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Held from 14 to 16 August in the striking industrial surroundings of Suvilahti, Flow Festival is one of Finland’s leading music and arts events. Its famously eclectic programme spans pop, hip hop and indie, as well as electronic music, jazz and experimental sounds – alongside acclaimed food, art and design.
With around 150 performances across three days, deciding what to see is no easy task. After some lively debate, enthusiastic lobbying and a few agonising cuts, we at Time Out assembled this failsafe guide to the weekend’s best acts.
The effort was worth it: this year’s line-up is packed with genuinely exciting shows, from major headliners and cult legends to wonderfully unexpected discoveries. Festivals don’t get much better than this. Here’s where you’ll find us from Friday afternoon until the final notes fade on Sunday night.
The best acts to see at Flow Festival on Friday
5.15pm Rosettes (Finland) | Balloon 360°
There’s no better way to begin the Flow weekend than at the atmospheric Balloon 360°, where the audience sits around a stage in the centre. Finnish five-piece Rosettes ease us into the festival with their dreamy, summery blend of soul and pop.
7pm DJ Kridlokk: Hai (Finland) | Balloon 360°
Dangerous as a bogus doctor! Stay at Balloon 360° for cult Finnish rapper DJ Kridlokk, who will perform his celebrated album Hai in full. Exploring maritime imagery and urban loneliness, this intelligent and haunting rap record won Finland’s prestigious Teosto Prize. Expect a dark, intensely atmospheric performance.
8.45pm MARINA (Wales) | Main Stage
Diamonds aren’t forever. Although ‘and the Diamonds’ has disappeared from her name, MARINA remains one of pop’s most charismatic performers. Expect irresistible choruses, theatrical drama and a crowd guaranteed to sing along. This is MARINA’s only Nordic show of the summer.
9pm DJ Babatr (Venezuela) | Heineken Backyard
For something with a little more bite than pop, head to DJ Babatr, who performs at the same time as MARINA. The Venezuelan artist created raptor house, a genre born in Caracas in the late 1990s that combines trance, ghetto house and Afro-Latin rhythms with percussion rooted in Venezuelan musical traditions.
Babatr had already abandoned his music career to work as a car painter when his productions were rediscovered almost two decades later. Now you can experience one of electronic music’s most remarkable comeback stories for yourself.
10pm More Ohr Less Trio | The Other Sound
This is for anyone who thinks experimental music should offer an exhilarating journey along the border between music and noise – rather than simply subjecting the ears to abrasive distortion.
Electronic music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius joins forces with sound artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff and composer Christopher James Chaplin. Their rare collaboration ventures through ambient, drone, field recordings and ghostly electronic soundscapes. And yes: Christopher really is that Chaplin’s youngest son.
10.45pm Zara Larsson (Sweden) | Main Stage
After years of delivering hit after hit, the Swedish superstar has become an effortlessly charismatic live performer. Expect polished choreography and huge, festival-sized pop moments. One lucky audience member might even be invited on stage to dance during Lush Life.
11pm Ana Frango Elétrico (Brazil) | Balloon 360°
For an alternative to Zara Larsson’s polished pop, head to Balloon 360°, where Brazilian artist Ana Frango Elétrico brings together tropicália, bossa nova, funk, soul and art rock in music that swings with a distinctly melancholy edge. Nobody makes the soft, shushing sounds of Brazilian Portuguese quite so beguiling.
Midnight: Disclosure DJ set (England) | Silver Arena
End Friday night with a burst of pure nostalgia. Disclosure’s house classics soundtracked countless parties during the 2010s, and hearing them again promises an irresistible trip back to some of the best nights of our lives.
The duo proved their continuing relevance earlier this year by closing Coachella’s Outdoor Theatre with a major live show. Flow will offer a different experience: a late-night DJ set in which the brothers’ own classics meet house, UK garage and fresh discoveries from the clubs.
The best acts to see at Flow Festival on Saturday
Take the afternoon slowly. Wander around the festival site, eat well and save some energy for an action-packed evening.
2.30pm Keiju (Finland) | Black Tent
Over the past year, Keiju has emerged as one of the most promising rappers of Finland’s new generation. We can’t wait to hear hits including Milla Magia and Kalervo Palsa live – not least the wonderfully odd lyric: ‘If I were a birch, I’d definitely be a dwarf one.’
3.30pm Arthur Verocai with AUKSO Orchestra (Brazil/Poland) | Main Stage
The legendary Brazilian composer, arranger and conductor brings his sumptuous blend of samba, jazz, soul and orchestral music to the Main Stage, accompanied by the 27-piece Polish AUKSO Orchestra.
4pm Aki Rissanen: Omniwerk (Finland) | The Other Sound
Here’s a genuine audiovisual curiosity. Acclaimed jazz pianist Aki Rissanen plays the unique Omniwerk, an instrument combining Leonardo da Vinci’s viola organista with the Baroque lautenwerk.
Capable of bowing and plucking its strings simultaneously, the instrument spans a sound world ranging from harpsichord to string orchestra. Rissanen uses live sampling, looping and electronic processing to bring melodic fragments encoded in da Vinci’s manuscripts into the present day.
5.15pm Jimi Tenor Band (Finland) | Balloon 360°
One of Finnish music’s great eccentric visionaries, Jimi Tenor has spent decades moving through psychedelic jazz, funk, electronic music and cosmic experimentation. His gloriously eccentric, groove-heavy sound should be a perfect match for the intimate Balloon 360°.
If you caught Tenor’s Helsinki Day concert earlier this summer, head instead to Black Tent, where Ares also starts at 5pm. The fast-rising Finnish rapper’s headline shows tend to sell out quickly, making Flow a good opportunity to see him live.
7pm múm (Iceland) | Balloon 360°
Icelandic group múm were pioneers of early-2000s experimental pop, combining crackling electronics, chamber-like structures and fragile melodies. At first, you may wonder if this is brilliant or absolute nonsense. Next thing you know, you’ve sat spellbound through the entire show.
Their hypnotic music is ideal for slowing down before Turnstile unleash their energy on the Main Stage.
8pm Riria (Japan) | X Garden
Now things get difficult. X Garden hosts the infectiously cheerful Japanese DJ Riria, whose sets mix amapiano, Jersey club and dub with chart hits, cult classics and underground discoveries.
At the same time, Ensemble Gamut! perform FLOS at The Other Sound. This singular work about endangered and extinct Arctic flowers brings together medieval mysticism, folk songs, electronic music and visual art created live on stage.
And somehow, you should already be making your way towards the front of the Main Stage.
8.30pm Turnstile (United States) | Main Stage
Expect one of the weekend’s most euphoric performances. The Baltimore band have transformed modern hardcore by combining punk fury with irresistible melodies.
We expect the show to erupt into a joyful communal release – one moment lost in the music, the next swept into the swirling mosh pit.
9.30pm Nu Genea Live Band (Italy) | Silver Arena
Nu Genea make the transition from Turnstile surprisingly easy. With a full live band, the Naples-based duo give their mix of disco, funk and Mediterranean rhythms far more punch than on record, turning their sun-soaked grooves into an exuberant dancefloor set.
10.30pm Florence + The Machine (England) | Main Stage
Florence Welch returns to Flow for the third time. Her previous appearances became events in their own right, so frankly, who could complain?
Few performers can command an enormous outdoor audience with the same breathtaking combination of vocal power, physical energy and theatrical drama. Even if you’ve seen her before, she remains difficult to skip.
If Florence + The Machine already feels a little too familiar, The Zawose Queens offer a compelling alternative at Balloon 360° from 11pm. The Tanzanian duo perform gogo music built from polyphonic singing, polyrhythms, chizeze fiddle, ilimba thumb piano and subtle electronics. Leah and Pendo Zawose are the daughter and granddaughter of the legendary Hukwe Zawose.
11pm Ben Klock b2b Fadi Mohem | Front Yard
Berghain residents Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem offer a taste of the legendary Berlin club’s defining techno sound – without having to brave its notoriously unforgiving door policy. Klock’s hypnotic power meets Mohem’s rolling, dub-inflected groove.
Midnight: Rochelle Jordan (Canada) | Black Tent
Midnight brings the evening's second painful clash – and no, we're definitely not talking about heading home. In the Black Tent, Canadian-British-Jamaican singer Rochelle Jordan takes the stage. Her superb new album Through the Wall feels set to propel her from cult favourite to much bigger stages. Blending R&B, house and electronic pop into irresistibly sleek dancefloor soul, Jordan is exactly the kind of artist Flow has built its reputation on discovering before everyone else catches on. This could be one of your last chances to see her in such an intimate festival setting.
At the same time, over in Silver Arena, one of hip hop's most respected duos reunites. Brothers Pusha T and Malice have revived Clipse after years apart, bringing razor-sharp lyricism, minimalist beats and a rare opportunity to catch one of rap's defining partnerships back on stage together.
The best acts to see at Flow on Sunday
14.30 Aili Järvelä: VUORI (Finland) | Main Stage
Here is an excellent reason to arrive at Flow early. Aili Järvelä will perform her award-winning album VUORI in full, accompanied by harp, percussion and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. Pop, Finnish folk music and orchestral arrangements come together seamlessly on an album that has already won both the Teosto Prize and Album of the Year at Finland’s Indie Awards.
15.30 Arppa 8-pack (Finland) | Silver Arena
One of Finland’s most distinctive contemporary singer-songwriters, Arppa combines sharply observed everyday details with cinematic melodies and an unusually improvisational approach to performing. His songs are never preserved under glass: onstage, they take on a new shape every night. At Flow, that transformation will be driven by a rare eight-piece line-up featuring some of Finland’s finest musicians, including saxophonists Linda Fredriksson and Adele Sauros. Expect the songs to stretch into jazz, hip hop, folk rock and free improvisation – without losing the intimacy at their core.
16.30 J. Karjalainen (Finland) | Main Stage
You may arrive at Flow in search of the latest underground discovery, but don’t be surprised if you end up belting out Sankarit or Ankkurinappi with the stranger standing next to you. J. Karjalainen is a giant of Finnish songwriting, and his songs have become part of the country’s collective memory – almost everyone in the crowd will know the words. He remains a formidable live performer, making this the safest bet for the weekend’s biggest communal singalong.
17.45 Geese (United States) | Silver Arena
Made up of New Yorkers still in their twenties, Geese are one of the most exciting rock bands of their generation. Their restless, unruly music resists easy categorisation, combining art rock, post-punk and classic American guitar music.
The band have also earned a formidable live reputation. While their records can sound considered and intricately layered, onstage Geese are rawer, more energetic and far less predictable. Their appeal lies in a kind of controlled collapse: the songs constantly seem on the verge of falling apart, only for the band to hold them together through sheer groove.
18.00 Awesome Tapes from Africa | Heineken Backyard
If you would prefer something danceable to the honking of those rock Geese, head to the Heineken Backyard. Music ethnologist Brian Shimkovitz DJs from actual cassette tapes, drawing on discoveries he made while living in Ghana. Expect an eclectic journey through African disco, highlife, soul, jazz and pop from decades past.
19.00 SOMBR (United States) | Main Stage
Time to return to the Main Stage. The young New York singer-songwriter is one of the biggest breakout stars on this year’s Flow bill. SOMBR makes polished, emotionally charged alternative pop fuelled by heartbreak, longing and enormous choruses.
20.00 Lykke Li (Sweden) | Silver Arena
Melancholy rarely sounds this glamorous. A Flow veteran, the Swedish singer makes cinematic, emotionally direct pop that should feel perfectly at home on a late-summer evening in Helsinki.
If you would rather dance than nurse a broken heart, head to the Heineken Backyard at 20.30. Berlin-based DJ and label founder Habibi Funk will be spinning an irresistible selection of funk, soul, disco and jazz from across the Arab world.
21.00 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Australia) | Main Stage
It has only been four years since Nick Cave last appeared at Flow – but what a concert that was. It remains one of the most powerful and intense performances in the festival’s history. Cave took complete command of the crowd, whipping it into something close to religious ecstasy.
Can he – and does he even want to – pull off the same trick again? All signs point to yes, albeit in a different register. On the latest album, Wild God, Cave reaches through rage, grief and darkness towards the light. The great prince of gloom has embraced gospel-like communion, hope and even moments of pure joy. If his 2022 concert was a merciless sermon, this summer’s performance could become a full-blown revival meeting.
22.00 Sailor Honeymoon (South Korea) | Balloon 360°
Who decided to put Sailor Honeymoon in this time slot? Nick Cave will probably still be playing, meaning far too few people are likely to find their way to this gloriously unruly set. Formed in Seoul, the trio play stripped-down, instantly infectious garage punk charged with riot-grrrl spirit. Their music is so catchy and energetic that even Balloon 360°’s seats begin to feel like a design flaw. It makes you want to jump around with complete abandon.