Welcome to Flow - Helsinki’s Crown Jewel of Festivals
Every August, Helsinki’s Suvilahti transforms into a dazzling playground of music, art, and culture for Flow Festival. Known for its genre-blending lineup, from cutting-edge electronic to boundary-pushing hip-hop, post-punk, and Nordic indie, Flow creates a space of sound across its intimate, massive and unique stages. But Flow is more than music: it’s where visual art installations glow in industrial spaces, street food tempts every taste bud, and design-forward details make every corner interesting. With its sustainable ethos, stylish crowd, and midnight sun vibes, Flow builds a feeling that is hard to describe. Whether you're here for deep beats, bold performances, or simply to soak in the city's most vibrant weekend, Flow promises a multisensory escape.
Here are a few must-see shows at this year’s Flow Festival.
Air – Moon Safari Live Set
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Moon Safari, French duo Air have recently mounted full-album live shows in major venues like London and Vancouver. Critics hailed one such show at London's Coliseum as “a widescreen extravaganza” that transcended nostalgia. The show will be built on lush visuals, immersive staging and thick grooves, transforming Moon Safari into a living dreamscape. At Flow, this performance would offer a chill-out journey that's both cinematic and timeless.
Regina – Soita Mulle Live Set
The Finnish trio Regina revisits Soita Mulle, a cult indie-dream-pop album from 2011 featuring hushed dreampop tones and atmospheric grooves. Pitchfork praised vocalist Iisa Pykäri’s evolving clarity, calling it Regina’s most cohesive work to date. As a Finnish band performing a beloved domestic classic, their set would feel intimate and celebratory, perfect for music lovers eager for local legacy and dreamy heartfelt storytelling.
Bicep presents CHROMA – AV DJ set
Bicep’s Chroma AV DJ set is a hybrid audiovisual experience - a DJ mix built on their own tracks plus other mood-driven tracks synced tightly with custom visuals. Viewers called their Finsbury Park performance a “masterclass” of immersive electronic art. At Flow, this would be ideal for lovers of audiovisual spectacle.
Autechre
Autechre’s live sets are famously cryptic and immersive: long-form hour-plus pieces played in near darkness, building fractal percussive tension and alien chord structures. Their shows have been described as a sonic labyrinth that makes the venue “thrum” with uncanny energy. For Flow’s experimental crowd, experiencing Autechre live is entering a realm of pure electronic exploration, one not to skip.
Little Simz
Little Simz continues to impress critics and fans alike: closing Meltdown Festival with what one review termed a “dazzling, defiant orchestral triumph,” she married orchestral arrangement with raw rap emotion. Live reviewers note her infectious swagger onstage and the emotional depth of her vocals in intimate and arena settings alike. At Flow, her set would bring lyric-driven rap, orchestral textures, and commanding stage presence to a wider Finnish crowd.
Kneecap
Belfast’s Kneecap delivers high-energy rap fused with political provocation in Irish and English. Their live shows, fraught with call and response, mosh pits and socio-political rhetoric, have made them exhilarating and controversial at festivals like Glastonbury and Wide Awake. Despite legal scrutiny, fans describe their performances as “funny, anarchic and rebellious. Kneecap blends bold politics with big energy—don’t miss the chance to witness it live.
Oranssi Pazuzu
Finnish psych-black-metal pioneers Oranssi Pazuzu bring immersive, ritualistic live performances defined by dense sonic layering and self-engineered lighting that alter perception. In a Solstafir, Oranssi Pazuzu’s show, critics described being left “totally drained and energised” by the hypnotic set. Lovers of heavier music craving visceral psychedelia and sonic transcendence will find it here.
Major League DJz
South African twin duo Major League DJz have become international amapiano ambassadors, the first artists in the genre at Coachella, blending kwaito, Afrobeats and hip hop with infectious energy. Fans rave about their Boiler Room sets in Miami and Montreal, and DJ Mag praises their braggadocio with deep musicality. On Flow, they’ll bring dance-floor joy, global swagger, and shake up the dancefloor with a whole new groove.
Fontaines D.C.
Fontaines D.C. are set to deliver a post-punk performance that goes far beyond nostalgia—brimming with urgency, raw emotion, and present-day power. With their intense, heartfelt delivery, they draw in both devoted fans and curious newcomers alike, creating a collective moment of catharsis. It’s the kind of set that could very well become a defining highlight for post-punk lovers at this year’s Flow Festival.
From dreamy electronica to raw punk energy and bass-heavy grooves, Flow’s lineup is packed with unforgettable moments. Don’t miss your chance to catch these artists live—your perfect Flow experience starts here. See you in the crowd!
Photo by Petri Anttila and Samuli Pentti
