At the opening of the exhibition, Aapo Kukko will talk about his work and the works selected for the exhibition. Violinist Elina Vähälä and double bassist Maria Krykov will bring a musical greeting to the opening.

The programme of our opening concert reflects on heroic figures. You can expect some truly energetic moments – but even the toughest among us need to take a nap sometimes.

Festival’s Visual Artist of the Year is Oulu-based cartoonist, illustrator and screenwriter Aapo Kukko, whose work is the basis for the visual identity of the festival. For this exhibition Kukko has selected works from his upcoming cartoon Punainen Beethoven (Red Beethoven), which deals with the life of composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

The concert presents the diversity of the forest through music, scent, and words. In addition to Sibelius’s Tree Suite, you’ll hear trees not found in Finnish forests. Author and freelance journalist Jenni Räinä will speak about how forests are disappearing. Is it utopia – or our near future?

The young musicians from the Oulu Conservatory take over the stage and offer musical treats during lunchtime at Theatre Restaurant Aulis. The young musicians will be interviewed by the festival’s artistic director, Atte Kilpeläinen.

The weekend kicks off in style with Valve’s afterwork event. The festival’s artists take over the stage in a playful spirit and with a twinkle in their eye.

EVA-trio is a group formed by three versatile musicians who move effortlessly between styles: vocalist Essi Wuorela, kantele player Anna-Karin Korhonen, and cellist/flutist Vesa Norilo. The trio brings its captivating sound to the atmospheric RioLive, offering a balanced mix of well-known Finnish folk songs and newer classics set to Finnish poetry – all presented in fresh and swinging arrangements. The festival’s artistic director, Atte Kilpeläinen, will also make a guest appearance on stage.

EVA-trio’s new children’s album Orava, peippo ja pikkuinen lintu (The Squirrel, the Finch, and the Little Bird) has been warmly received, and now the songs will come to life in a live performance at Valvesali. The concert takes listeners into the charming world of animal-themed songs, as EVA-trio performs fresh arrangements of beloved Finnish children’s classics – joined on stage by two young vocal soloists.

Saturday, August 9, 2025, marks exactly 50 years since the death of Dmitri Shostakovich. We celebrate the life and work of this master composer with two special concerts. The concert at the Oulu City Hall’s Banquet Hall offers a glimpse into the early period of Shostakovich’s output, featuring a powerful cello sonata and a recently discovered, concise Impromptu. The Piano Trio in E minor, by contrast, is anything but rare – it has long secured its place as a crown jewel of the repertoire.

This year at Oulunsalo Soi, the audience will also get to enjoy concerts in the stunning setting of the Hupisaaret Open-Air Theatre, as the Shostakovich day will be crowned with a collaborative concert with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. German viola superstar Nils Mönkemeyer will take on the dual role of leader and soloist.

This concert is all about the unfinished – both in content and in setting. In the rugged atmosphere of AaltoSiilo, local composer Lauri Marjakangas presents his contribution to a musical chain letter, a piece that begins its journey in June at Sysmä’s Suvisoitto Festival and arrives in Oulu directly from Rauma Festivo. Marjakangas’ task is to pick up the musical thread from the previous composer and then send the “letter” forward after the festival.

This year’s festival ends by the water, awaiting Oulu’s European Capital of Culture year in 2026. In the spirit of bold explorers, we offer music for the journey: the evocative sounds of Olli Mustonen and a slightly reimagined version of the beloved sextet by Johannes Brahms.

Aapo Kukko, who is Oulunsalo Soi’s visual artist of the year 2025, will talk about his comic book in progress, Punainen Beethoven (Red Beethoven) at the Oulun Muusajuhlat Muusaklubi (Muse Club), with samples projected on the screen. The performance will be enlivened by accordionist Anne-Mari Kanniainen and spoken word artist Lajune, the reigning Finnish champion of lavaruno, with a joint Shostakovich-themed programme.