Best Ever Pori

This year’s Pori Jazz in Finland was the best in its 43-year history, according to festival programmer Jyrke Kangas.

Apart from Santana pulling a record 40,000 crowd to the main Kirjurinluoto Arena July 18 – beating the 36,000 that came for Sting in 2006 – it may have also equaled the euro 1 million profit it made that year.

Kangas said it’s too soon after the July 12-20 event to have worked out the exact figures but overall Pori has sold 11,000 tickets more than last year – when it did half a million euro – and he’s confident that it’s been a very good year financially.

Asked what made Pori 2008 such a landmark festival, Kangas said, "It was the weather, the lineup, and in particular the way they all played – it was a great musical festival."

The acts helping to make history on the west coast of Finland included Mary J. Blige, Joan Armatrading, Return To Forever, Tower Of Power, Little Feat, Toni Braxton, Bob Geldof, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Stax Records Soul Revue and Esperanza Spalding.