Numbers Up At Ruisrock

Having lost part of its walk-up because rain lashed down on the third day of last year’s Finnish festival, Ruisrock chief Juhani Merimaa was pleased to report that a sunny July 4-6 weekend saw the crowd numbers back above the 70,000 mark.

Merimaa didn’t take any chances and booked The Ark, a popular Swedish glam rock act, just in case.

It turned out to be a good year to go to the beach, where the new Turun Sanomat Stage had a lineup of emerging, mostly Finnish acts including Downstairs, Mikko Torvisen Viihdeorkesteri, Plutonium 74, Risto, The Micragirls, Olavi Uusivirta and Stalingrad Cowgirls.

The bill-toppers enjoying the seaside weather at Turku included HIM, Nightwish, Primal Scream, Bullet For My Valentine, Apocalyptica, Disco Ensemble, Porcupine Tree, Opeth and Hanoi Rocks.