Auri Live in Helsinki: Bringing Magic to the Finnish Summer Music Scene
Auri live @ Coolhead Taproom, Helsinki; August 13-14th, 2025
& Röskö Fan Meet-Up
One might think, considering the number of Eye of Melian shows that I attended earlier this spring, that I would be sick of seeing Johanna Kurkela live and have tapped out for the rest of the year. Well, think again! It felt like a long enough break between Auri shows since last summer that it would be interesting to see if/how the show's evolved since they've toured Europe. As such, I headed into Helsinki to the Coolhead Brewery on July 8th, 2026, to see Auri once again!
The first best part about this event was the pleasant surprise of seeing some unexpected friends! I often forget how many of the International Cheering Squad are local and/or willing to travel, so this almost felt like a mini-Röskö reunion, only it was missing Kathy.
You can check out my album release interview with the band here, or read Kathy’s emailer here, or check out Tuomas Holopainen & Johanna Kurkela on Gathering of Geeks!
Photos are by Joanna Orchide!
Since I needed to drop my partner off to his afternoon goings-on in the early afternoon, I ended up getting to the venue far sooner than I normally would, but that gave me the opportunity to socialize with some friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends before the doors opened, and then I took my old lady bones to sit down in a sun chair next to the stage while everyone else went to the front row.
The show was set to start at 19.30, with potential for rain, yet surprisingly few people seemed dressed for the weather. Fortunately, Johanna’s sunny presence outshone the forecast and scared the rain away, with the light sprinkling being more refreshing than anything (okay, I’m being cheeky, I don’t really think she has that power. Unless…?).
Kai Hahto, Johanna Iivanainen, and Mikko Iivanainen took the stage 2 minutes before showtime to cheers while the pre-show song, “A Boy Traveling with His Mother” played softly in the background. I love that they use that song as the pre-show track, incidentally. It’s too long to play in their set, being both mostly ambient and clocking in at over 11 minutes, but it’s beautiful and they’ve found a great way to put it to work without letting it bog down their setlist.
Tuomas and Troy Donockley joined them right at 19.30 and they opened once more with "The Space Between" and the folks in the crowd cheered as Johanna K. took the stage in a magnificent orange princess dress, which was the first notable change from 2025.
During "Skeleton Tree," Johanna both sings and plays violin—and it looks like she liked Robin la Joy's violin enough to get one for herself, since she now has one of the same design. She also engages with the others in the song, since there aren't as many vocal parts in it. It’s fun to see how they interact with one another and it’s always so utterly joyous. I mean, just look at those smiles!
"The Duty of Dust" always makes for a nice breather after the upbeat first two tracks, and the combination of Troy and Mikko's voices has a wonderful effect when there's no accompaniment. It also occurred to me that they don't use nearly as many backing tracks as I would have expected, which is kind of cool. There are a lot of moments throughout the set that are very stripped-down, even going so far as to have these moments where the voice aren’t accompanied at all. It’s magical.
"Night 13" is another neat track on that note, because it’s one of those songs where Johanna starts the vocal parts with no accompaniment at first, which shows off how robust she is, despite being so deeply tender at the same time—that's not easy to pull off! Also, the dynamic build-up in that song is really phenomenal.
There's a bit of everything to love about "Libraries of Love," great track that it is, but the highlight for me is the moment where Johanna I. gets a solo while Johanna K. puts her violin away. Then, the part where they join together is incredible. It really makes me long for another Altamullan Road album.
"Blakey Ridge" that follows remains an absolute banger and one of my favorites both on the album as well as live just due to its fun, bouncy feel. I don’t blame anyone who can’t help but dance to that song. "Kiss the Mountain" is definitely the perfect place to take a breather afterwards, beautiful ballad that it is, allowing for another moment of beauty and respite before they bring the energy back up again.
After the intro where Johanna sings, “I am coming for you,” Troy then claimed that "Aphrodite Rising" was the first song Auri ever recorded and was about love breaking through the atmosphere to arrive in Helsinki. Surely, haha. The interplay of lyrics and vocalizations in this track is endlessly delightful. It also gets wonderfully dancey by the end.
The bass was very loud in "See" and that's not a complaint. My usual complaint is that bands don't use bass enough, so this song fulfills something that I deem necessary on that note. Apparently it’s done by Mikko, as I learned afterwards, with an effects pedal, which is even cooler! Furthermore, the vocal harmonies between the Johannas again make me want to either relisten to the first Altamullan Road, or then hope that they can find some time to write some more music together one of these days when they’re not both so busy. They’re both great on their own, so the combination of the two of them is just phenomenal.
It's impossible not to think of Nuuskamuikkunen during "The Valley," and it's nice to see the mixed crowd moving a little, in quiet, stationary Finland, especially considering that song is more on the tame side. It's such a lovely song, quaint yet full of life and love, which is perfect for something inspired by the Moomins.
"Shieldmaiden" has definitely grown on me significantly (not that I ever disliked it, to be clear, I just like it more the more I hear it). Again, Johanna I.'s harmonies really help to elevate this very tender song. Then, "Desert Flower" began with a nice moment as Johanna K. and Tuomas played to one another before Troy took up the lead vocals. It's another nice breather before the final track. Also, before I forget, it’s always just a delight to watch Kai doing pretty much anything. He’s just so good.
The show still wraps up with "Them Thar Chanterelles," which Johanna began by encouraging the audience to get dancing. And encourage she did! Between dancing around to get everyone to cheer for her bandmates and to get moving around, the final song felt like nothing less than an Edema Ruh party. I could see at least one of my friends in the front row absolutely losing it to this one (as per usual, heh).
Of course, it's never over when they pretend it is, and they returned for "Pearl Diving" and, of course, "Fireside Bard." These wrap up the show perfectly: the former is gentle yet powerful, while the latter is sweet and feels very final. There's also a nice touch that towards the end, where the guest musicians take their leave and the song finishes with only the band.
It's also worth mentioning that this was the first time I saw them at an open air venue (Huvilateltta doesn't count). I wasn't sure how well it would work, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, they don't get to have the epic light show, but they do get to put on a different experience acoustically and the show didn't suffer at all. Plus, Coolhead’s stage is in front of a very lush, verdant field, so if you were standing a bit further back, it did make for a lovely background. In fact, the only thing that bummed me out at all about this show was that they took “Museum of Childhood” off the set when it was shortened—or the fact that they had to shorten it at all (even if it is necessary).
All-in-all, this was yet another spectacular show from one of Finland’s most magical bands! It was nice to have a bit of space in between their shows so that it felt fresh once again, and the new setting was a pleasant change of pace. I’m still not sure how I might feel about this sort of show at a big festival—it’s a bit odd due to the intimate nature of the songs—but it just goes to show that with love and enthusiasm, you can make magic pretty much anywhere, so even if it’s not the ideal setting, I have every bit of confidence that Auri will rock the roof (or tent?) off any venue they play!
Setlist
The Space Between
Skeleton Tree
The Duty of Dust
Night 13
Libraries of Love
Blakey Ridge
Kiss the Mountain
Aphrodite Rising
See
The Valley
Shieldmaiden
Desert Flower
Them Thar Chanterelles
Encore
Pearl Diving
Fireside Bard
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READ MORE:
Interviews: On the Record with Auri (2018), On the Record with Auri (2025); Off the Record with Eye of Melian (2022); On the Record with Altamullan Road (2020), Off the Record with Altamullan Road (2024)
Guest Interview: Altamullan Road (2024); Auri (2025); Johanna Kurkela (2026 - coming soon!)
Podcast Reviews: Bear & Kathy Talk “Auri III” (2025); Bear & Kathy Talk “Forest of Forgetting” (2026)
Live Reports: Altamullan Road Kitee (2024), Altamullan Road Hyvinkää (2024), Altamullan Road Porvoo (2024), Altamullan Road Dordrecht/Zwolle (2024); Johanna Kurkela Yuletide (2024); Auri Kitee (2025), Auri invokes imagination in Tampere (2025), Guest Live Report of Auri in Tampere (2025); Eye of Melian tour pt. 1 (2026), Eye of Melian tour pt. 2 (2026), Eye of Melian tour pt. 3 (2026)
Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in Kitee (2024); Eye of Melian in Zwolle (2025); Eye of Melian in Zwolle (2026)
Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in the Netherlands (2024); Altamullan Road pt.1, pt. 2, pt. 3 (2024); Eye of Melian in Zwolle (2025); Auri in Finland pt. 1, pt. 2, pt.3 (2025)
Gathering of Geeks - Trivia Showdown ft. Eye of Melian (2024), Auri (2025)
