Some of the most soulful big-name acts performed at the main event of Pori Jazz Festival from Thursday to Saturday at Kirjurinluoto Concert Park (Kirjurinluoto Arena) in Pori. The weather alternated between rain and sunshine but the concerts attracted a total crowd of 55,600.
To name a few, Joss Stone, Lauryn Hill, Average White Band and Charles Bradley pulled off amazing gigs and the British soul sensation, Seal, finished off the Saturday concert with one of the most amazing vocal performances I’ve ever heard live.
Pori Jazz, which at present lasts for nine days, is one of the pioneering music festivals in Finland and one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe, having been arranged yearly since ’66. The venue for the main event, Kirjurinluoto Arena, is the only open-air venue in Finland designed especially for concerts.
Here are the highlights of the main weekend in pictures.
Pictures: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
Seal, the British soul singer, took the audience through a range of emotions. He was the headliner of Saturday evening at the Pori Jazz Festival on July 16 2016.
Average White Band is one of the most sampled funk bands in the history of rap music. In the picture, the vocalist, Brent Carter.
A mother enjoying a moment of privacy from her hectic family life, while her daughter and husband are waiting for her to return near the gates of the festival.
The American soul and funk band, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaries, brought the feel of funk and soul music from the ’60s and ’70s to the main stage of the festival early on Saturday evening.
Bradley has lived through the hardships of life, from homelessness to losing his brother during a robbery. He started his career as a James Brown impersonator and recorded his debut ‘No Time for Dreaming’ in 2011.
Seal asked the audience, whether they “drink?” “Yes!” the crowd shouted. “Maybe only a little? I was out running in the morning and everything was so clean,” he said and smiled.
Seal’s voice grabbed all the attention. He was accompanied only by a guitarist and two guys with laptops.
Seal ended his set, which lasted over one and half hours, with his most famous song “Kiss from a Rose.”
