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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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).

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

Ulla Pirttijärvi & Áššu base their music on traditional Sami Joik. Ulla Pirttijärvi joiks about her relatives and her home villages Utsjoki and Angeli. Olav Torget and Harald Skullerud complement the ensemble with string instruments and percussions. The ensemble draw further inspiration from West African grooves and tradition. They vary their expression from wide atmospheres and quiet moods all the way to more uptempo grooves.

Read more

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.

Read more

Frigg has been conquering the world with their fusion of western folk music styles leaning strongly towards Nordic folk music. To describe Frigg's music, the world music media has coined the term nordgrass – referring to the bluegrass influences of the group. So far, Frigg's over 20-year career has taken the band touring around the world, and their discography is already 11 albums deep (including one live album), with 2023's "Perintö" being the latest addition.

Read more

Uusikuu is a Finnish-German band founded in 2006, playing old Finnish dance music. They are one of the most interesting and original interpreters of the rare and rather special genre, the Finnish tango, and also perform and record fast humppas, waltzes, slow foxtrots and swing numbers. Uusikuu's lead vocalist Laura Ryhänen and violinist Mikko Kuisma are Finnish, while the other band members are German.

Read more

Kukka Lehto (violin, keyboards), Tero Pennanen (Hammond B3, keyboards) and Janne Haavisto (drums, percussion) form Pauanne, whose music combines compositions with archived tapes. The trio draws influences from old beliefs and traditions. Their self-titled debut album was released by Nordic Notes in 2019, which was followed by the collaborative album "Barely Ann-Mari" with singer-songwriter Irina Björklund in 2020.

Read more

Ánnámáret is Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman, Sámi musician who lives and whose work is based in Nuorgam, northernmost Finland. Her music is inspired by the life and the nature in Sápmi. Ánnámáret’s strength as an artist springs from having grown up between two cultures and, thus, in understanding these cultures and their collisions and similarities. Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman's new band Ánnámáret Luohteilbmi performs traditional Northern Sámi joiks or luohts with fresh global electro arrangements.

Read more

Maria Kalaniemi, a master of free-bass button accordion, is also a doctor of music and a long term instrument pedagogue, who has performed with numerous bands, released nearly twenty records and played on many more. Kalaniemi has also collaborated with the best folk musicians in the North.

Read more

Anne-Mari Kivimäki is a musician, composer and lyricist, with the accordion at the core of her creativity. She is the founder of several bands including the boundary pushing duo Puhti, experimental electronic group Suistamon Sähkö, and Anne-Mari Kivimäki & Palomylly​.​ ​S​he has created multi-disciplinary artworks featuring the accordion and developed a new style of playing: a contemporary Karelian accordion trance.

Read more

Accordion experimentalist Antti Paalanen has created his own sound with his diatonic instrument, which he uses to weave hypnotic and minimalistic tunes that tell stories about the world of today. On his songs Paalanen screams at his accordion, kicks the floor and hits the bellows. Alongside his solo career, Antti Paalanen is a member of several folk music line-ups such as Hehkumo, Hyperborea, Laitakaupungin- orkesteri, Kiharakolmio, Trepaanit and Turkka ja Paalanen.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

That band from Finland builds its sound on three-part harmonies, catchy and melodic songwriting and an unashamedly retro production style. Founded in 2023, the band combines pop, country and folk influences, drawing its inspiration primarily from the hit music of the 1970s to 1990s. The band from Finland comprises three singer-musicians of diverse ages and backgrounds: young up-and-coming singer Milana Maria, Estonian vocalist Dagmar Ōunap, and Finnish-American Tom Coldwater , who also serves as the band's producer and principal songwriter.

Read more

AT’s Roots & Ramblin’ is a young and energetic band, who describe their music as "swinging rock’n’roll". Combining influences from traditional rock’n’roll, swing, jazz, roots, country, rhythm'n'blues and big band music, the trio has gained interest in rockabilly circles around the world, including placements in global main playlists of the genre.

Read more

Hildá Länsman is a joik singer and songwriter hailing from Ohcejohka, now based in Guovdageaidnu. Immersed in the ancient traditions of reindeer husbandry, artistic handicraft (duodji), and joik (luohti) from a young age, Hildá seamlessly blends her rich cultural heritage with contemporary music and visual arts. Currently, Hildá is immersed in the creation of a pioneering debut album that is set to redefine the boundaries of Sámi music; a collaboration with Tuomas Norvio that fuses artistic electronic joik and dance music, resulting in an unforgettable sound.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

Minsku Tammela is a storyteller and singer-songwriter with a bluesy voice making Nordic folk with mythical stories in sumptuous layers of organic sound. Tammela's debut solo album Valkoinen hevonen (”White Horse”) (2023), introduces Finnish traditional instruments like kantele and jouhikko (bowed lyre) and brings together a group of top musicians and producers. The music explores the relationship between human and nature.

Read more

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.

Read more

Pekko Käppi is a visionary Finnish folk music composer, ethnomusicologist, runo-song researcher, member of e.g. the groundbreaking revivalists Jouhiorkesteri, his own blues-rocking combo K:H:H:L, and folk quartet Ne Lintuizet, and album-award-winning solo artist. His oeuvre revolutionized the standards of playing the ancient Finnish instrument jouhikko, a bowed lyre, by plugging it into an amplifier.

Read more

Markku Lepistö is a folk accordionist with over 30 years of music career. His skills on both diatonic and chromatic accordions have been recognized worldwide. In addition to Lepistö's solo albums, his playing can also be heard on many tracks by Finnish artists. Markku Lepistö's 2024 collaborative album "Duos" made it to the Global Music World Chart's pole position in January 2025.

Read more

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.

Read more

Electro-folkers Hittawanin – described as a kind of "outlaw Kalevala" – released their debut album "Vaka Vaka" in 2024. Some of the album's lyrics originate from the regions of present-day Estonia and Russia. In them, you can hear echoes of wars, longing for love — and the mysticism of the Kalevala. Musically, Hittawanin combines Finnish traditions with electronic sounds, Arabic influences, and Turkish rock psychedelia. The band, founded in 2021 by Mikael Vehkaoja, has already garnered critical acclaim for its danceable and wild tunes. The album was released in collaboration with KordAva Production, which focuses on the music and culture of the Middle East and North Africa.

Read more

February 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of kantele artist Martti Pokela. To celebrate their grandfather's rich musical legacy, Pokela's grandchildren: Soila, Jyri and Petteri Sariola joined forces and released the album "Pokela", under the name Tuulentei, containing new music. Pokela's grandchildren are all accomplished music professionals: Soila Sariola is known as the singer of Rajaton and Saaga Ensemble, Jyri Sariola is a producer and drummer and Petteri Sariola is a unique guitar virtuoso who performs extensively in Finland and abroad.