The band Valkea from Oulu blends grandiose indie music with alternative rock. Their second album, Vedenjakaja ("Watershed"), was released in May 2025. The band’s frontman, Tatu Palo, explains that they wanted the album’s title to reflect the human relationship with water. Each song on the album deals with a moment that changed everything.

The first song completed for the album was Vastarannalla ("On the Opposite Shore"). Vastarannalla describes a contrast where some people enjoy a beautiful evening while missiles fall on the opposite shore. Palo says he felt a great sense of accomplishment when the song was finished — it felt perfect.

Valkea’s songs largely address social issues, and they describe their music — with a wink — as “climate rock.” They want to highlight the climate crisis without offering clear-cut answers. The band paints dystopian visions of the future in their songs. In the track Pallosalamavideot ("Ball Lightning Videos"), rain is depicted as a kind of mythical phenomenon — rarer now than ball lightning.

Valkea has a clear and concise — perhaps slightly pessimistic — message they want to leave behind: We told you so. Still, Palo says the band hopes it doesn’t have to go that far. “Our goal is to make people think and to encourage good deeds. We want to be remembered as being, so to speak, on the side of the good.”

Compared to their 2023 debut album Yö kuihtuu valoon ("The Night Withers into Light"), Vedenjakaja takes more risks. The band wanted to go deeper with their second album, rather than picking the obvious choices. “Yö kuihtuu valoon is more straightforward pop-rock, but with Vedenjakaja we made more complex decisions. We asked ourselves, can we make this song sound more like us, more interesting?”

According to Palo, inspiration for lyrics usually comes unintentionally. “When you’re doing something completely different, like cycling or jogging, there's a lot of mental space to process things. If you sit down with the intent to write lyrics, it rarely leads to anything truly brilliant.”

The summer has been relatively quiet for the band apart from their album release events. July has been spent on holiday, and they’ll return to performing in August. In the fall, they have gigs lined up all across Finland. New music is also expected later this year.

Valkea recommends their upcoming performance at the Muusajuhlat Literary Art festival to fans of modern band music. They feel that if someone enjoys indie rock or electronic music concerts, their music might leave a strong impression too.

Valkea will perform at the Literary Art Festival Muusajuhlat on August 16 at the Pop-up Stage Klonkka. More information about Valkea and the Muusajuhlat program can be found here.

Picture: Itu Torvinen

The Muusajuhlat Literary Art Festival will take place from August 13 to 17. The programme features nearly 40 different events.

There will be events throughout the day, from poetry lunches to late-night gatherings. Among dozens of performers and speakers, the festival presents a diverse and fascinating lineup from various fields of literature.

One of the festival’s special guests is the internationally renowned opera soprano Helena Juntunen. She will perform, among other pieces, the famous Jewel Song, beloved by the opera diva Bianca Castafiore from the Tintin comics.

Among the speakers is Member of Parliament Jessi Jokelainen, whose graphic novel Femokratia (2024) explores the history, present, and future of Finnish politics, particularly from women’s perspectives. Also featured is Riikka Leinonen, winner of the Tieto-Finlandia Prize, whose book Suuri valhe vammaisuudesta (2024) challenges prevailing assumptions about disability.

The Muusa Matinee highlights multicultural voices, especially through the words and poetry of Oulu residents with immigrant backgrounds. Among the performers is Ukrainian-born psychologist and author Olga Makarenko. Her music video Till Midnight in Oulu will premiere at the event, where Makarenko will also share her personal experiences of displacement and war.

In the evenings, the Muusa Clubs at Klonkka and Tuba will offer a rich mix of interdisciplinary performances ranging from poetry and music to burlesque. Featured performers include the indie and alternative rock band Valkea, as well as Karkia Walo, a duo blending literary art with music.

Festival visitors will also have the chance to create their own literary works by participating in workshops such as the "messy poetry" session and the haiku workshop.

Most events will take place in Oulu, including Cultural Centre Valve, Cafe Konstantiina, the pop-up stage Klonkka, the Tähtitorni Café, and various libraries. Some events will also be held in Ii, Kempele, Pyhäjoki, and Hailuoto.

Most events have free admission. Programme and ticket information can be found here. The event is organized by Huutomerkki ry and is part of the Oulu August Festivals.

Literary Art Festival Muusajuhlat (Muse Festival) is the most notable literary happening in Oulu area. The festival brings together poets, writers, musicians, and artists from all around Finland. The versatile programme offers something for literary enthusiasts of all ages. The programme is mostly in Finnish but there are also events that include multiple art forms and are suitable for non-Finnish speakers.

This years Muse Festival has an international guest as the Danish writer Kim Leine comes to talk about his life and his works. Kim Leine is at Ii's Kulttuurikauppila on 18th of August and at Pekuri Library on 19th of August.

On 17th of August the Muse Festival features a poetry night in honour of the birth of Wisława Szymborska. Celebrations for the 100th birthday of the Nobel prize winning poet have readings of Symborskas works in Finnish and Polish, music and a poetry workshop.

As music is an international language, Muse Festival also features interesting Finnish musical artists. We get to hear the award winning Litku Klemetti, local folk duo Peltokurki and many more musical acts at different events during the festival.

The events are centered at the Oulu city centre in restaurants, libraries and other locations. Some events are held in nearby municipalities around Oulu. Most events are free of charge.

The nine poems or muses of antiquity have inspired humanity since ancient times. Now the muses are calling us to the world of reading and writing once again. The books delight, enchant and captivate. When reading them you can empathize, be charmed, reminisce, stray and linger – the books have all our stories and countless worlds.