The largest folk music event in the Nordic countries, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, continues to announce top figures. The 59th festival attracted a record-breaking audience. The total attendance of the festivals was 58,531. There was a growth of well over 7% compared to the previous year. A total of 21,861 tickets were sold for the event, and there was also a growth of almost 7% compared to the previous year.
The number of performers also increased to a record high. 5,100 musicians, singers and dancers are the highest number of performers in the event's history. This year as well, the unique atmosphere of the festival gathered praise.
– We are the country’s premier folk music event, whose mission is to make folk music visible to a wider audience. We want to be invited to perform, to the audience, and everything in between. It feels nice when people year after year and generation after generation take ownership of the event, the organizing organization Pro Kaustinen ry’s chairman Teemu Seikkula says.
Festival Operations Manager Valtteri Valo He says that in light of the successful numbers, it is pleasant to look forward to a jubilee year. Next summer the festival will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
– We intend to celebrate it properly. However, the anniversary year does not mean that we will only turn our attention to the history of the event. On the contrary, the overriding goal is to look to the future, towards the next 60 years, Valo emphasizes.
Next year the theme of the event will be Joint play – Cooperation. Program Manager Anne-Mari Hakamäki says:
– We want to emphasize that the past 60 years have brought people together around the same goal. That is how we want it to continue to be in the future. Joint gameThrough the -theme, we want to further lower the threshold for people to join our community as widely as possible. We are constantly looking for new ways to achieve this. It is an important value to us that people of all kinds are welcome to join.
There are two county themes for next year: Pohjanmaa and Central Ostrobothnia. The counties selected by the Finnish Folk Music Federation are prominently featured in the event’s program as a distinct part of its overall program.
The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival will be held next summer, from July 12th to 18th, 2027.
PHOTO: Sara Äijö of the Ottoset group dances at the KPO arena this week. Photographer: Krista Järvelä