Kaustisen showcase -yhtyeet 2023
Showcase bands have been selected at the Kaustinen festival since 2013. The already established series presents forward-looking, emerging and internationalized folk music names. Three bands will be selected for the Showcase series, each of which will perform on two different days and on two different stages at the festival. The summer 2023 showcase series is implemented in cooperation with Yle Radio 1 and Music Finland.
Hurja halla
A distinctive contemporary folk music band from Joensuu, whose unprejudiced music is inspired by the nature and myths of the north. The band's repertoire consists of original songs with moods ranging from wistful to trance-like, and ethnic wind instruments, cello, percussion and the sound of the human voice take the listener on a journey to the northern forests.
Hurja Halla: Eve Pietarinen (left), Janne Ojajärvi and Liisa Haapanen have also received recognition for their Riitti music video. (Photo: Riikka Malin)
Line-up
Liisa Haapanen (cello, vocals)
Janne Ojajärvi (flutes, Jew’s harp, harmonicas, vocals)
Eve Pietarinen (percussion, vocals)
Debut Album
Riitti 2022
Listen to song called Riitti (a Ritual)
Pelkkä Poutanen
Laulaja-säveltäjä Petra Poutanen käyttää perinnesoittimia sekä live-elektroniikkaa genrerajoja paukuttelevan, röyhkeän ja kauniin sekä aiheiltaan kuulijaa haastavan sooloproduktionsa työkaluina. Poutasen akrobaattinen äänenkäyttö yltää skandinaavisista ja suomalais-ugrilaisista laulutavoista aina kurkkulaulutekniikoihin saakka ja hänen esiintymistään on kuvattu sanoilla maanjäristys, alkuräjähdys, hypnoottinen ja syvä. Pelkkä Poutanen julkaisi tammikuussa 2022 debyyttisooloalbuminsa Pyhä veri vuotaa, joka ylsi sekä Etno-Emma että Teosto-palkinto ehdokkaaksi.
Pelkkä Poutanen: The works composed by Petra Poutanen have been heard on theater stages in, for instance, Helsinki, Tampere and Espoo. (Photo: Mitro Härkönen)
Line-up
Petra Poutanen (vocals, kantele, live electronics)
Debut Album
Pyhä veri vuotaa (Eclipse Music)
Listen to song called Jumalan morsian (The Bride of God)
Polenta
The band of three violinists and one guitarist plays their own and traditional folk music with sweat and a full heart. The band's debut album Kaustinen Turbo, released in 2021, consists of tunes from Kaustinen and they have been given a new and fresh look by Polenta. The band's refined, raw sound is also evident in their own compositions, which do not lose sight of the essence of the heart of traditional folk music. Known as an agile live band, Polenta's gigs exude an immediate atmosphere and the joy of playing.
Polenta: Mikko Malmivaara (left), Aino Kinnunen, Olli Sippola and Veera Kuisma as Polenta who also won the Konsta Jylhä competition in Kaustinen in 2019. (Photo: Tommi Ahonen)
Line-up
Veera Kuisma (violin)
Aino Kinnunen (violin)
Olli Sippola (5-string violin, mandolin)
Mikko Malmivaara (guitar)
Debut Album
Kaustinen Turbo 2021
Listen to tune called Ykköspolska (the First Polska)