Flow Festival 2025 – Helsinki, Finland – 8/9/10-08-2025
Flow Festival shines in every way!
The best summer festival is back for its 2025 edition. Flow Festival 2025 maintained last year’s record of 92,000 attendees. Once again, a diverse lineup, featuring artists and bands such as: FKA TWIGS, ORANSSI PAZUZU, LITTLE SIMZ, AIR, JOY ORBISON, LA LOM, HERMETO PASCOAL, KHRUANGBIN, BETH GIBBONS, UNDERWORLD, LITKU KLEMETTI, AUTECHRE, SAIMAA, REGINA, BLACK STAR, RUUSUT, SUDAN ARCHIVES, KNEECAP, INFINITY SONG, and FONTAINES D.C. Below is a brief summary of the 3 days of the festival, noting that it only covers live performances by rock, alternative, and jazz artists and bands:
FRIDAY 8:
SAIMAA
We begin our Friday coverage on the Main Stage. There, the Finnish musical collective SAIMAA, led by guitarist Matti Mikkola, was performing.
The band’s lineup consisted of 15 people: two drummers, one percussionist, three guitarists, one bassist, two keyboardists, one flautist/saxophonist, one trumpeter, and four singers.
The band surprised us with their multi-coloured progressive rock and orchestrated jazz, long rhythmic jams full of art rock guitars, funky keyboards, energetic drums and vocals that sound like vintage pop.
Mikkola and company delighted us with a repertoire full of wonderful songs, including “Pitkii Kyytiin”, “Pää Räjähtää”, “Muistan Sen Niin”, and their cover of Jean Sibelius’s “Finlandia, Op. 26”. A fantastic celebration of rhythms and sounds for everyone to enjoy!
REGINA
An hour later, on the indoor Silver Arena stage, the acclaimed Finnish trio REGINA performed their 2011 studio album “Soita Mulle” in its entirety.
The Finns offered us an intriguing blend of synth-pop, indie rock, electronica, and Scandinavian dance-pop. A captivating sonic mix that charmed the entire audience.
Iisa Pajula with the angelic vocals; Mikko Pykäri commanding on guitar and keyboards; and Mikko Rissanen guiding the band’s rhythm through drums and percussion.
A strategic and effective set with a total of twelve tracks, nine of them from the aforementioned album. The remaining three belong to the studio album «Puutarhatrilogia» released in 2009. Finnish electropop full of atmospheres and endearing melodies!
AIR
We continued Friday’s events on the Main Stage with a performance by the acclaimed and legendary French duo AIR. They were responsible for performing their excellent 1998 debut album, «Moon Safari» in its entirety.
AIR was mainly composed of Nicolas Godin on vocals and bass, and Jean-Benoît Dunckel on vocals and keyboards, who were accompanied by a group of live musicians.
Despite the announcement that the band would be playing the album “Moon Safari” in its entirety, AIR only performed six tracks from it: “All I Need”, “Kelly Watch the Stars”, “La Femme d’Argent”, “Le Voyage de Pénélope”, “Remember”, and “Sexy Boy”.
They also performed songs from other albums: “Cherry Blossom Girl,” “Run,” and “Venus” from the album “Talkie Walkie” (2004); “Dirty Trip” and “Highschool Lover” from the soundtrack of “The Virgin Suicides” (2000); and “Don’t Be Light” from the album “10,000 Hz Legend” (2001).
A flawless twelve-song set and a stage production filled with multicoloured lights and a backdrop screen displaying visuals perfectly complementing the band’s music. Nicolas and Jean-Benoît shone, delivering a dreamy, relaxed, and unhurried sound
SATURDAY 9:
RUUSUT
The second day began on the Silver Arena stage. There we saw the Finnish band RUUSUT. Experimental electropop and avant-garde synthpop.
Ringa Manner, Miikka Koivisto and Samuli Kukkola almost perfectly balanced raw pop melodies with melancholic electronic textures through experimental and cinematic elements.
But the music wasn’t the only focus of the set, as the band also spoke out about the political situation and criticized the serious abuses committed by the Israeli state against the Palestinians and the Gaza strip. The audience unleashed all their feelings, adrenaline, and emotion on the Finnish trio. RUUSUT demonstrated the immense power of music as an act of resistance and support for worthy humanitarian causes.
BETH GIBBONS
On the same Silver Arena stage, but a couple of hours later, the English BETH GIBBONS, queen of trip hop, made an appearance.
Among the songs performed by Beth and her band, highlights included “Floating on a Moment”, “Lost Changes”, and “Reaching Out”, all from her studio album “Lives Outgrown” (2024). But the most memorable moment of her set was undoubtedly her cover of “Glory Box” by her former band, PORTISHEAD. In conclusion, Beth Gibbons delivered a moving and vibrant performance across 12 tracks. We were treated to one of the finest alternative voices of the last thirty years!
ORANSSI PAZUZU
On the Black Tent stage, we witnessed the only extreme metal band at the entire festival: the Finnish psychedelic black metal quintet ORANSSI PAZUZU. They are considered the masters of the new wave of black metal that draws on the most experimental sounds and effects.
The band consisted of Jun-His on vocals and guitar, Ontto on bass, Korjak on drums, Evil on keyboards, and Ikon on guitar. Black metal has never sounded so chaotic yet so cohesive. The Finns shook us through dark lights and abstract layers of decay. The quintet played mostly tracks from their two most recent studio albums, “Mestarin Kynsi” (2020) and “Muuntautuja” (2024). Eight lengthy songs comprised the set. Psychedelic black metal laden with avant-garde passages and abyssal dark ambient. A masterclass in sonic progressiveness rooted in extreme music and space rock!
SUNDAY 10:
FONTAINES D. C.
We started the third and final day of the Flow Festival at the Silver Arena stage, where we had the pleasant surprise of seeing live one of our favourite bands, the Irish band FONTAINES D.C.
The quintet consisted of its usual lineup: Grian Chatten on lead vocals, Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell on guitars, Conor Deegan III on bass, and Tom Coll on drums.
Modern post-punk spiced with electronic sounds but driven by guitars. Indie and alternative rock for the masses who prefer the underground to the mainstream.
A dream set of 17 songs had everyone jumping and singing along at the top of their lungs. Highlights included “Jackie Down the Line”, “Starbuster”, “A Hero’s Death” and “Big”.
This quintet’s second time at Flow Festival. It’s incredible how much the band has achieved in such a short time and how they’ve become a global benchmark for alternative rock. Amazing!
KHRUANGBIN
A few hours later, on the same Silver Arena stage, we had the opportunity to see the American trio KHRUNGBIN.
The Houston, Texas natives took the audience on a fun journey in which spacey funk and soul intertwined with danceable dub and psychedelia.
A large portion of the songs performed are from their latest studio album, «A La Sala» (2024). A beautiful work that has received very positive reviews.
An excellent set by Laura, Mark, and Donald. The energy of the dance and the power of the music helped us clear our minds and free our bodies from any worries.
LA LOM
And we finished Sunday with the wonderful concert by the American instrumental rock band LOS ANGELES LEAGUE OF MUSICIANS, better known as LA LOM, on the Balloon 360 stage.
The band consisted of guitarist Zac Sokolow, bassist Jake Faulkner, and percussionist Nicholas Baker. This trio delivered an energetic performance in which cumbia and Peruvian chicha took center stage.
An hour-long concert filled with dancing served as the perfect grand finale to a day brimming with emotion and diverse musical styles. Long live music!
In short, Flow Festival 2025 was the best festival of the summer, not only in Finland but across Europe. It’s a major event that brings together the best, most interesting, and most innovative music of our time. No other festival can compare, and for three days Helsinki and Finland become the center of the musical universe!
