Ruisrock Hits 40

If the inaugural festival had been held a few months earlier it would have beaten Pinkpop to a Guinness Book Of Records entry as the world’s oldest continuous rock festival, but Finland’s Ruisrock celebrated its anniversary about six weeks after the Dutch gathering.

The 40-year-old three-dayer pulled 71,000 people, which is about par for Ruisrock. The fans enjoyed a rocking party lineup that included Ozzy Osbourne and Slash and the more modern and spikier rock of NOFX, Billy Talent and Rise Against.

More than 21,000 were there on the opening Friday, a sellout 30,000 on the Saturday and more than 19,000 on the Sunday, the second-highest crowd the event has pulled since the turn of the century.

Last year there were 92,000 for a bill that included Slipknot, Disturbed, Faith No More, Mew, In Flames, Volbeat, Glasvegas and The Sounds.

“During the weekend we saw dozens of great shows, the weather was picture perfect and people partied with smile on their faces,” said Ruisrock chief Juhani Merimaa.

The other acts joining the Ruisrock party July 9-11 included Belle & Sebastian, Disco Ensemble, Florence & The Machine, The Sounds, The Ark, Porcupine Tree and Arch Enemy.