The largest folk music festival in the Nordic countries will take place in the second week of July for the 58th time, from 7 to 13 July 2025.This year's themes are Migration, We Together and Häme. The 2025 festival band of the year is Loimola Kraft, while other top names from Finland include the jubilee celebrations of Kimmo Pohjonen, Frigg and Freely, international names Canadian Le Diable à Cinq and Turkish Light in Babylon. In traditional Kaustinen style, Kaustinen Week also consists of thousands of players, hundreds of performances every day, an extensive supporting programme and plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved.
Kaustinen will delve into a historically significant, global and always topical theme when the Summer 2025 festival is themed. Migration. The theme concerts, the performers who produce them and the accompanying programmes will illuminate and reflect the theme in a variety of ways, highlighting how the movement of people for different reasons around the world has shaped and enriched cultures, communities and identities, and created new ways of seeing and experiencing the world.
- No culture is born in a vacuum. People have always taken something important with them when they have left, while absorbing influences from their new home country or environment. This phenomenon has shaped and continues to shape traditions and cultures throughout the ages," concludes Programme Director Anne-Mari Hakamäki the background to the theme.
In particular, people left Ostrobothnia to immigrate to the Americas, which is still reflected in the cultural heritage of the region today. The programme includes a wide range of concertos by musicians from Kaustinen and the surrounding area. Combining research, music and the performing arts Haavemaa-project will bring both the evenings and the main concert on the theme of migration to the festival, where musical stories of migration will be brought to life. The concert will feature a house band The City of Laita Orchestra, and soloists include. Aija Puurtinen and Paleface. The concert will feature both familiar songs and songs that have been forgotten by history.
The international seminar on the evening of the festival will look at migration, migration and the transmission and safeguarding of tradition from different perspectives.
Band of the Year 2025: the power of Loimola - Folkrock and Karelian cultural heritage
The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival's Band of the Year 2025 also touches on the theme of emigration Loimola Power. The selection was announced at the Long Live Folk! gala on the Folklandia cruise on Friday 10 January 2025.
The band, which has won several awards, brings a fresh perspective to Finnish folk music with a combination of folk rock expression and the Karelian language. The bold mix of acoustic and electronic elements makes the band's music multidimensional and topical. The band has succeeded in bringing the Karelian language and culture to the attention of a wider audience, especially young people. Chosen to emphasise the importance of cultural diversity and understanding of Karelian identity and history, Loimola Voima continues to renew the traditions of folk music and proudly brings Karelian cultural heritage into the present day.
Music without borders
The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival will once again see several celebrants on the stages. A modern ambassador of the violin tradition, the world-famous violinist, 25 years old Frigg will bring their great show to the KPO arena. The 20-year-old Freely is once again proving its appeal to both adults and children. Finland's most internationally renowned accordionist, composer and social activist, the Pro Finlandia award-winning Kimmo Pohjonen is coming to Kaustinen for the first time in a long time, both in the context of its 60th anniversary celebrations last year and the regional theme of Häme. He will perform two pieces: a solo work for the centenary year 60 zone in addition to an extensive career-spanning club tour, is set to blow up the Kalliopaviljong.
The festival stages will also see, among others, the delightful duo on the rise Emma & Matilda, from the origins of folk and protest songs. Paleface and the Singing Union, and delightful traditional small groups Aléa and Puronaho & Alakotila trio.
Reaching millions of listeners around the world, from the multicultural heart of Istanbul. Light in Babylon enchants its audience by combining the nuances of oriental and Mediterranean traditions into a distinctive ethnofolk. A touch of Quebec party atmosphere is brought by the energetic band of five multi-instrumentalists and singers Le Diable à Cinq, which captivates with its explosive stage presence and warm interplay. The Folk Music Institute's international project will also bring performers and experts from Macedonia, Georgia, Slovakia, Croatia, Latvia, Portugal, Estonia and Sardinia to Kaustinen.
Community power, regional traditions and master players on show
Folk music and folk dance as a general theme for 2025 . highlights what Kaustinen is always about; a festival week where you can get away from it all and immerse yourself in the sound and dance community as a performer, listener, participant or experimenter through gigs, workshops, jams, sing-alongs and a diverse programme of side events. The carnival atmosphere will be re-energised with a free opening day on Monday, and the opening ceremony will be highlighted by the addition of new names to the prestigious line-up of master players.
Häme will be spotlighted in cooperation with the Friends of Folk Music of Southern Häme and the Häme Folk Music Association. The main concert and other major joint events will highlight the region's tradition and musicians in all their diversity. The regional theme invites you to celebrate the diverse cultural heritage and the spirit of working together that is at the heart of the Kaustinen Festival.
As always, the locals also do their best; the region's Unesco-listed tradition is on display every day of the week with hundreds of musicians, dancers and singers. In addition to the Kaustinen tradition, the festival's extensive and popular Living Heritage programme will introduce the phenomena highlighted by the national and UNESCO listings, including the Living Heritage Point, the cosy and highly popular Sauna Village, lectures and seminars.
Always as tough Konsta Jylhä -competition will take place for the 14th time during the first week of the festival. After last year's solo improvisation competition, this year will see a return to the production of the competition's title game man. The competition is open to small ensembles and the programme must be based on compositions by Konsta Jylhä. The competition is organised by the Pelimann House and the Folk Music Institute.
Children Kaustinen - Inclusive joy and international tunes
The multi-artistic and multi-participatory Children's Kaustinen programme will feature, among others, the family favourite who has created a unique career in Finnish children's culture. Mimmit. For the faint-hearted Folkskandia will bring together hundreds of Finnish children and young people from the Nordic countries, Estonia and as far away as Shetland. The programme of concerts at the KPO Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday will take the audience on a journey through the musical traditions of the participating countries. In the Children's Tent, the programme will be led by the festival's own Traditional birds. From morning to evening and throughout the week, the programme of activities for all ages is organised by the skilled professionals of the Children's Cultural Centre Lyky.
Showcase, Split Better and Gamebreakers underway
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival has been highlighting emerging and internationalising names in folk music with its well-established showcase concept. The call for showcase bands is open until 16 February. Music Finland will provide the selected bands with coaching on marketing, networking with foreign delegates and making international contacts, and Yle Radio 1 will record the concerts of the showcase bands.
Read more: https://kaustinen.net/showcase/
The Better Shared concept offers the possibility of live music accompaniment for folk dance groups that do not have their own musicians. The application period runs until the end of January.
Read more: https://kaustinen.net/jaettuna-parempi/
The pelaman search, which started in December, is open until 31 January 2025 at 17:00.
Read more: https://kaustinen.net/pelimanneille/
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival 7.-13.7.2025