The evening party for the Night of the Arts

The Night of the Arts wraps up with live music at the old coach station! Performers include the Lopunajan viihdeorkesteri and Pekka Kumpulainen & ystävät. There’ll be some surprises in store too! 

Lopunajan viihdeorkesteri is a unique band formed in Joensuu in 2020, which began as a folk duo comprising songwriter Santeri Sihvonen and harmonica virtuoso Joonas Pihjala. As the line-up expanded to a quartet, the band’s sound became more diverse, and their second LP, due for release in early 2027, features rhythm music, blues and folk. The band crafts its sound using acoustic string and wind instruments, but also incorporates the whirring of a saw, whistling and looper experimentation. At Viihdeorkesteri’s gigs, you can dance or just sit back with your eyes closed, pondering the questions posed by the lyrics. The songs often explore social themes without being confined to any particular perspective – even the last elephant on Earth might have its say.

Pekka Kumpulainen and ystävät is a band based in Rovaniemi, Finland, which plays rhythm-driven music with a distinctive style. The ramshackle nature of this seven-piece band and the rough-edged swing of their broken songs occasionally merge into a beautiful sea of LED lights, upon whose surface little love crabs gather an evening meal for all of life’s battered souls.