Artists

The Amaro Duho band was founded in 2021 by Matild Dobi, who in 1984 was part of the foundation of Ando Drom band, with whom she participated in numerous domestic and international tours and which was one of Hungary's best-known bands playing authentic gypsy music.

Since then, Matild has been representing Roma culture with several formations, both here in Hungary and internationally (Romano Drom, Olah Gipsy Beats, Somnakaj Gipsy Musical). After 5 LPs and more than 1,000 concerts she saw that the time had come to realize her dream of playing music with her children, thereby passing on her decades of musical experience and Roma cultural values to them.

The resulting family band Amaro Duho (which means “our soul”) plays traditional Hungarian Oláh gypsy music. Together, they bring a captivating fusion of traditional music, infused with their own melodies and thoughts, creating a unique and unmistakable sound. They welcome you with love.

The band is currently working on their first album and has performed in numerous clubs and festivals since its foundation, both in Hungary and abroad.

Amy Laurenson is an award-winning Scottish pianist from Shetland, currently based in Glasgow. Rooted in the traditional music of Shetland, whilst growing up surrounded by classical music, she has developed a style which ebbs and flows between traditional, classical, and jazz influence. This diversity of influences has resulted in a vision which challenges the role of the piano as a solo instrument in traditional music.

After receiving the title of BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2023, Amy released her debut album Strands which reflects on her traditional Shetland roots and how this has grown to be intertwined with threads of contemporary influence and ideas. Strands was longlisted for Scottish Album of the Year Award 2024.

Angus stands out for bringing Estonian-language reggae to wide audiences, carving a unique niche in the local music scene. The band is like a train sweeping passengers onboard for a breezy ride through warm winds and infectious grooves. Their energy is irresistibly memorable.

Let the emotions carry you!

Anu Taul is a singer and songwriter from Mulgimaa, born into a family of artists, musicians, and instrument makers. Today, she lives and creates in Haanja, on the uplands of Võrumaa, in the Haanimaa. Her music is deeply rooted in nature and inspired by cultural heritage and the Finno-Ugric worldview. Anu’s voice is sensitive and soulful, reaching deep within and taking listeners on an inner journey. At the Viljandi Folk Music Festival, she performs both her earlier songs in the Mulgi language and pieces from her 2022 album Metskass, with lyrics by Erkki Peetsalu. These songs are born of Haanimaa’s rolling landscapes – simple and grounded, yet with a light and optimistic sense of life. The concert’s tunes explore connections – between people and nature. As Anu says, music that flows from the heart is a bridge linking us to our ancestors and to all living things.

The soundscapes are created on guitars by Jaan Jaago.

Cätlin Mägi takes the Viljandi Folk Music Festival stage with an audiovisual concert she describes like this: “The stage might get pretty crowded that evening. I’ve invited some instrument makers and singers from the archives. They haven’t exactly responded clearly, but a few might still show up. I’ll be there with my jaw harps, they’ll bring their instruments and stories from another time. And hopefully, we’ll all share a delightful hour together. This year’s festival theme “To Each Their Own Instrument” sent me digging through manuscripts and archives. I looked for old song lyrics and recordings about instruments and their makers. I listened to hundreds of hours of archive material, songs, conversations with old players, archive videos, searching for tunes where the playing itself takes centre stage. As it is said in Estonian folk songs: “Dear little instrument, oh joy, dear kannel of play. The instrument won’t feed a family.” An instrument brings joy and calls you to dance, but it also leads to taverns and work parties. In folk songs, an instrument is never just an instrument. It’s a delight, temptation, and sometimes a real troublemaker.”

Curly Strings is an acoustic four-piece band that draws its inspiration from their own personal heritage in the current Estonian cultural space. Intense and playful ensemble work paired with beautiful memorable melodies and sincere presentation form the main basis of

Curly Strings’ soundscape. The band’s rise in the Estonian music scene in 2013 was something of a phenomenon, bringing their music straight into the hearts of many Estonians and it’s stayed there ever since.

For years, Curly Strings has delighted Viljandi Folk audiences with their infectious energy and sparkling personalities. This year, they’re back on stage with their authentic zest for life and masterful playing to help us all embrace the summer festival to the fullest – come rain or shine.

Eeva Talsi - fiddle, vocals
Villu Talsi - mandolin, vocals
Peeter Hirtentreu - guitar, vocals
Taavet Niller - double bass, vocals

Duo Mann & Juula (Maria Mänd and Juuli Kõrre) are two fiddlers from Pärnu who've known each other since childhood. They passionately play Estonian folk music, channeling legendary old-time fiddlers. Camps and festivals across countries, studies in Gothenburg, and curiosity about other traditions have inspired experimental folk compositions, moody yet sensitive, energetic, vibrant, and brimming with pure joy.

New material crafted during their Swedish studies will soon be heard at Kirsimägi. Their music captivates both dancers and listeners alike.

The special project Duo Ruut³ draws listeners into rhythms and a soundscape expanded threefold. This time, Duo Ruut’s distinctive musical landscapes merge with the groove of a rhythm section featuring electric guitar, bass, and percussion. The new dimension opens up musical paths that feel both familiar and refreshingly new, and the shared breath and lively rhythms of Duo Ruut³ are sure to get listeners’ hips moving.

Ann-Lisett Rebane and Katariina Kivi - kannel, vocals
Tõnu Tubli - percussion
Indrek Mällo - bass guitar
Jaan Jaago - electric guitar

Norway's Gangar brings a fresh take on Nordic roots music. The young, five-piece ensemble digs deep into Norway's extensive folk archives to uncover rare traditional tunes, giving them modern arrangements influenced by rock, folk-metal, and jazz improvisation.

Inspired by artists such as Hoven Droven, Meshuggah, and AC/DC, Gangar's sound is driven by the unique Hardanger fiddle. Once vilified as "the devil's instrument" and banned in churches, it is now celebrated as Norway's national instrument and gives Gangar its distinctive voice. Their mission is to bring traditional Norwegian melodies to a wider audience.

Since their first concert in 2021, Oslo-based Gangar have become one of Norway’s most exciting young folk exports. Their five members bring a mix of styles and expertise, creating a unique, hybrid approach to folk music.

Gangar are renowned for electrifying live shows full of energy, audience interaction, dancing, and virtuosic musicianship. They have played across Europe, Australia, and the USA at festivals including Rudolstadt, Sziget, Celtic Connections, and Port Fairy.

With their second full-length album, recorded in 2024 and set for release in 2026, Gangar elevate their sound with fearless new arrangements and collaborations with acclaimed guest artists.

Mattias Truell Thedens - Hardanger fiddle

Oskar Goedvriend Lindberget - saxophone

Richard Max - guitar

Jonas Thrana Jensen - bass

Henrik Dullum - drums

Contemporary Nordic Folk since 1981.
Nordic folk music stretched, reshaped, and brought vividly into the present.
With their distinctive take on Nordic folk music, Groupa stands as a true supergroup in the genre. Since their founding in 1981, they have been trailblazers of progressive Nordic folk, shaping the sound of generations to come. At Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Groupa appears as a trio – the core format that has defined the band’s sound for much of the past two decades.

You will hear powerful ancient melodies alongside original compositions, free improvisation, and an extraordinary palette of sounds. Deeply rooted in tradition yet constantly in motion, Groupa’s music is playful, exploratory, and intense. Rhythm, texture, and close musical interplay shape a sound world where every detail matters.

The trio features Mats Edén (viola d’amore, hardanger fiddle), Jonas Simonson (flutes), and Terje Isungset (drums and percussion), renowned for his inventive use of natural materials such as wood, stone, and glass.

Minimalist at times, explosive at others, Groupa offers an intimate concert experience where tradition is alive, transformed, and deeply present.

Jonas Simonson - flutes
Terje Isungset - drums, percussion
Mats Edén - viola d’amore, hardanger fiddle 

HrayBery is a Polish-Ukrainian ensemble reviving traditional village music. Drawing from nearly forgotten scores and archival audio recordings from the border region of Poland and Ukraine, the band invites the audience to experience a long-forgotten world of music. The ensemble's repertoire proves that this region was once a melting pot of cultures, where Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, and Roma lived side by side. This tradition was shaped by cultural exchange across borders and generations.

Armed with instruments typical for the region (fiddle, hammered dulcimer, frame drum), HrayBery performs vivid traditional dance pieces such as the cossacks, kolomyikas, mazurkas, polkas, waltzes and more. This is an open invitation to dance – solo, in pairs, or in a group.

HrayBery have performed live at numerous dance events and concerts in Poland, where the band resides, and abroad (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Italy).
In 2023, the band released their first album, "Karczma."

Agata Weber - frame drum
Maksym Nakoneczny - violin
Marta Bodnar - violin
Serhii Postolnikov - hammer dulcimer

Nancy Vieira’s music invites listeners into the emotional heart of Cape Verde. At Viljandi Folk Music Festival she brings with her morna – a deeply expressive musical style that has not previously been heard at this festival and which is recognised on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Morna is music of longing, tenderness and quiet strength, and in Nancy Vieira’s hands it becomes an intimate conversation between singer and listener.

Nancy’s instrument is her voice: clear, direct and disarmingly honest. Through it she carries the stories, joys and sorrows of Cape Verde, while also reflecting the wider world shaped by migration and encounter. Her music moves naturally between morna and other Atlantic influences – echoes of Lisbon streets, hints of Brazil and Africa, and a subtle openness to jazz, fado and song traditions beyond borders.

Much of Nancy Vieira’s recent music has been recorded on her latest album Gente – meaning people – a title that reflects the human stories and encounters at the heart of her work. On stage in Viljandi, this music unfolds as a living tradition shared in the moment: a voice, a style and a musical language that speaks softly, yet stays with you long after the last note has faded.

Nancy Vieira - vocals
Jorge Cervantes - acoustic guitar
Olmo Marín - acoustic guitar
Nelly Cruz - electric bass
Diogo Carvalho - percussion

OOPUS is an Estonian audiovisual folktronica band that merges ancient runo songs with contemporary electronic dance music – ranging from techno and acid to dub and ambient. Blending analog synthesizers with traditional instruments like Estonian bagpipes and overtone flutes, OOPUS delivers high-energy performances that reimagine folk heritage as a soundscape of the future.

At the heart of every OOPUS show lies a unique fusion of live music, immersive visuals, and storytelling drawn from Finno-Ugric mythology. Their performances are known for custom-built light installations, movement-reactive visuals, and a club-inspired stage presence, often placing the audience at the center of the experience.

Formed in 2017 by musicians Mari Meentalo and Johannes Ahun, OOPUS began as an exploration of the space between folk and electronic music. Visual artist Aleksander Sprohgis later joined the team, bringing a new visual language to the group. In 2019, dancer Raho Aadla expanded the project’s creative direction further, integrating dance and movement-triggered visuals.

Since releasing their debut album NÕIDUS (2019), which was nominated at the Estonian Music Awards 2020, OOPUS has brought their signature blend of analog synths, live looping, and Estonian folk to a wide variety of stages – from underground raves and immersive meditative sets to major international festivals such as Burning Man (USA), ESNS (Netherlands), Linecheck (Italy), Nordischer Klang (Germany), Borderland (Sweden), and Viljandi Folk Music Festival (Estonia) to name a few. Their second album Folk On Acid (2022) received the Raadio 2 Special Prize at the Estonian Ethno Music Awards. Their third album Reivlender was released in 2026.

OOPUS has collaborated on multidisciplinary projects such as Meelte Videvik
(Twilight of Senses, with Sunbeam Productions and a renowned conductor Kristjan Järvi), BMW Estonia’s 4th Series launch, the town of Viljandi, and the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture.

Mari Meentalo - Estonian bagpipes, vocals, mouth harps, overtone flute, live
looping
Johannes Ahun - analog and digital synthesizers, sound engineer
Aleksander Sprohgis - custom-built light installations, visuals
Raho Aadla - dance
Aurelia Kuum - assistant/manager

Puuluup sprouted from the roots of the talharpa tradition on Vormsi island and shakes its treetop with carefree glee in the streams of zombie folk and punk, trad-hop chi kung, Vivaldi and Jung and the band’s neverending urge to bow. Puuluup’s lyrics mostly discuss topics concerning cross country skiing and energy politics, with some sudden digressions to hygiene and love. They are known for their detailed descriptions of various important objects of nature and culture, pensive humor and choreographies suitable for all age groups. If you come to enjoy the concert right in front of the stage, keep yourself rooted in the ground and your hands up, as you may have to carry the gliding weight of some 100-kilo talharpa surfers. 

Ramo Teder - talharpa, vocal, looper, effects

Marko Veisson - talharpa, vocal, effects

There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens. There are the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on traditional instruments – soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter and thunder – and voices that go deep, high and out there. There's the connection to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their dance-inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic. There are lyrics that tell, in their native kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradition. In their East African roots.

Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania.
The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).

Their debut album Maisha (2024) marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. The collection of songs ranges from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements.

Pendo Zawose
Leah Zawose

Trifoor sets the ground rumbling with Estonian folk music and fierce female energy! They draw the listener into the mysterious depths of traditional folk music and bring to the stage the material from archives. By combining the traditional sound of acoustic instruments with the rhythmic groove of electric instruments, the band creates a genre-bending and unique musical style. They give folk and rock a fresh breath of air and a playful form.

Trifoor came together in 2023 at the Viljandi Culture Academy and has since grown into a five-member band. The band proudly holds the Grand Prix of a youth folkband contest “Noor Pärimusbänd 2025.” In January 2026 Trifoor released their debut album.

Marta-Helene Hansing - fiddle, vocals
Ariana Arutjunjan - guitar, vocals
Emma Lotta Kiviberg - flute, vocals
Emilia Peil - drums
Kristina Kullang - bass guitar, vocals

Zetod is a musical phenomenon born in Värska in 2003, which began with the idea of bringing Seto boys into the pop-rock world, combining a contemporary sound with their cultural heritage. At the time, it was something completely new and electrifying.

Over the years, this bold initiative has grown into one of Estonia’s most beloved and unique ensembles. Zetod have won numerous awards, released seven studio albums, and even experimented with creative boundaries using music generated by artificial intelligence. In 2026, the band will celebrate its 23rd year of activity.

With unforgettable stage energy, yet always respecting tradition, Zetod are vital popularizers of heritage culture among the younger generation and a worthy calling card for Southern Estonia worldwide.

Zetod's goal is simple: as long as the Seto man's heart beats – and it beats hotter with time – the Seto spirit and song must be brought to stages all over the world for the joy of the listener.

Jalmar Vabarna
Matis Leima
Artur Linnus
Martin Kütt
Jaanus Viskar