Programme

Festival theme: Hands-On Traditions

The living tradition of folk music and dance is not created solely through performances, but also through craftsmanship. Musical instruments, costumes, materials, and handicraft skills form the material foundation upon which music and dance are built and passed down from generation to generation.

The theme for 2026 highlights factors that are often not visible but are nevertheless central to tradition: instrument builders, craft people, costume designers and makers, and other creative artists, whose expertise keeps folk music and dance alive. Many of the key instruments used in Finnish folk music are still handmade, and the same applies to the visual world of folk dance, i.e., costumes, fabrics, and accessories.

The theme examines handicrafts as part of the preservation and transfer of traditions, intangible cultural heritage, community spirit, and a sustainable future. Working with one's hands connects generations, strengthens participation, and creates a concrete connection to history, nature, and contemporary culture. The festival program brings these processes to the public through concerts, workshops, discussions, and encounters; not just as finished results, but as living and shared activities. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Province Theme Northern Ostrobothnia

The annual Province theme, organized in collaboration with the Finnish Folk Music Association, aims to highlight the folk music traditions and expertise of different regions in Finland.

The Northern Ostrobothnia Theme is organized in collaboration with North Ostrobothnia Folk Music Association. kanssa.

Provincial program

• Provincial Theme Main Concert, Friday, July 17, at 3:15 p.m., KPO Arena
• Northern Ostrobothnia Evening Concert, Friday, July 17, at 6 p.m., Soittosali
• Folk dance concerts and performances
• Workshops
• Individual artists, performers, and groups from across the province throughout the week
• Konsta Van
• Oulu2026 Sauna in the Sauna Village near to the Festival area

Barlast

Barlast celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival! Barlast is a laboratory for musical interaction and expression, combining influences from Nordic folk music, contemporary music, jazz, and art rock. The band has performed at clubs and festivals across Europe and Japan and released five albums. Barlast has also composed music for two experimental films, one of which was performed live in 2019–2022 in collaboration with media artist Nina-Maria Oförsagd. On the album Imitation Game, released in the fall of 2025, Barlast placed Alan Turing's concept of AI in the context of folk tradition and created machine learning models that mimic the cattle calls and folk songs sung by guest vocalist Amanda Kauranne on the album. The album was recognized with a listing on the World Music Charts Europe, among others. At the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Barlast will perform a selection of songs from over the years with a quartet lineup.

Hannaeerika

Hannaeerika is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter whose sensitive, playful, and perceptive expression captivates the listener. There is something familiar and comforting about her music, like a piece of childhood memories. Her roots and the still important grandmother's house in Central Finland live in her work, her presence, and her gentle, curious way of looking at the world. Hannaeerika's skilled and playful voice is the perfect match for stories that linger in the mind and may even brighten the listener's mental landscape. In her songs, small observations and everyday details grow into meanings.
Her unique style also extends to the visual world. Hannaeerika knits her own stage outfits from recycled yarns, which she hunts down here and there. The band shirts are also unique; she knits them by hand, one stitch at a time. Tradition is tangible in her hands: in her work, in her care, and in her slow resistance to the culture of disposability.

Pearl Marleena

New wave singer-songwriter Helmi Marleena brings a fresh breath of pretty heartbreak indie to indie folk. She is one of the brightest future stars of the melancholic Finnish music scene. Helmi marleena paints beautiful pictures of love, longing and its humanity with her music. The music is based on strong vocal lyrics and contains life-flavoured folk ballads with a soft and deep soulful touch. Helmi marleena creates a uniquely delicate and restful atmosphere in the KPO arena on Saturday's summer evening.

SAT 18.7. KPO Arena

Johanna-Adele Jüssi trio (NO)

Estonian violinist Johanna-Adele Jüssi, who lives in northern Norway, performs with her trio music inspired by Lynx Valley, a dreamlike and utopian place that exists at the intersection of imagination and tradition. The ensemble's expression is at once subtle and rough, narrative and enchanting. The trio plays as naturally for dancing as for listening, always living in the moment and filling the musical space with meaning. Small nuances, subtle changes in rhythm and melody, are at the heart of the band's expression.

The most beautiful way with kantele

Aila Rauhala's kantele girls and Pirkan Kantele will meet at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival on Friday 17.7.2026 in a joint concert celebrating the traditions of the big kantele. A long-matured idea will finally come true, as the stage will be filled with tunes from past generations by master players and notable kantele players. Aila Rauhala's kantele girls is an ensemble born from the pupils of master player Aila Rauhala, which honours the tradition of playing the kantele in the Perhonjok Valley and keeps it alive in the hands of new generations.
Pirkan Kantele is a pelimanni ensemble that was introduced to Pirkanmaa by Outi Nieminen, whose style of playing is based on the kantele sound of the 1980s and has been the pelimanni ensemble of the Kaustinen Festival for over ten years.

The concert will feature the traditions of Aila Rauhala, Antti and Juho Koiranen and Kreeta Haapasalo, among others. Both ensembles cherish a strong style of kantele playing passed down from generation to generation and have been reliable carriers of the Kaustinen Festival tradition for decades.

The Ottoset of the Kaustinen Youth Society

Folk Dance Ensemble Ottoset, who grew up in the folk dance and music tradition of Kaustinen, dance with skill, emotion, and pride of their home area with the strength of all together ten folk dance groups. Ottoset and their six folk music ensembles bring genuine joy and enthusiasm for dancing and playing music together to the 2026 festival. The diverse program will feature new program based on local traditions, as well as the theme of the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Hands-On Traditions and the annual theme of Finnish Folk Music Association, Strength from the Roots.

Liisa Matveinen & Tellu Turkka

Their 30-year artistic journey together will be celebrated with the Ei sanat salaha jouva! (Don't keep it secret!) tour in 2026. Master folk singer Liisa Matveinen and composer Tellu Turkka have spent decades researching, composing, and interpreting the legacy of female poets—the powerful and timeless texts of Mateli Kuivalatar, Iro Sissotar, and many others.

In the duo's music, old poems come to life as new compositions and arrangements, in which the sounds blend together with exceptional sensitivity. The accompaniment is built on traditional and unique instruments: kanteles, moraharp, wooden flutes, and clay udu drums. The singers of the Suden aika quartet are also joining the anniversary tour.

Maija Kauhanen

Maija Kauhanen is a Finnish kantele virtuoso, singer, multi-instrumentalist and original composer and lyricist. She is known as a charismatic performer whose captivating stage presence captivates the audience. As a solo artist, Maija Kauhanen performs her own music as a unique one-piece orchestra: she plays the kantele and percussion instruments and sings at the same time, creating a multi-dimensional and powerful ensemble.

At the heart of Maija Kauhanen's work is craftsmanship. Her instruments, especially the various types of kantele, are hand-built and stem from a long tradition of Finnish instrument making. The instruments used by Maija were made by her father, instrument maker Kari Kauhanen. His handprint, know-how and decades of experience are an integral part of Maija's unique sound, a sound that has toured concert halls on almost every continent, taking Finnish tradition and Finnish music to the world.
Maija works closely with other craftspeople: performance costumes are created in collaboration with seamstresses and designers, and the music stands for the kantele, microphone solutions and many other details are made to measure based on Maija's ideas together with craftspeople.

Maija will perform three different concertos:

Maija & Kari Kauhanen; The player plays best with cooperation

Maija Kauhanen & friends; The many networks of tradition

Maija Kauhanen; Solo with visual elements

Moskitto Bar (CA)

With immense energy and infectious joy of playing together, this captivating multicultural band sets dance floors on fire wherever they perform. The band's scintillating and life-affirming music is a joyous celebration of their musical roots from Ukraine, the Balkans, the Middle East, North Africa, Brazil and French Brittany.

Moskitto Bar was born in 2016, when Celtic-French accordionist Tangi Ropars met musicians Yura from Ukraine and Ahmed from Iraq, who had arrived in Canada. In a cultural encounter in northern Ontario, they met daily in the woods to share music and learn each other's melodies and rhythms. As they played, they were surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes, which were not to be destroyed while they played. This experience of being a mosquito bar gave the band the name Moskitto Bar.

In Toronto, Moskitto Bar has grown into a true cult band, happy to perform on the streets and in bars as well as at local events. The band has also been seen on the big stages and in prestigious concert halls such as the Aga Khan Museum, Opera House, Ashkenazi and Sunfest festivals and Koerner Hall.

Nope

Nope is a four-piece from Oulu, who have been together since 2015, whose music irresistibly combines tradition and catchy original melodies in a danceable way. Nope will release their second album ”Off the Squirrel Wheel!” in February 2026. The band received the 2025 Vierivä Kivi Award for promoting folk music in Oulu.

Erja Pätsi; violin
Virve Yli-Savola; vocals, accordion
Olli Seikkula; guitar
Mikko Alanne double bass

North Shore Celtic Ensemble (CA)

Combining Celtic roots with youthful, bold and contemporary expression, the group has been developing its distinctive sound since 1998. This dynamic group of young musicians performs energetic Canadian folk and Celtic music, where upbeat fiddle tunes, inventive arrangements and tight ensemble playing meet tradition and fresh creative sounds.

The group's repertoire weaves together catchy traditional tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Québec, the Atlantic and Western Canada. There are also original compositions and insightful arrangements with influences from folk, classical and jazz. Known for their strong stage presence and immediate audience contact, the North Shore Celtic Ensemble performs at summer festivals both on their own energetic shows and with the Näppärit.

Nypykät

The last show includes a show in Kaustinen! The orchestra first performed in Kaustinen in 1990 as an unknown group from Heinola on the main stage. At the time, the local newspaper was already wondering about the orchestra, because it was not mentioned. At the following year's festival, this folk music freak performed in the darkening evening of the Kalliopaviljong. Now, this coming summer, 35 years later, the polka machine returns to the Kallioklub, with exactly the same line-up as that hot summer in 1991. Expect speed and exhilaration. Expect a dangerously rowdy evening of polka.

SAT 18.7. Rock Club

Näppärit

Näppärit is a flexible operating model that brings together musicians of different ages and levels for courses or joint performances, and the Mukulamatinea concert at festivals usually involves a line-up of just under 500 performers from all over Finland. This summer, the Näppärit will also be joined by a Canadian violin group, so the programme will include Näppärimusan, a programme of traditional folk tunes and new, composed folk music, as well as Celtic songs from Canada. The large Näppärit group has concerts at the KPO Arena on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

TUE 14.7. at 17.15, KPO-arena
WED 15.7. at 13.00, KPO-arena

Orffit 30-vee, JEE!

From Kaustinen in '96 a great journey began (Tohtori Orff & Herra Dalcroze) and in Kaustinen it continues in a somewhat miraculous way! Old hits and new efforts to the delight of young and old alike. The orchestra will not shy away from anonymous and anonymous visitors, but invites you to join in!

TUE14.7.
WED 15.7.

Pelkkä Poutanen

Winner of the Artist of the Year award at the Eläköön Folk gala, Pelkkä Poutanen brings his hypnotic and squidgy live set to Kaustinen, which has even been described as an earthquake. In Poutanen's art, North Ostrobothnia is not just a geographical point of departure, but a deep undercurrent: in dialect, in imagery, in a stark examination of humanity and in an original treatment of tradition. Poutanen, who will release his second album in the spring, has a deep, sometimes unbridled and macabre repertoire, but always accompanied by a gentle gaze. He plays not only with sounds, but also with the sacred and the taboo. The sound moves effortlessly from throat singing to pop aesthetics and everything in between. Her tools include acrobatic vocal manipulation, concert cantilena and live electronics.

Steve'n'Seagulls

A Finnish band founded in 2010, whose music breaks boundaries and categories. Its expression is a fusion of newgrass, country, rock and bluegrass - above all in speed, skill and attitude. The band's arsenal of instruments is exceptionally broad: banjos, mandolins, drums, double basses, accordions, guitars, flutes and other instruments change hands even in the middle of a song.

Over the years, Steve'n'Seagulls has grown into a diamond-hard live band that raises the roof and tours the world bringing the energy of Northern music to audiences around the globe. Originally known for their original arrangements of rock and metal classics, the band has also impressed international audiences with their own strong production on their latest albums.

FRI 17.7. KPO arena

Tallari

Tallari has kept the flame of Finnish roots music alive for a stunning 40 years, one foot deep in tradition and the other firmly in the present, igniting the treasures of the archives and creating something new. The festival week will feature a gala concert and a variety of concert ensembles with musical guests.

Trolska Polska (DK)

Trolska Polska takes its listeners into the enchanting world of Nordic fairy tales and mythology, where trolls, elves and other mythical creatures come to life. Haunting melodies, infectious energy and rich instrumentation take you on an adventure from dark forests through mountains and valleys to imaginative landscapes.

The seven-piece ensemble was put together by Danish multi-instrumentalist and composer Martin Seeberg, who is known for his work in several major Nordic folk music ensembles. Trolska Polska's music is an intense and evocative ensemble, where the narrative and dance expressions create a strong and magical atmosphere.

Vilma Jää

Vilma Jää is a Finnish artist and songwriter who boldly builds bridges between tradition and the future. Her music moves from her Karelian roots towards a new expression where folk music, craftsmanship, empowering pop and activism intertwine. The Kaustinen festival is part of Vilma Jää's second album release tour, which will be released in the spring, and on Saturday at the KPO arena Vilma will be seen with an extended line-up: alongside the main band, there will be a kantele player, backing singers and several handmade instruments, in line with the theme of tradition in the hands, who will take to the stage to celebrate.

SAT 18.7. KPO Arena