An Introduction to Ilosaarirock

This year (2007) is the 36th consecutive year of the Ilosaarirock. 20 000 tickets are put on sale, and the festival has been sold out in advance for the past decade.

The first festival, called Rock Rieha (Rock Rave), took place 1971 on the Ilosaari island (which literally translates to Fun island) in Pielisjoki River, running through Joensuu. This is where the festival got its name.

Rokki, as the event is informally known, has grown to be one of the main events of the Finnish rock-festival calendar. The fact that Ilosaari is organized completely by volunteers and music enthusiasts makes the event unique in Finland. The aim is to develop and create a well-oiled machine that offers a wide range of bands and services to the festival goers. Everyone works together towards creating an experience that rewards all the hard work. Even though most of the work is done by volunteers, no less than a professional standard is required. The Rokki is still owned and run by Joensuun Popmuusikot (Pop Musicians of Joensuu) and it shows in the end result. Popmuusikot is a association dedicated to the promotion of live-music in the county of North Karelia, where Joensuu is located. Their main aim is to better the quality of live-music and they also have a section dedicated to helping local bands with financial aid for recording demo tapes and actual recordings.

The nerve centre of operations is Popmuusikot's office in Joensuu, which acts as the information, financial and administrative base. The Popmuusikot Board meets once a week during the year and up to four times a week in the week leading up to the festival. Organizing next years festival starts literally as soon as the old one has finished.

Another important thing is that Ilosaarirock was originally created for the public, not as a profit making scheme for the organizers. Year after year everything possible is done to create a safe and enjoyable enviroment both for the bands and the festival-goers. There are altogether five stages at the festival, plus the clubs, which are held from Friday to Sunday at the Ice Rink and the actual festival site. During its entire history, the festival has presented bands and artists from both Finland and abroad, including various genres of popular music.