The Escarteen Sisters (ES)
Last year Kaustinen Folk Music Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary but when the festival is arranged for the 51st time the tempo does not slow down! The whole festival program is published Wednesday 16th of May and contains a wide range of artists. The same music festival hosts the top names of Finnish roots music as well as hugely popular acts from Suvi Teräsniska to Egotrippi, international stars from Haiti and Colombia, not to forget the countless pelimanni amateur musicians keeping up the festival spirit.
– I’d like to highlight for example the interesting concert series Pelimannit framilla, where we portray some pelimanni players both through music and stories, program director Anne-Mari Hakamäki tells.
Among the portraited players are baroque violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala, whose roots are firmly in the pelimanni ground of Kaustinen and who has performed on international stages like last year’s London Proms.
Welcome to join!
– During the whole week we have all sorts of program going on from early in the morning until late in the night, says Anne-Mari Hakamäki. We are trying to create both lots of variety and some broader themes for each day.
On Tuesday hundreds of childrens are gathering to take part in the Mukulamatinea (Children Matinees), on Wednesday the focus lies on music and dance of the Swedish speaking minority and on Thursday the festival presents especially local tradition from Kaustinen. Towards the weekend we raise the pulse among others with Colombian DJ KillaBeatMaker.
Besides of concerts the festival arranges a wide range of work shops and short classes, where you can for example learn to play ukulele.
The popular jam workshops are joined by dance jam workshops at Maunon makasiini – anyone who is interested is welcome to join!
– With this concept we wish to highlight the social side of dancing: what dancing is really about as well as the relationship between music and dance, Hakamäki explains.
There is also a big amount of program for children: both concerts and other activities – Kaustinen is most certainly one of the most family-friendly summer festivals in Finland.
From nature atmosphere to rap
Some artists of this year’s line-up has already been published in January, but last time additions include among others the intense Chouk Bwa from Haiti, blues-folk-avantgardist Richard Dawson from Great Britain and the sweet voices of The Escarteen Sisters from Spain.
Finnish artists performing at Kaustinen Folk Music Festival this year includes accordion virtuoso Markku Lepistö, haapoja & illmari kollektiivi combining folk music and rap, shaman violinist Tuomas Rounakari and Teosto Prize nominated Meriheini Luoto, whose personal concert concept Metsänpeitto fits very well into the nature theme of Kaustinen this year. Timo Rautiainen is well-known in Finland as both a heavy rock artist and a big folk music fan and he performs as a duo with the versatile Ville Ojanen. Kaustinen also presents the best of Finnish folk dance groups, from Siepakat to Motora as well as international dance guests among others from Estonia. The core of the festival is an impressing amount of pelimanni players from whole Finland.
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is arranged for the 51st time 9.-15.7.2018.
Media -> Accreditation to the festival has started and lasts until 30.6.2018 – http://kaustinen.net/medialle/akkreditointi/