Taavi finally got to sell the big bus that was stationary for such a long time, just one week before heading off. The next day he managed to get a 20-seater to replace it. On the day we made everything ready and cleaned the thing up as much as possible.

Six seats were taken out and all our music gear and some sound equipment were all stuffed into the bus and we made our way down south. Our party included three of Taavi’s kids (+ a friend), ColourCollide and Eero’s girlfriend, Satu. For Jordan and Eli it was the first time driving through the country and coming back to Kouvola was a bit of a throw back to the first time being in Finland in 2019 (read about it here). After dropping off the kids (+a friend) at the Grannie’s, we found our way to our accommodation and got familiar with the facilities. It was late!

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On Saturday we got ready to meet up with Heidi and Antto to set up the sound and gear at the Kahviputiikki Papulaari in Kouvola. We were in a bit of a hurry, settling in the backstage area, figuring out lunch, setting up the stage, but finally, just in time, Heidi aka Haydé opened up the afternoon with her solo set. The atmosphere was open and the chairs were filled. People showed great support and Haydé started us all off very well! After her we had a last minute surprise act as the aforementioned Satu Sinikumpu performed her set on the piano. There was some sweet interaction between the listeners and her and we saw quite a few tears running down people’s cheeks. So good!

Finally it was our turn. Eero did a dual purpose gig as a sound guy and a bass player. He was playing next to the sound desk and the rest of us were on stage. Taavi sang parts of the first song’s bass-lines as Eero’s hands were busy with the dials of the sound desk!

We got people dancing, singing and clapping along during the show. It felt free and we were glad about this cosy café to give us the opportunity to play! There were some cool convo’s happening after the gig. Overall a great time! And by the way, this was the first gig for us with Juhani on the Guitar and Eero on the Bass. Those guys are gems!

We recommend you follow Satu here and Haydé here. Check out the café too if you ever find yourself in Kouvola here.

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After our gig in Papulaari, we drove to the next day’s venue for a soundcheck. We had all the time in the world for it and we even got to go through some songs for the next day. We also rearranged the stage more suitable for us and Eero discussed and helped out the festival’s sound team as they had some problems with their gear. A gem of a guy!
 
Then we (again) finally made it to our accommodation, a beautiful place called Suvirannan Leirikeskus in Valkeala. We had a late supper, enjoyed the sauna and the lake (yes, the guys went in) and were just winding down together. A bit later that night the guitar- and bass players of Miika Johannes (check him out here) joined us for the sauna as they were staying overnight in one of the cabins too. After all the hectic running around those cabins felt like a peaceful oasis

On Sunday morning we dropped Eero off to the venue to help out with their sound team again, while the rest of us drove down to the Grannie’s and arrived later to the venue for getting ourselves ready at the backstage. The big stage was quite a contrast to the cosy environment of the day prior. We are not quite used to filling out a bigger space yet. A big thanks to all those volunteers helping us to get ourselves settled on stage! Taavi had Oula as a drum tech making the short set ups and pack downs smoother.

Coming off stage after the show, we got surprised by Eero’s parents and a basket of Vappu goodies that we shared during our little feedback round in the bus.

We also got to meet a lot of the festival staff during the day, some of them were new friends, some Jordan and Eli had seen in 2019 for the last time.

Check out some picture’s from our slot:

Check out other work from the talented photographer that took those here.

After Park7 finished their set and the MC’s said goodbye, our guys helped with the festival pack down, while Antto, Heidi, Satu and Eli went ahead and set up the Vappu celebration at the accomondation. Again some sauna / lake, sausages and a lot of other food (Antto’s mom’s pie! Man!), and just general hanging out and chilling took place. Late bedtime.

The next morning we packed and cleaned up and head off back to Rovaniemi. We had a smooth ride up and took our time with slowly unpacking and resetting the practice room during the next couple of days. We’re now working to get more songs ready in our repertoire and are looking at / for the next steps.
 
Videos from the VappuGospel performance will soon be uploaded!