august news
🎶 Performing at Viljandi Folk Festival – with a twist!
It was an incredible joy to perform at the Viljandi Folk Music Festival – on the Kirsimägi main stage, no less! The audience was so warm, the Sunday weather beautiful – it truly felt like an honour to be part of the festival's main programme. 🥰
But tension was in the air: just an hour before the concert, at the end of the soundcheck, one of the basses of my accordion got jammed and started making a sad, endless drone. Luckily, the tech crew had a screwdriver, so I was able to open up the instrument and shift some of the metal parts inside to fix it. This has happened to me before – which is why I knew what to do. The first time was in January 2020 in Northern Denmark, right before a concert. Back then, I made a video call to the amazing accordion builder Tarmo Tartu, who guided me step-by-step on how to solve the issue. This time, I knew how to react right away – and got the instrument working again. Still, during the first two pieces, I felt a little anxious – what if the bass got stuck again during the concert? 😬 But luckily, everything went smoothly, and I was able to settle into the music and enjoy the performance. 😇 There was also an article written by a Finnish journalist Matti Komulainen - read his thoughts about the festival and my concert from soundi.fi-s website! Here are a few beautiful moments from the concert:
1: Luke Dante. 2-3 Taavi Bergmann. 4-5 Eduardo Scaramuzza
🚢 Collaboration with Uppsar on the Tallink Cruise
In June and July, I was part of a pop-folk dance show by Uppsar aboard Tallink’s Baltic Queen cruise ship, which sails between Tallinn and Stockholm. Altogether, we performed four shows, and I wore different costumes for each one – the most eye-catching was definitely the mermaid costume. 😎 The music featured both traditional and modern Estonian folk tunes – including one of my own compositions, “Reaching Home”, from my new album Nordic Reflections (2025). The choreography and show concept were created by Eneli Rüütli and Märt Agu. I’m incredibly happy that Eneli invited me to join – it was a joy to work with such wonderful dancers, collect fun memories, and enjoy good food! It’s so nice to be able to take part in exciting projects as a musician! 🥰
1 - mist.etere.al. 2-3 photos from private collection
What’s my August like? 👀
August is all about concerts with Alterne! You can find the detailed tour info on our website. We’re already in Belgium with the band – on Friday we had a cozy house concert at Oscar’s grandparents’ home, and on Sunday we played at one of Belgium’s biggest folk festivals: Dranouter Festival. The concert went really well – the audience was super engaged and the big Cirque tent where we performed was completely full. 😊 The festival is organized by our booking agency, BeRoots, who are helping us with booking tours.
During the festival, we stayed in the city of Ypres, about 11 km from Dranouter. The place carries deep historical meaning from World War I. There, you can find the impressive Menin Gate, built to commemorate missing soldiers. Horrifying times people had to live through. The city was destroyed and then rebuilt, and nowadays many visitors come to honour those who were lost in battle. As a traveling musician, I don’t always have time to experience places as a tourist, but I’m grateful for even the brief moments when I can learn about local history and broaden my perspective. 🗺️
Since we (band members of Alterne) live in different countries, we use tour time also for rehearsals and creating new music. Today and tomorrow we’ll focus on rehearsing, and then we’ll head straight to Denmark, where we’ll perform at Præsto Fjord Festival. We’ll also meet up with Dreamers’ Circus, a band that has been mentoring us this past year and has given us feedback on our music and stage presence. 😍 One of the most exciting things this month will be filming our first live music video in Ida’s hometown, Broager, Denmark. You can follow our journey on Alterne’s Instagram. 🎶
At the end of August, I’ll give my final solo concert of the summer in Latvia at the Sounds of Depot festival. Before that, I’m heading to Mõniste in Estonia, where I’ll be teaching accordion at the Võrumaa folk music camp. I’m really looking forward to it! 😍❤️
Here’s how my August looks like:
3.08 Alterne concert at Dranouter festival (BE)
08.08 Alterne concert at MUSIK OVER PRÆSTØ FJORD (DK)
18.08-22.08 accordion teacher at Võrumaa folk music camp (EST)
23.08 Alterne concert at FREDERIKSDAL CHAMBER FOLK FESTIVAL (DK)
30.08 Solo concert at The sounds of depot Alūksne (LV)
Personal Picks & Moments from July
☀️ Highlight of the month: Seeing Jacob Collier live in Helsinki! His warmth, musicianship, and connection with the audience left me truly inspired. What a joy to witness him and his amazing band❤️
📖 Book I loved: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl — a powerful reminder of resilience, purpose, and the human spirit.
🎧 Track on repeat: “Boyhood” by The Japanese House. Dreamy, emotional, beautiful.
☕ Barista moment: scroll down for a photo of the best latte art I made in July — small joys outside of music!
Thank you again for being curious about my journey. Until next time – stay well and take care! 💛
Maimu
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