On stage

Mike Bell & the Belltones(FI)

Pääesiintyjät(FI)

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Back To The Fifties! On the second weekend of July, the park at Laukko Manor travels back to the atmosphere of the 50s and 60s. Friday 10 July is spent in the rockabilly era. Pääesiintyjät, playing easy-going home-grown rockabilly pop, opens on the park stage at 16.00. Mike Bell & The Belltones, Finland's foremost early-rockabilly group, continues at 18.00. PÄÄESIINTYJÄT (16.00) In 1993 the country was won over by Pääesiintyjät, a band drawing its style from the hay-barn romance of old Finnish films and from rockabilly pop, whose songs “Älä ota pitkätukkaa”, “Sua aattelen” and “Iiris” were in heavy rotation on the radio. The band released one album, titled “Pitkäsoitto”, and disappeared from view. It became a cult band, repeatedly asked to return to the stage. Pääesiintyjät finally made the hoped-for comeback in spring 2019, returning to the studio at the same time to record new material. Over the autumn came the singles “Sekaisin kuin käki”, “Paras mies”, “Aina kun sanon juu” and “Kaunis päivä”. And now, ahead of February's “Lättähatun paluu” album, a fifth single, “Kulkurin keidas”, has been released. Of the band's original members, Pete Salomaa (double bass), also familiar from Francine, and Mika Jokinen (guitar) are on board. They are joined by singer Vesa Haaja, known from Agents, and drummer Timo Järvinen, who has a strong background in various roots orchestras. MIKE BELL & THE BELLTONES (18.00) Playing in the style of original 1950s rockabilly, the band played its first show in late 2008 and has been praised for its live work in Finland and abroad ever since. Goofin' Records, one of the world's most respected rock'n'roll labels, released the band's debut album “Scream & Holler” in the summer of 2010. Mike Bell & The Belltones have released four albums to date plus a handful of smaller releases, among them The Beat that can't be Beat (Goofin' Records), which was given a full five stars in a Helsingin Sanomat review. Over the past ten years Mike Bell and The Belltones have risen to become one of the internationally known bands in their style, playing the biggest rock'n'roll festivals and clubs in the USA and Europe. Mike Bell & The Belltones are: M. Bell (vocals and guitar), Timo Kalijärvi (guitar), Iikku Riepponen (bass), Japi Saario (drums). THE PARK The stage stands at the heart of the historic museum area on the shore of Pyhäjärvi. There are almost 800 seats in front of the park stage (the seating area is not covered).