Five decades of the Queen of Slide Guitar – Erja Lyytinen’s 50th Rock Blues Birthday, Helsinki 21.03.

Celebrating life is always important, but celebrating with hundreds of people to the sound of live music is even better, especially when the birthday person has prepared a special night at the legendary Kulttuuritalo concert hall in Helsinki.

Erja Lyytinen is one of Finland’s most important guitarists, she is known as the queen of slide guitar, and possesses immeasurable charisma. The show on Saturday, March 21st, as part of her current tour “50th Rock Blues Birthday”, celebrating her five decades of life, was prepared with three bands performing. The first was Swedish band Baskery, followed by the solo band of Sami Yaffa, the incredible bassist of Hanoi Rocks, and the last act had Erja playing songs from her latest studio album and hits from her long career.

The show started promptly at 18:30, with a good number of people already seated and others standing near the main stage. Erja’s children Dante and Massimo took to the stage and received the spotlight to host the beautiful evening that began with a short speech and then introduced the first band of the night. Note that this is already a tradition of Lyytinen’s kids introducing some of her special shows!

Baskery is a Swedish trio that plays a sound with diverse influences of bluegrass, country, and folk rock. Composed of sisters Greta, Stella, and Sunniva Bondesson, the band performed a show that captivated everyone from beginning to end. Between songs a bit of the group’s history was told, such as their years lived in Nashville, which is evident the influence in some songs, but also the fact that they were on that exact same stage more than two decades ago. The vocal chemistry, instrumental work, good humor, energy, and charisma of the trio was an excellent start of a beautiful night.

After a short break, the clock struck 19:30 and once again Erja’s boys returned to the stage, this time introducing Sami Yaffa, who, from the very first chords, brought that exciting feeling of rock danger. Sami is a talented artist, and despite being involved in different projects, such as Michael Monroe‘s solo band, since 2021 the musician has been developing his solo career alongside a supergroup that includes Janne Haavisto (Laika & The Cosmonauts) on drums and two former HIM members, guitarist Linde and keyboardist Burton.

Although Sami has already released two albums, the night focused solely on his first, The Innermost Journey to Your Outermost Mind, played almost in its entirety. It’s easy to describe the band’s influences, with a strong Iggy & The Stooges vibe, but the music goes beyond that and mixes everything Sami has always liked and shown throughout his career, such as dubstep, reggae, punk, alternative rock, and hardcore.

The musicians also add a lot to this live spectacle, as Haavisto is a long-time friend of Yaffa and a unique drummer in the Finnish scene, while Linde is a true guitar hero and Burton is the band’s special weapon, showing a versatility on keys and stage presence never before seen in his years of playing love metal. Despite his last solo show being two years ago, Sami said it was impossible to ignore the invitation and thanked Erja for her kindness of bringing them to the party.

The clock showed 20:47 when the twins took the stage for the last time and, with a mix of kindness, cuteness and shyness, announced and celebrated their mother, who went on stage shortly after, proud of her sons but radiant to see so many beloved faces in the audience. Wearing an outfit with gold details and her traditional smile, “Ball and Chain” from her most recent album, Smell the Roses, kicked off the setlist with Erja’s blues influence. In addition to being a vocalist and guitarist, Lyytinen also knows how to connect very well with the audience, and together with the synced applause of hundreds of fans, the title track “Smell the Roses” was performed.

The fact that Erja is always appreciated and praised as a virtuoso on her instrument can sometimes overshadow the fact that she is a talented and incredible vocalist too, and fortunately in “Going to Hell” she made sure to remind everyone that she also shines in the art of vocals. The beautiful stage lights of Kulttuuritalo illuminated with even more colors during “Hard as Stone,” with a virtuoso tapping solo.

Despite the guitarist being multi-talented, Erja always performs with an incredible band, regardless of the lineup, but on this current tour, the musicians Harri Taittonen on keyboards, Heikki Saarenkunnas on bass, and drummer Jesse Lehto add a lot to the show by bringing life to the songs released in the last two decades. Continuing a tradition of performing a song with her opening acts, Erja called Sami Yaffa to the stage and together they played “One Thing I Won’t Change” from the 2010 album Voracious Love, with Sami on bass sharing vocals with Lyytinen. It was also during this song that a fan started singing “Paljon onnea” and was joined in by the rest of the venue, filling the birthday girl with joy.

“Another World” continued the setlist with a great catchy melody, especially in the chorus, but it was in “Torn” that the vocals were amplified when Baskery was invited to play that track in a new acapella arrangement feat. the Bondesson sisters. The Swedish trio showed great gratitude for Erja’s invitation and led another “Happy Birthday,” this time in English, ending with a big hug and mutual admiration between the sisters and Lyytinen. Also important to mention how thankful Erja is as she praised her bandmates and even the crew, naming each of them throughout the whole show, which is something very rare to see, an artist so humble and kind to the people who are often invisible to the fans.

The slide guitar technique is something that mesmerizes when well performed, and the guitarist born in Kuopio is a master of this art, so it was a pleasure to hear the house reverberate to that particular skill during “Lullaby,” which also deserves a highlight for Harri’s Hammond sound. Still sliding, “Nasty Weather,” released 20 years ago on the album Dreamland Blues, was performed with groove and an interesting sense of cadence.

“Cherry Overdrive” and “Don’t Let a Good Woman Down” brought more fun sounds to follow and lyrics that make us think about the role of women in our society. Erja is an icon precisely because she shows the importance and the strength of feminism, and seeing people singing these lyrics shows the living legacy of her career.

With an excellent bass line by Heikki, the last slide guitar moment before the encore happened in “You Talk Dirty,” a track from the debut album Attention! released a quarter of a century ago, but which still sounds timeless and truthful to Erja’s current sound signature. Back to the stage, “Stoney Creek” and “The Ring” were chosen as the final moments of a celebratory night. Both tracks are part of the aforementioned Smell the Roses, released in 2025, and exemplify the current moment in Lyytinen’s career, as they tell a story through the melody of her guitar and the musician’s bluesy vocals, so nothing better than ending something by showing her current phase, even though the whole night was a joyful ride through the different eras of Erja’s journey as a musician.

Memorable solos, constant smiles, genuine charisma, and a joy for being alive doing what she loves might be a brief summary of what it’s like to witness Erja’s art, but even that would be insufficient, because much of what she has delivered in these five decades of life making music is better experienced live, preferably with her on stage surrounded by thousands of people, because it is there where she shows that her reign is made of a genuine and contagious passion for art, and a true queen will never lose her throne. Long live to the one and only Erja Lyytinen!

Words by John Wins
Photos by Kai Lukander

You can listen to Erja Lyytinen‘s latest album “Smell the Roses” here: