After surviving long, dark winters, people in Finland come back to life in summer, when the sun mostly doesn't set.
For many, that means heading to a music festival of some sort — especially last summer, following two years of Covid restrictions.
There's probably a festival of one type or another being held somewhere in Finland at any given time between June and August.
To narrow them down, Yle News has listed the country's big rock and pop music gatherings of the summer. Readers should keep in mind that there is quite a bit of artist-festival overlap, in that both domestic and international acts sometimes play at more than one event during the busy season.
At the time of publication, tickets to most of these events were still available. But potential buyers should be prepared to shell out a bit more for them, as festival ticket prices have risen in recent years, in some cases quite a bit.
Here are 10 of Finland's major pop, rock, metal and hip hop festivals of summer 2023, in chronological order:
Kesärauha
On 16 to 18 June, people will gather in the southwestern city of Turku for a bit of summer peace, or Kesärauha, as the Finns call it.
More than 50 acts are scheduled to play at the alt-indie event, many of them domestic artists, including alternative veterans 22-Pistepirkko, singer-songwriter Anna Puu and even this year's Eurovision Song Contest runner-up, Käärijä.
Kesärauha headliners include Norway's Röyksopp and The Sounds, from Sweden. A ticket for all three days of the event costs 165 euros.
Nummirock
Finland is known for its heavy metal, and over the Midsummer weekend, on 21 to 24 June, the Nummirock festival offers power chords galore by Lake Nummijärvi, about 100 km northwest of Tampere.
Nummirock's roster, if you can read the band logo scrawls, includes an extensive lineup of foreign and domestic metal groups.
Pre-purchased tickets for all four days of Nummirock's lakeside headbanging opportunities start at 169 euros. Keep in mind tickets are more expensive at the gate.
Remember to bring camping gear and enough cash, as the closest ATM is 25 km away from the forested festival site, according to organisers.
Provinssi
One of Finland's oldest and biggest rock festivals, Provinssi, is held in South Ostrobothnia's Seinäjoki on 29 June to 1 July.
Artists scheduled to perform at the three-day event include the spooky but wildly popular Swedish metal group Ghost, 1990s UK electronic dance hit duo The Chemical Brothers, Provinssi also offers Finland's soulful pop star Alma and singer-songwriter VV (Ville Valo), who previously took the Finnish metal band HIM to international success.
Three-day tickets to Provinssi start at 209 euros, and the festival also offers hotel packages and a plethora of other options and upgrades.
Tuska
On 30 June to 2 July, Helsinki hosts Tuska, one of the biggest metal festivals around. After a Covid-induced two-year hiatus, the event drew around 49,000 headbangers to the city last summer.
Now, in its 24th year, Tuska will offer three days of cranking metal from afternoon till midnight in the city's Suvilahti district, a former industrial area slated for a major makeover. This year's headliners include previously-mentioned Ghost and VV but also French metal quartet Gojira, as well as Marko Hietala of Nightwish fame.
Some Tuska tickets and all VIP passes are already sold out, but the price for a three-day pass cost 209 euros this year.
Ruisrock
Finland's OG festival, Ruisrock was founded the year after Woodstock in 1970 and is the country's longest-running mass gathering of rock music.
Held on 7 to 9 July along the beach of Ruissalo island in Turku, this year Ruisrock is offering punters an extensive menu of hip hop, electronic and pop artists.
They include US rapper Lil Nas X, American DJ/producer Skrillex, US rapper/rocker Machine Gun Kelly and the UK's Slowthai.
Ruisrock's domestic artists include the duo JVG, new wave rapper Cledos, light pop maker Lyyti and veteran singer-songwriter Maija Vilkkumaa.
Tickets for the full three days of Ruisrock cost 225 euros, while Friday-Saturday tickets are already sold out. The festival also sells camping and caravan spots.
IlosaariRock
In eastern Finland's North Karelia, the city of Joensuu has hosted IlosaariRock since 1971, making it the country's second-oldest rock festival.
This year it's being held on 15-17 July, featuring an extensive list of domestic acts, including the aforementioned Alma and Maija Vilkkumaa, but also rapper Paperi T, pop band Kuumaa and electronic outfit Cyan Kicks.
Foreign acts scheduled to perform at Ilosaari include The Prodigy and Years & Years from the UK, Ava Max and Benson Boone from the US, along with many others.
According to organisers, Norwegian band Ulver will offer "ascetic black metal avant-garde music and synth-pop landscapes" at the festival, too.
Three-day IlosaariRock tickets start at 199 euros.
Kuopiorock
In its 20th iteration, the Kuopiorock festival in Northern Savo will see US metal legends Megadeth as well as a long list of domestic hard rock and pop acts, including VV, the growling Amorphis group, former Sunrise Avenue frontman Samu Haber, Poets of the Fall and many others.
Kuopiorock is held on 27-29 July, with three-day tickets priced at 155 euros.
Weekend Festival
On 4 and 5 August, the boom of EDM beats from the Weekend Festival may be heard around eastern Espoo as punters dance to tunes by big-name DJ/producers from abroad as well as Finland.
The event will feature British-Norwegian DJ/producer Alan Walker (who recently dropped a remix of Käärijä's Eurovision submission Cha Cha Cha, and the pair also played a gig on a Helsinki tram in June).
The Weekend Festival will also feature Dutch DJ/producer Martin Garrix, US DJ/producer Steve Aoki, DJ/producer Hardwell from the Netherlands, as well as French DJ and producer David Guetta.
Tickets for both days of the Weekend Festival start at 185 euros apiece, tickets for entry to VIP areas and afterparties cost extra.
Flow Festival
Flow Festival, an internationally-renowned pop/indie music and visual arts event in Helsinki, is now in its 19th year.
Flow regularly offers A-listers whose tours might not otherwise stop in Finland. UK newspaper the Guardian ranked it among Europe's best 10 music festivals in 2017 and the event is regularly covered by British music publication NME.
This year, Flow will be held on 11 to 13 August, featuring artists from abroad like New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, 90s Britpop survivors Blur, award-winning French electropop outfit Christine and the Queens, Nigerian R&B star Wizkid, and many more. As usual, Flow will also feature a long list of domestic acts.
The event will be hosted in Helsinki's Suvilahti district for the last time since it moved there in 2007, as the run-down area is set for a complete overhaul.
Starting in 2004, Flow originally had modest beginnings as an outgrowth of the city's techno and jazz club scene, initially drawing around 4,000 people. Last summer Flow attracted about 90,000 festival goers over three days.
Blockfest
Before summer finally slips away, Tampere will host the major hip hop festival Blockfest on 18-19 August.
Held in areas around the city's Ratina Stadium, the two-day festival bills itself as the Nordics' biggest hip hop event.
Blockfest will offer 10 international stars and more than 60 artists from Finland.
The domestic lineup includes acts like Kube, Etta, Cledos, Korelon, Ahti and Shrty.
The festival hosts international performers including Playboi Carti, Akon, Metro Boomin and others from the US, as well as D-Block Europe and Raye from the UK, and Bladee from Sweden.
Two-day Blockfest tickets cost 185 euros.