The We Jazz festival, held in Helsinki since 2013, will from this autumn onwards be known by a new name: Väreet. Offering adventurous music around Helsinki during the darkest time of the year, the festival will take place on 2–5 December, with a pre-event concert for the whole family taking place on 20 November. Tickets for the event are now on sale at Tiketti.
Known as a bright spot in Helsinki’s autumn concert season, the We Jazz festival is getting a new name in 2026. From now on, the event will be known as Väreet. The adventurous spirit associated with the We Jazz event, in terms of music, event concepts and venues, will continue and develop further in the familiar communal atmosphere of previous years.
“There is no drama involved in the name change,” says We Jazz and Väreet artistic director Matti Nives. “The We Jazz festival has already since 2016 been organised by Helsingin Jazz-utopia ry, which is separate from We Jazz’s business operations, and now that We Jazz’s activities continue to develop and expand, it felt natural to give the winter event its own identity and a fresh starting point as well. In my opinion, it is important for arts organisations to challenge themselves and what they do from time to time, so the new name also provides a good opportunity to examine and further develop our activities.”
The first Väreet will take place in Helsinki on 2–5 December 2026. Featuring both familiar venues from the We Jazz festival and new ones, the event will bring a powerful line-up of leading names in jazz and experimental music to Helsinki. Performing at Väreet will include the renowned Nordic avant-garde jazz supergroup Fire! Orchestra and also the trio version of Fire!, the legendary Chicago experimental jazz group Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, rising Moroccan gnawa music star Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timboktou, the Egyptian-Norwegian The Handover, who impressed at last year’s Womex event, as well as the Swedish jazz-psychedelia star group Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Arkestra, featuring Kurdish-Swedish vocalist Avin Omar. Finnish artists performing at the event include, for example, Timo Lassy Trio, Verneri Pohjola Quartet and Superposition.
The special concept Salakeikka, which gained popularity at the We Jazz festival, will continue once again at a new venue. The free-music, all-evening, seamless jam concept Circus/Citadel, curated by bassist-composer Antti Lötjönen, will be held for the third time at Konepajan Tähti. In addition, Riviera Kallio will screen Kun saksofoni palaa, a film directed by Petri Luukkainen about Timo Lassy’s work and career, while the entire event will be preceded on Friday, 20 November, by a family concert at Kulttuurikeskus Stoa, to which the public has free admission. Kadi Vija 3 will perform at the children’s concert.
Tickets for Väreet 2026 are on sale at Tiketti.
Väreet Festival
2–5 December 2026, Helsinki
+ pre-event on 20 November at Kulttuurikeskus Stoa
Tickets: tiketti.fi/vareet2026
Programme and further information: vareet.fi
Instagram: www.instagram.com/vareetfest
Event on Facebook
Festival schedule: vareet.fi/schedule
PERFORMERS A–Z
Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timboktou
Black Diamond
Circus/Citadel III
divr
Dudù Kouate & Dan Nicholls
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
Fire!
Fire! Orchestra
Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Arkestra & Avin Omar
Kadi Vija 3
[secret gig]
Superposition
The Handover
Timo Lassy – Kun saksofoni palaa
Timo Lassy Trio
Verneri Pohjola Quartet
We Jazz DJs
VENUES
Digelius Music
Dubrovnik
G Livelab Helsinki
Kahvila Sävy
Korjaamo
Kulttuurikeskus Stoa
[secret venue]
Riviera Kallio
Tähti
Väreet Festival is supported in 2026 by the City of Helsinki, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Kone Foundation, Emilie och Rudolf Gesellius Stiftelse and William Thurings Stiftelse.
Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timboktou, photo by Lars Opstad