Thursday was purely amazing!

Close Encounters on Ice took over the Ice Park on Valentine’s Day. We brought nine awesome bands from all over the world to spread the joy of music to our audience and for those who were just passing by. Grandeville started the show, and soon there was a bunch of interested people listening to their gig. When Satin Circus started to play, their fans were absolutely thrilled! They already have lots of fans, and I bet that when they release their debut album, it’s going to be a hit! Next up was Clo (FRA). Although it was quite cold outside, their show was as awesome as on Wednesday at Semifinal! Also Bye Mandu was as charming as always. Finally at 5 PM we got to see The Wambura Mitaru Synergy (USA/KEN) performing for the first time ever here in Helsinki, and it was worth waiting for! She is absolutely amazing, but there was even more to come later on at Lavaklubi… After Wambura’s performance, the Ice Park was filled with the grooving Nordic soul of Oaklyn. Linda’s vocals were smooth and silky, and their grooving beats made you wanna go clubbing. After that, Remnant of the Sun (LV) took us for a trip around the moon with their rocking songs. Before the last act, Mowgli played a set of their energetic songs, and despite the cold, they managed to bring us a touch of summer with their music. The final band of the Ice Park event was Liqui Fuzz (EST), whose performance was once again totally rocking!

 

After a long day outside, the warm and intimate Lavaklubi was just a perfect place for the late night gigs. At first we enjoyed some jazzy tunes by Frost Project, our talented friends from St. Petersburg. After their great performance, our very own Axel Ehnström charmed the audience with his beautiful songs. But when Wambura Mitaru got on the stage and started singing, it was pure magic! Her voice is simultaneously so strong and yet so delicate, and the intensity of her performance was absolutely amazing. Not to mention the beautiful guitar sounds of Basti, and the epic percussion of Moez. Their performance was absolutely spellbinding. Magical, amazing, epic… I’m out of words here!