The summer festival season kicks off next week in the Pirkanmaa region with Tampere Guitar Festival, an event dedicated to acoustic guitar music. In mid-June, Tampere Vocal Music Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary with choral and vocal ensemble music, while Kangasala Classic enchants audiences with classical music performances.
Finlayson Art Area in Tampere and Mänttä Art Festival invite visitors to enjoy contemporary art throughout the summer until August. The June lineup wraps up after Midsummer with Musiikkia! Ruovesi chamber music festival and the Days of Old Literature in Sastamala.
Tampere Guitar Festival 4–7 June, 2025
Tampere Guitar Festival is full of both new and old music composed and arranged for guitar. Now in its 21st edition, the main theme of the event is Evolving Guitar, which explores the current state and future of guitar repertoire. The theme will be reflected in all concerts as well as in an open lecture series.
International highlights include Turkish guitarist Özberk Miraç Sarıgül, German cellist Anja Lechner, and Argentine guitarist Pablo Márquez. Friday is dedicated to Lithuanian music, featuring guitar duo Rokas Jurkus & Lovro Peretić, the Baltic Guitar Quartet, and the Mindaugas Stumbras Quartet as part of the Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025 project.
The festival concludes with a performance by renowned Finnish contemporary music ensemble TampereRaw. A two-day International Youth Guitar Competition and masterclasses also take place during the festival.
More info: https://tgf.fi/home
Tampere Vocal Music Festival 11–15 June, 2025
Celebrating its 50th edition, Tampere Vocal Music Festival presents a diverse programme highlighting the power of art and the impact of voice, curated by artistic director Merzi Rajala.
This year’s international guest performers include the 2023 Grand Prix winners of the festival’s Contest for Vocal Ensembles, Les Itinérantes from France, and Swedish ensemble Vokalensemblen VoNo, whose performance Earth Call is inspired by young voices protesting the misuse of natural resources. The Finnish guest acts this year are vocal ensembles Juurakko and Flok & Friends.
The cornerstones of the event are the Chorus Review and the Contest for Vocal Ensembles, bringing dozens of choirs and vocal ensembles from Finland and abroad to Tampere. The programme is rounded out by courses for choir conductors and singers, along with a series of free concerts around the city under the banner Feel the Festival!. The Festival’s 50th birthday is celebrated with a Grand Sing in the Main Auditorium of Tampere Hall, where everyone is invited to come along and sing with a thousand other singers.
More info: https://www.tamperevocal.fi/en/
Kangasala Classic 13–15 June, 2025
The Kangasala Classic chamber music festival brings top-class classical music to summer in Kangasala. Now in its fifth year, the festival gathers leading names in classical and jazz music, offering unforgettable experiences at some of the most unique concert venues in the Pirkanmaa region.
This year’s programme, curated by artistic director Elina Heikkinen, is themed Northern Heritage. The theme explores Finnish and Nordic cultural legacy while also engaging with current cultural policy debates. Featured performers include Abel Puustinen, concertmaster of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra; acclaimed pianist Ossi Tanner; and Kaisa Kortelainen, principal flutist of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Saturday night’s highlight features two major Finnish jazz artists – guitarist Marzi Nyman and accordion virtuoso Niko Kumpuvaara – performing their personal interpretations of Finnish music treasures. On the final day, a free family-friendly park concert will be held at Arboretum Frick, followed by the festival’s closing concert at Kangasala Church, featuring Franz Schubert’s string quintet and a rarely performed piano trio by Finnish composer Helvi Leiviskä.
More info: https://kangasalaclassic.fi
Finlayson Art Area 13 June – 24 August, 2025
Finlayson Art Area (FAA) is one of the largest visual arts events in Finland, bringing new life to the urban space of Tampere and offering accessible art experiences for all. Now in its 11th edition, the event features exhibitions across more than ten indoor and outdoor locations within the historic Finlayson area.
The art venues feature, among others, photographic art by Jaakko Heikkilä, graphic art and paintings by Kimmo Kaivanto, and contemporary works from the Collection Kakkonen. Retrospectives are held for Kirsi Neuvonen and Kerttu Horila, with a special 80th birthday exhibition for Timo Vuorikoski. The popular public street painting area also returns.
In addition to exhibitions, the programme includes guided tours, artist talks, performances, live music, and art workshops. All events are free of charge.
More info: https://finlaysonartarea.fi/en/
Mänttä Art Festival 15 June – 31 August, 2025
Mänttä Art Festival is Finland’s largest summer exhibition of contemporary art, featuring 84 artists or artist groups in 2025. Curator Krister Gråhn has invited a team of co-curators from across the art field, resulting in a broad and diverse programme.
The theme this year is NO!, exploring denial through topics like locality, childhood, parenthood, the human environment, traditions, and the human body and mind. The exhibition combines visual art with participatory and performative elements, including open discussions, guided dialogues, experiential experience-based writing, and a summer theatre piece about resistance to change.
Held at the Pekilo factory building, the XXIX Mänttä Art Festival is open daily from mid-June until the end of August.
More info: https://www.mantankuvataideviikot.fi/en/index.htm
Musiikkia! Ruovesi 25–29 June, 2025
The five-day Musiikkia! Ruovesi festival offers a broad spectrum of chamber music across seven concerts. This year’s programme includes, among others, new arrangements of chamber music classics by composer Luukas Hiltunen, a guitar recital by Peter Lerche, and a male choir concert by Liiton Miehet.
The festival makes the most of Ruovesi’s beautiful natural surroundings, hosting concerts in unique settings. This summer’s atmospheric concert locations include Murole Church, Sofia Magdalena Church, Sointula Community Hall, and the barn loft of Ritoniemi Manor.
Each year, the festival features top-tier musicians from Finland and abroad. This year’s performers include, for example, baritone Arttu Kataja, flutist Anna Aminoff, clarinetist Matteo Mastromarino, and violinists Otto Antikainen, Leena Jaakkola, Petteri Iivonen, and Rebecca Roozeman.
More info: https://www.musiikkiaruovesi.fi/
The Days of Old Literature 27–28 June, 2025
The Days of Old Literature will be held for the 41st time at Vexve Arena in Sastamala. The 2025 theme is Our Nature, explored through speeches and panel discussions. At the heart of the event are antiquarian books, with over 20 antiquarian booksellers and nearly 30 new book vendors, publishers, and associations.
The opening day features talks by Pirkka-Pekka Petelius and nature advisor Heli Laaksonen. In the traditional Finnish Non-Fiction Writers’ Association segment, titled “The Non-Fiction Books of My Life,” Jenni Haukio will present ten non-fiction titles that have been personally meaningful to her.
On Saturday afternoon, discussions will explore popularized nature writing, nature in fantasy literature, and whether literature can influence biodiversity loss. The event closes with a conversation titled “Life Goes On, Carried by Hope,” in which Päivi Istala interviews Mari Leppänen, Bishop of Turku.
More info: https://vanhankirjallisuudenpaivat.com
Coming in July:
1–6 July – Fest Afrika, Tampere
5–6 July – Iron Age Birckala, Pirkkala
5–7 July – Aitoon Kirkastusjuhlat Music Festival, Pälkäne
11–13 July – KesäVirratSoi Music Festival, Virrat
16–20 July – Sastamala Gregoriana, Sastamala
17–19 July – Tammerfest, Tampere
24–27 July – Workers’ Music Festival, Valkeakoski
Programme subject to change.
Article photo: Guitar Duo Rokas Jurkus & Lovro Peretić / Tampere Guitar Festival. Photographer: Lina Vonsavičiūtė.
