liisa Haapanen released its debut album “Riitti” in early 2022.

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The singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Vilma Jää mixes hundreds of years old stories with today’s electronic music. She combines the ancient instruments such as kantele and harmonium with synthetic beats. She is also known from her breakthrough role in Innocence, an international success opera by Kaija Saariaho.

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ENKEL is a folk band featuring two melodeons, kantele, viola, and four voices. The group brings together four musicians who share a passion for traditional music, social folk dancing, and storytelling through instrumental arrangements. While rooted in Finnish tradition, ENKEL adds a modern touch shaped by their 1990s upbringing, creating distinctive and emotional performances. Their albums, "Pappilan hääyö" (2016), "We Are ENKEL" (2018), and "Love Hurts" (2022), have received critical acclaim, with the first two being named Finnish Folk Music Album of the Year. ENKEL has performed across Europe since 2014, including at the 2016 EBU Euro Radio Festival in Estonia.

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Kaiunsäde primarily performs music composed by Joose Ojala, where modern folk expression meets the harmonic world of jazz and popular music. The band’s sound combines melodic and lyrical expression with rich harmonies, topped off by Helena Taskila’s pan flute as the finishing touch.

Suistamon Sähkö performs new Karelian dance music with electronics, Russian toy accordion, power of song, rap and manic moves. Crazy music scientists Anne-Mari Kivimäki and Eero Grundström create new Suistamo dance music with a Notka accordion and electronics. Add two dancing vocalists Reetta-Kaisa Iles and Tuomas Juntunen and this visual folktronica act will make you dance yourself into a trance.

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Ensemble Gamut! is a fresh, experimental collective of early music and folk music specialists, constantly searching for new ways to perform early music. They combine historical instruments and electronics in an innovative way, and have created their own unique world of sounds using medieval and renaissance music, Finnish folk tunes, improvisation and modern soundscapes. Ensemble Gamut! has performed extensively from club gigs to museums, medieval churches, and concert halls. Their debut album, "UT" was released in 2020, and in 2024, it was followed by their 2nd full-length, "RE". Their 3rd album "MI" came out in 2025.

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Pekko Käppi & K:H:H:L music deals with love, death Finnish voodoo and archaic grooves. Trio's frontman, Pekko Käppi is a visionary Finnish folk music composer, singer and jouhikko player (bowed lyre). The group's cross-genre approach has led them to perform on a wide variety of festivals around the world, ranging from Holland's Roadburn to WOMEX, and Kaustinen Folk Music Festival to metal festival Tuska Open Air.

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HUIPPU is a new six-piece band that composes and performs contemporary folk music. Influenced by Nordic and Irish folk traditions, the band creates a sound that combines melody and rhythm in a modern approach.

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Country singer and songwriter Larry Peninsula has been performing extensively in his native Finland while expanding his reach further to perform shows in the USA, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria. So far, Peninsula has opened for the likes of Drake Milligan, Ward Hayden & The Outliers, Doug Seegers, Steven 'n' Seagulls, and Grammy Award-winning Redd Volkaert. Following his 2018 debut album “Country Music Only”, Peninsula released two singles in 2024 to build anticipation for his upcoming sophomore full-length.

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Ne Lintuizet, loosely translating to "The Byrds" – or something similar – is a new Finnish folk supergroup, comprised of Kielo Kärkkäinen, Laura Moisio, Lauri Myllymäki, and Pekko Käppi, out of whom Käppi, Kärkkäinen and Moisio are all successful artists, musicians, and songwriters. Ne Lintuizet's sound combines Finnish and American folk and country traditions, with a strong emphasis on vocal harmonies, fiddles, and acoustic guitars.

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Hostikka is a fresh and new folk music six-piece from Finland. The band is fronted by Saija Penttilä, and the songs are mainly her compositions, but there are also works by musician-producer Jaakko Penttilä in their repertoire. The band's compositions have strong influences from bluegrass and Americana, but lean heavily on Nordic folk music.

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Päivi Hirvonen is a Helsinki based musician and composer – violin, voice and bowed lyre as her instruments. During her career as professional musician she has played music from folk and popular to classical and performed both solo and with different ensembles and bands touring in Finland and abroad. Päivi’s debut solo album “Alku – The Beginning” was released in 2018 by Nordic Notes. It was followed by "Kallio" (2022), which pushed Hirvonen's international and domestic career further.

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South-Karelian-Helsinki music collective Dänkki Briha – self proclaimed "synergistic connection of nostalgic longing and modern expression" – is inspired by Finnish-Ingerian-Karelian folklore, myths and cityscapes. Passionate about art and folk poetry. The "anti-folk" band fuses together theatrical expression, Baltic Finnish cultural heritage and an ultra-modern soundscape. The end result of Juho Liira's vocals, Matias Kontula's electric violin and Manu Penttilä's production is a "unique ethno-futuristic banger machine" that works on stage as it does on record. Their music is sung in Finnish, Karelian and Inger, with some original lyrics and some directly from folk poetry archives.

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Maija Kauhanen is a composer and a versatile multi-instrumentalist inspired by rural music traditions of Finland and Karelia. She specializes in Finnish Saarijärvi kantele as well as the old and rare technique of playing kantele using a tiny wooden stick as a plectrum. Her debut solo album Raivopyörä ("Whirl of Rage") came out in 2017 on the Nordic Notes label, which was followed by her second full-length "Menneet" ("Gone") in 2022.

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One of the most internationally successful acts to emerge from the contemporary Finland music scene, Värttinä revitalized the nation's folk traditions with an aggressive and modern style that eschewed not only the costumes of their ancestors but also the long-accepted cultural notion that women should sing unaccompanied. Värttinä makes a grand comeback in 2025, celebrating 40 years since the band's first performance at Kaustinen Folk Music Festival.

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VIMMA is an art-pop ensemble from Helsinki combining Nordic folk with indie sounds and progressive rock. As a nine-piece mini-orchestra VIMMA can create a massive sound with specific arrangements while also leaving space for artistic interpretation and improvisation. Their lyrics (in Finnish) concentrate strongly on ecological issues.

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Wimme & Rinne is the collaboration between Sámi joik singer Wimme Saari and multi-instrumentalist Tapani Rinne. The duo's signature sound is a fascinating mixture of ancient joik traditions and modern soundscapes, which range from abstract ambient and field recordings to playful techno beats. The duo returned in 2025 after a 8-year recording break.

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Slack Bird is a punk folk band as well as the solo vehicle for singer-songwriter Dave Klas. During their existence, Slack Bird has toured abroad with various lineups, the most active of which has been the duo version with accordionist Susanna Leppänen and Klas. Thus far, Slack Bird has released three albums: "Let's Start Wearing Capes" (2016), "Aleta Au" (2018) and "Hämärään" (2021).

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Maija Pokela is a kantele player, singer and folk musician who has toured around the world with her bands. Pokela has an extensive discography with different groups (e.g. Kardemimmit and Enkel) along with other studio work as a guest musician. She has also composed music for the Star Stable Online game. Pokela's debut solo album "Lohdun sanoja" ("Words of Comfort") will be released in April 2025.

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Junna is a duo that infuses Finnish folk music with electronic music. Comprised of vocalist, violinist, and traditionalist Anna Haaraoja and beatmaker-producer Juha Seppänen, Junna originally set out to find out what happens when the organic sound of folk is turned up to the max and beyond. The duo found out that the result was a hard-hitting blend of traditional melodies and "synthtastic blasting".

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Juha Kujanpää is a Finnish composer and musician who operates masterfully in the no-man’s land between folk music, jazz, and rock. His most recent works include the solo albums “To Where My Wings Will Take Me” (Niin kauas kuin siivet kantaa), 2017, “Goldwing” (Kultasiipi), 2015, and Tales and Travels” (Kivenpyörittäjä), 2013. “Tales and Travels” was selected as one of the best albums of 2013 by the leading Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat. The band, Juha Kujanpää Ensemble, was also nominated as the Band of the Year of Kaustinen Folk Music Festival 2014.

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Teija Niku is a Finnish accordionist, known for her expertise in Nordic and Balkan folk music. She has been described as a composer with an excellent sense of melody, and an inventive arranger. Niku has released three solo albums: Finsko Pajdusko (2011), Memento (2017), and Hetkessä (2019). Niku is also known for the bands Polka Chicks, Karuna, Aallotar, and Teija Niku & Grupa Balkan. Niku's newest ensemble is a duo with pianist-composer Juha Kujanpää. ​Niku has performed all over Europe with her various ensembles and toured 12 times in the USA.

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Award-winning singer-songwriter Johanna Iivanainen and guitar virtuoso Mikko Iivanainen released their first duo album, the folky "Surutuuli" after almost 30 years of performing together. Perviously Johanna Iivanainen has made mainly Americana, jazz and folk styled music, and also performed as one half of the duo Altamullan Road.

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Ilkka Arola Sound Tangine is a six-piece ensemble consisting of the top musicians of the Finnish rhythmic music scene. Their music combines a variety of genres into a blend of folk, jazz, modern beats, and cinematic soundscapes, offering danceable, funky grooves and melodies reminiscing Arabic maqams and other microtonal sounds.

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