Music festivals have inhabited a broad variety of locations in the past decade. Sure gigs in parks and across city venues might cut it for some, but as our guide to the best international boutique festivals demonstrated, caves, castles, and seafaring vessels can be far more interesting spaces to experience live music.
However Finland’s Flow Festival has the best of both worlds. It has handled 60,000 punters in the past and is located at the defunct Suvilahti power plant, which you have to admit is pretty cool.
Come for the surroundings and we have do doubt you’ll want to stay for their diverse music programming and events, which has seen Flow rise to prominence on the international festival scene in the past couple of years.
Started by Finnish music producer Tuomas Kallio and his peers from the Nuspirit Helsinki collective, Flow was originally held at the a small soul and jazz club and catered for fans of Urban music. Clearly the organisers have since expanded their horizons with an eclectic array of genres and nationalities represented, while more importantly there is a strong focus on local music as well.
Having the likes of Nick Cave, Kanye West, Beach House, The Black Keys, Björk, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend and My Bloody Valentine appear in the past is undoubtedly integral to its increasing status, but it isn’t the only reason Flow has garnered the reputation it has.
This Helsinki event has some of the best food, incredible visual arts, interesting film screenings, and talks that you’re likely to experience at any European festival of its kind – and we’ve got the full guide to all these activities and more below.
In 2014, Flow has unsurprisingly booked big international acts alongside much-loved Finnish acts. Outkast, Janelle Monáe, The National, The Horrors, and Blood Orange will headline amongst a long list, which you can gaze over just below. So you’re convinced? Read on to discover our 7 step guide to Flow Festival.
1. Book Ahead Before It’s Too Late
Flow is held in early August so if you want to book (and you’d be crazy not too!) you should probably gather your funds ASAP. Flights to Helsinki will require at least two stops, if not three. A three day ticket is valued at 159€ (that’s about $230 AUD), while two days is worth 135€ ($195) and day tickets are worth 89€ ($129). Head this way to snap up the hotly contested festival tickets.
2. Accommodation In Helsinki
Flow is in relative proximity to the centre of Helsinki so finding a place to stay that isn’t too far away shouldn’t be a trouble. There are plenty of great hostels to stay at in this Scandinavian city. We’d recommend Eurohostel, Academica Summer Hostel, Cheap Sleep Helsinki and Hostel Stadion as just some of the options you should consider booking. If hostels aren’t your thing Helsinki has plenty of hotels for you to choose from too.
3. Getting To The Festival Site
The closest metro station to the power plant is Kalasatama and you can check train times by following this link. Otherwise you can do the same as the hundreds of other environmentally conscious Fins do (as you can see by the picture) and hop on a bike. Otherwise if you’re having trouble with getting around the city a taxi will probably be your best option.
4. Head To The Balloon 360° Stage To Witness Jazz From All Sides
Proving that you don’t need to see U2 to have a 360° live music experience, this slightly smaller scaled stage has some incredible jazz talent that you can’t miss, even if you do risk missing a spot up front at the main stage. The Roy Hargrove Quintet and local outfit Mopo will hit up the stage over the course of the weekend. It proves that you can still have intimate live gigs within a big festival.
5. Taste The Best Of Helsinki’s Restaurants
When we say the ‘best’ we mean it. This isn’t just your average festival grub this is the tastiest selection of food from 30 of Helsinki’s best food providers. This means you have the impossible task of choosing between Japanese cuisine, Finnish hot dogs, gourmet burgers, vegetarian and vegan delights amongst plenty of others. Get the full run down of the food and drinks you’ll find at Flow here.
6. Head To Flow Talk For Thought Provoking Discussions
Flow Talk sessions promises to be an “easy going gathering of the curious class: people who understand the need for synergies between artists, entrepreneurs, professionals and governments.” The sessions aim to bring people together to discuss and create new solutions in an age of “wicked problems” and unforeseen creative potential. Most of the talks are in English so don’t fret if your Finnish isn’t up to scratch. All you have to do is buy a festival pass and pre-register here. You can also explore the list of talkers here as well.
7. Other Music Delights You Should Check Out While You’re In Helsinki
Finland isn’t just the home of Santa and Eurovision winning act Lordi, you know? There are plenty of great record stores, bars and other attractions you should check while you’re in town. Luckily we prepared a guide to the city’s music scene earlier to compliment this piece. Head this way to read Tone Deaf’s guide to Helsinki.
Need more information? Head to the official Flow Festival website for the answers to all your questions.
