Apulanta concerts summer 2026 - all gigs from Rovaniemi to Iisalmi

The band's name means fertiliser, and its inventors have regretted it ever since. But you'll surely recognise the melody of "Hei beibi, anna mulle piiskaa", and you'll know that "Teit meistä kauniin" has played at every festival for the past twenty years. Apulanta started as a group of teenage friends in Heinola, and according to legend the band's first performance in a school hall had to be cut short when police intervened over the excessive noise. In summer 2026, Apulanta concerts will take the band on tour once again, from a Rovaniemi midsummer night all the way to the festival field in Iisalmi.

Apulanta concerts 2026 - all summer gigs

In summer 2026, Apulanta concerts stop in five locations in July and August. Below are all confirmed dates, venues and direct ticket links.

Apulanta is a fixture on the summer touring circuit, and this year the route runs from north to south and back to Savo. The gigs are set on open-air stages and festival grounds, which suits the band's big choruses made for singing along. Here are the summer 2026 gigs in chronological order:

It's worth double-checking dates and venues on the event page before you set off, as festival schedules and support acts may be updated as the summer progresses. All the Apulanta concerts listed above can also be found together in our concerts section.

The band that broke The Beatles' chart record

Apulanta was founded in Heinola in 1991 and grew into one of Finland's most successful rock bands. In 2011 the band surpassed even The Beatles in the number of chart-topping singles.

Apulanta is a rarity in Finnish rock: the same core line-up has kept the band going for over three decades. Apulanta is a Finnish rock band founded in 1991 in Heinola by teenage friends Toni Wirtanen, Simo "Sipe" Santapukki and Antti Lautala. The name has a sticky backstory: the band's name means artificial fertiliser in Finnish, and the members later came to regret the choice because of its unusual connotations.

The beginning was rowdy. According to fan history, Apulanta performed for the first time in a school hall, but the police stopped the show because of the loud singing. The recording career started modestly, but the rise was swift. The band made their recording debut in 1993 with the EP Mikä Ihmeen Apulanta?, and after a couple more EPs released their first full-length album in 1995, Attack of the A.L. People. Later that year came the Hajonnut EP, whose track "Mitä Kuuluu" became a major hit.

That kicked off a run of success rarely seen in Finnish rock. From 1996 onwards the band reached the top of the Finnish charts virtually every year, with a hit single, an album, or both. The first number-one single was "Anna Mulle Piiskaa" in 1996. The biggest individual hit, however, is a different one: "Teit meistä kauniin" is one of the best-selling singles of all time in Finland.

The most spectacular achievement came in 2011. Apulanta's single "Pihtiote" reached the top of the official singles chart in week 45/2011 and was the band's 21st number-one single, with which Apulanta broke The Beatles' legendary record for the most singles to have topped the national charts. The Beatles have 20 number ones on the US chart between 1964 and 1970. Musically the band has never stood still: they experimented with nu metal on the 2005 album Kiila and continued down that path, while the 2022 album Sielun kaltainen tuote incorporated elements of melodic punk and electronic music.

Who plays on stage

The engine of Apulanta is two founding members, Toni Wirtanen and Sipe Santapukki. Bass has been handled by Ville Mäkinen since 2014.

The band's sound and lyrics have been shaped by the same man from the very start. Toni Juhana Wirtanen has served as vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter since the band's founding in 1991, and his songs have defined Apulanta's output by combining introspective lyrics with driving guitar riffs. The friendship between Wirtanen and drummer Santapukki runs deep: the childhood friends founded Apulanta as teenagers and have maintained a close collaboration for over three decades, which has helped the band survive line-up changes while preserving its original vision.

The bassist's seat has changed hands more often over the years. Ville Mäkinen has played bass and double bass since 2014. Before him the role was filled by, among others, Tuukka Temonen, who later moved into production and management roles behind the band, and Sami Lehtinen. With Temonen it's worth noting one interesting side story: he went on to become a well-known director, and the biographical film Teit meistä kauniin brought the band's story to the big screen.

What an Apulanta gig is like

Expect a tight rock show where heavy riffs and catchy choruses alternate. Sing-alongs are especially strong on the older hits.

The core of an Apulanta live show is contrast. The same song can start quietly and then explode into a massive wall of guitar. Stylistically the band has moved across a wide spectrum: they originally played hardcore punk and hard rock, soon shifted towards a more pop-rock direction, and have since alternated between these extremes, combining melodic and catchy choruses with heavy guitar riffs. In practice the setlist offers both the 90s hits that move long-time fans and newer, more experimental material.

At open-air gigs, which make up most of the summer 2026 tour, the atmosphere is built around communal singing. Songs like "Anna mulle piiskaa", "Mitä kuuluu", "Armo" and "Teit meistä kauniin" are ones the audience knows by heart. Tammerfest in Tampere and Lutakonaukio in Jyväskylä are festival and square environments where big choruses work at their very best.

Practical tips are the same as for summer gigs in general: be prepared for any weather, arrive early at open-air venues to get a good spot, and check the event-specific rules on food and bags directly with the organiser. If you want to see the band with the shortest journey, look at the map: Rovaniemi serves the north, Aitoo and Tampere serve Pirkanmaa, Jyväskylä serves Central Finland and Iisalmi serves Savo.

Where to buy tickets

Buy tickets only through official sales channels. The ticket link for each gig is available directly on our event page.

Tickets for the summer 2026 Apulanta gigs are sold on a per-event basis, and there is no single tour-wide price. Exact prices and availability are always shown on each gig's own ticketing page, which you can reach from our event page with a single click. We do not publish prices ourselves, as they vary by location and may change as sales progress.

A few rules of thumb are worth keeping in mind. Buy tickets only from official retailers, not from unofficial resale sites where prices can be several times higher. Popular summer gigs often sell out in advance, so moving early saves both money and stress. At festival gigs such as Tammerfest, a ticket may give access to other acts at the same event, so check whether you are buying a day ticket or a festival pass. All five gigs with their ticket links are compiled in our event calendar.

Other summer 2026 concerts in Central Finland

If you're left wanting more, there's plenty more music in Central Finland in summer 2026. The summer concert series at Petäjävesi Old Church and the Jyväskylä summer concerts round out the calendar.

It's easy to build a longer concert week around Apulanta's Jyväskylä gig, as the region has plenty going on in summer. The old wooden church in Petäjävesi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosts a summer concert series featuring among others Diandra on 22.7.2026 and Jepa Lambert Trio on 8.7.2026. You can find out more about the latter's frontman on the artist page.

Families and fans of children's music should also note Pienlähettiläs at the Jyväskylä summer concerts on 4.8.2026; you can find an introduction to the act in our artist directory. These are entirely different concerts in character from Apulanta's rock gigs, but they show that summer 2026 offers a wide variety of music in Central Finland under the same roof - or rather, the same sky.

Frequently asked questions about Apulanta gigs

Which cities does Apulanta tour in summer 2026?

There are five confirmed gigs: Rovaniemi (4.7.), Aitoo (6.7.), Jyväskylä (11.7.), Tampere (16.7.) and Iisalmi (8.8.). All dates and venues are compiled in the gig list in this article and in our event calendar.

When does Apulanta perform in Tampere?

Apulanta plays in Tampere on 16.7.2026 as part of the Tammerfest festival. Full details and the ticket link are on the event page.

How much do tickets cost?

We do not publish ticket prices, as they vary by gig and may change as sales progress. Up-to-date prices and availability are always shown on each gig's own ticketing page, which you can reach directly from our event page.

Who is currently in the band?

The core of the line-up is formed by founding members Toni Wirtanen (vocals, guitar) and Sipe Santapukki (drums). Bass has been handled by Ville Mäkinen since 2014.

Has Apulanta performed with large ensembles?

Yes. The band has collaborated with Sinfonia Lahti, and in summer 2025 this line-up drew over 20,000 listeners to Tampere's Ratina stadium. The summer 2026 tour gigs are, however, the band's own rock shows.

Sources

  • Mitämenoa.fi event information: Apulanta Rovaniemi, Aitoo, Jyväskylä, Tampere and Iisalmi 2026 (dates, venues and ticket links).
  • Bandsintown - per-gig ticketing pages.
  • apulanta.fi - the band's official news, including the breaking of the Beatles chart record and Apulanta & Sinfonia Lahti at Ratina stadium 2025.
  • Wikipedia and Grokipedia - Apulanta's founding, line-up and discography.
  • AllMusic and Spotify - album release years and singles chart performance.
  • Last.fm and Nordic Metal - stylistic phases and sales success of the "Teit meistä kauniin" single.