The 12th Porvoo Jazz Festival will be held from September 26th to 29th. The festival will take place in various venues, including the association’s own cultural space, Vanha 123, which will be equipped with top-notch sound systems in collaboration with Genelec. During the festival, the halls of Vanha 123 will be aptly named Genelec Lab 1 & 2. A new addition this year is a rustic pop-up space right next to Vanha 123: the former entertainment center Punainen Pantteri will transform into a relaxed concert venue called Vanha Pantteri for the duration of the festival.
The festival begins and ends at Porvoo Art Hall, where visitors can enjoy music while admiring the art exhibition VOI VELJET! featuring Antti & Jukka Korkeila and Matti, Paavo & Tarmo Paunu. On Thursday, September 26th, the festival opens with Pauli Lyytinen’s solo concert, which intriguingly combines natural sounds with acoustic instruments to create complete musical worlds. The closing concert on Sunday will feature a collaborative production with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, showcasing a piece composed by Panu Savolainen specifically for the festival. This concert will boldly navigate the realms of jazz, classical music, and Finnish popular music. On Saturday at the Art Hall, the audience will hear the renowned veteran of the Finnish jazz scene, Seppo Kantonen, performing as a trio.
On Friday at Vanha 123, the festival will present the Joonatan Henriksson Quintet, the recent winner of the Finnish Jazz Federation’s Taimi Award, along with Expand, a female quintet of renowned German, American, and Finnish musicians. The evening will close with Arppa, a rising star on the Finnish music scene.
Saturday kicks off with the festival’s cheerful new event, Jazz+Ping Pong with Born2Bingo, inviting audiences of all ages to enjoy a laid-back, Berlin-style afternoon. The event will feature jazz musicians Valtteri Pöyhönen, Riitta Paakki, Rafa Postel, and Rocka Merilahti competing to the rhythm of the Danish organ duo Born2Bingo. The games will determine who gets to join the band on stage. The audience can enjoy the bar, play games, and soak in the atmosphere of Vanha Pantteri.
Saturday evening at Vanha 123 will feature the Danish-Estonian Karmen Rõivassepp Quartet and the internationally acclaimed Lampen duo. The night will conclude with danceable tunes from cult band Dalindéo, who will be celebrating the release of their new album, and music from DJ Bunuel. Sunday will begin with a children’s concert by Henna and the Superheroes, and the festival will conclude with a unique collaborative project: Porvoo Jazz Festival x Avanti & Panu Savolainen.
Tickets are available at biletti.fi and at the Grand Cultural Center’s ticket office.
Photo of Pauli Lyytinen © Tero Ahonen