Folk Music Festival Sommelo in Kuhmo Echoes Forest Sounds, June 24–26, 2025
PRESS RELEASE – May 9, 2025
The Folk Music Festival Sommelo will be held during the most beautiful part of summer in Kuhmo during the last week of June. This year’s theme is “In the Forest,” and the entire program revolves around it.
This summer’s Sommelo especially caters to children and young people. There are activities designed for them in both the concert program and in the courses and workshops.
The Wednesday concert in Kuhmo-talo’s Lentua Hall features the Tuulentei Trio — Soila, Jyri, and Petteri Sariola — descendants of Martti Pokela’s third generation, performing their grandfather’s music with a fresh twist. Thursday’s concert will feature echoes of Karelian saints, with Ilkka Heinonen on the jouhikko (a traditional bowed lyre) and Vladimir Belov on church bells. Both Lentua concerts start at 7 p.m.
The traditional Sommelo morning market coffees will take place on both Wednesday and Thursday, offering a taste of the festival program. On Wednesday, the market coffee continues with Mikko Perkoila and Vinkulelu’s children’s concert, which is free for all children and the young at heart.
Sommelo’s intimate concerts include Wednesday’s “Metsänpeitto” concert with Kirsi Ojala on shepherd’s instruments and Hanna Ryynänen on the kantele, as well as the hakosalo_tuohino duo whose REBIRTH performance fuses ancient kantele traditions with modern technology.
The festival pre-events begin on Tuesday at Kaesa’s Home Bakery with a folk singing club where everyone is welcome to experience the magic of folk songs. Wednesday’s club features Mikko Perkoila’s program for adults, and Thursday’s club is dedicated to Sommelo’s kora and runosong artists.
Sommelo’s seminars offer engaging presentations from festival artists on their areas of expertise and research in an accessible format.
Additionally, several workshops will be held during the festival, including those focused on rune singing and visual arts. The workshops are free and open to everyone.
An important part of Sommelo week is its low-threshold music courses. This year’s courses include instruction in traditional folk wind instruments, the kantele, and the kora. There’s also a Näppäri course suitable for the whole family. All courses are taught by top professionals in their fields.
More information: www.sommelo.net
Ilona Korhonen
Artistic Director
ilona.korhonen@sommelo.net
+358 40 8218 762
Maari Kallberg
Operational Director
maari.kallberg@sommelo.net
+358 50 3093 829