Helsinki Music Week debuts this May, bringing a fresh perspective to the festival scene. Blending historical venues with cutting-edge spaces, the inaugural edition explores the evolving landscape of contemporary sound. With a diverse lineup of artists and a unique event format, HMW is set to become a new hub for musical innovation in the Finnish capital.
Helsinki, the world’s northernmost metropolis, is not only geographically upstream of global culture but has also been a quiet yet influential force in shaping it. With a rich history as a Nordic hub for alternative rock and electronic music, the city has influenced global listening trends for decades through artists like Darude, Nightwish and HIM. It has also been home to visionary artists and architects, from Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto to the contemporary architectural studio JKMM, whose work continues to redefine Helsinki’s cultural and urban landscape. This fusion of history, creativity, and innovation makes the city a prime stage for cutting-edge art, design, and technology. Nowhere is this more evident than in its thriving music scene, where state-of-the-art venues and performance spaces, built in recent years, provide a platform for fresh talent to emerge year after year. Intimate yet forward-looking, Helsinki is a city with its sights set on the future—so why not discover the future of sound here as well?
Helsinki Music Week (HMW): A Contemporary Transmission of Sound
Helsinki Music Week (HMW), a brand-new festival taking place from May 8 to 10, is dedicated to exploring contemporary sound. Taking a horizontal approach to the festival format, HMW will unfold across a series of events held in historical landmarks, cutting-edge venues, exhibition spaces, and bars throughout Helsinki. With performances by musicians, bands, producers, and DJs—including Erika de Casier, Sega Bodega, Fakemink, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, and Elusin—HMW reflects the highly varied yet interconnected nature of today’s music landscape while remaining deeply rooted in the city’s ethos of supporting subcultural movements and artistic innovation.
New Media Needs New Formats
As algorithms continue to splinter listeners into an ever-expanding number of niches, subcultures, and scenes, HMW departs from traditional festival models to offer music enthusiasts, musicians, industry professionals, and cultural practitioners a chance to dive into the details of contemporary sound. The inaugural edition of HMW is divided into two segments—HMW City and HMW Finale—surveying the current state of music through a series of concerts and parties across the city, culminating in a main event that brings together the various sonic threads explored in the preceding days.
HMW City kicks off on Thursday, May 8, with a concert by multi-platinum-selling artist Aino Morko’s new project, accompanied by Finnish ambient duo Shepherds Call. The opening concert will take place at the iconic Temppeliaukio Church, designed by brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, followed by a show at Kuudes Linja club, headlined by the mystical Norwegian-American witch house artist Elusin.
HMW Finale will take place at Dance House Helsinki, Northern Europe’s largest venue dedicated to dance, designed by JKMM architects. Featuring performances and sets from Fakemink, Sega Bodega, Grande Mahogany, Erika de Casier, Yullola, Lust for Youth, and more across multiple stages and dance floors, HMW Finale will bring together the festival’s various explorations of contemporary music under one roof—all while allowing audiences to navigate freely between different sonic experiences.
A Festival by Helsinki’s Emerging Cultural Voices
The team behind HMW is a collective of young artists and creatives embedded in Helsinki’s burgeoning cultural scene. Having worked on projects such as music company BELOW0 and Club Zero that integrate Helsinki’s underground electronic and experimental music culture into institutions such as Trauma Bar und Kino, Copenhagen Fashion Week, Fashion in Helsinki, Virus London, and Slagwerk, the HMW founders are dedicated to providing European artists on the periphery with robust platforms for sonic experimentation and innovation.
“In Helsinki, we have an internationally fascinating range of subcultures filled with incredibly talented young creators. Traditionally, Finnish artists who have broken through internationally, like HIM or Darude, have come from the margins of music before expanding to reach larger audiences,” Dante Correa, CEO of HMW states. “Our goal is to make Helsinki the place where you come to enjoy a spring week; dine at great restaurants, discover new kinds of artists and music genres — and have fun!”
Helsinki Music Week is made possible through partnerships with Battery, Helsinki Partners, the City of Helsinki, and Music Finland.
