Flow Festival was founded by record producer Tuomas Kallio and his friends from the Helsinki-based band Nuspirit Helsinki. The organizers wanted to create an event that would present Finnish and international music and urban culture, offering something new to the country’s music and urban scene.
The inaugural Flow Festival was held in 2004. The event ran over two days at an indoor club with a capacity of around 2,000. The club was located in the now demolished VR warehouses in downtown Helsinki. The line-up of the first festival was heavily focused on soul and jazz.
As of 2016, Flow Festival takes place at Suvilahti, a defunct power plant in the neighborhood of Sörnäinen that hosts various cultural activities. The venue has a capacity of over 60,000. There are several stages and performance spaces that host a varied selection of up-and-coming and established artists from top jazz to indie rock and from underground hip-hop to mainstream EDM.
Notable international artists who have performed at Flow Festival over the years include Lykke Li, My Bloody Valentine, Iron & Wine, Vampire Weekend, Manic Street Preachers, Action Bronson, Outkast, The National, Cat Power, Public Enemy, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, Bon Iver, M.I.A., Björk, Kraftwerk, Beach House, The Black Keys, The Roots, Lilly Allen, Kanye West, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Chemical Brothers, Iggy Pop, Pet Shop Boys, Florence and the Machine, José González, Sia, Yann Tiersen, and many others.
Flow Festival does not focus solely on music. A big part of its program is dedicated to contemporary art and urban culture. Flow’s art program includes visual art installations and exhibitions, talks on contemporary art and design, film screenings, and other events and activities. Food also plays an essential role in the Flow program. About 40 restaurants, cafes and bars offer their best dishes to attendees. Besides, festival-goers can sample craft bees and high-quality wines.
Photo: flowfestival.com
