9.23.11 thrilled that kaivama is opening for frigg at the cedar cultural center this week! in the star tribune "big gigs" preview, my song cross country was called "deeply traditional!" also anxious to play some traditional argentine tango in the next few months with la abandonada orquesta de tango at four seasons dance studio.

8.25.11 new site: i like being creative, i admit it. it's been a busy, gig-filled summer. kaivama has been all over: vancouver, seattle, the UP of michigan, finnish folk music camp, and so on and so forth. we got to play with some of finland's best folk musicians, including arto järvelä and polka chicks. a transatlantic project where two duos become a quartet is in the works. stay tuned! and i spend lots of time composing my solo cd in my head. i promise to release it one day.

4.1.11 kaivama album available now! the kaivama debut album is now available from me or our website. the corresponding tunebook will be ready next week before we embark on our first real tour - seattle to L.A. CD release show at the cedar cultural center june 17 with master fiddler Arto Järvelä from Finland!

3.2.11 kaivama news: my finnish-american folk group kaivama just finished mixing last night with matthew zimmerman of wild sound studio. incredible. album will be released soon, west coast tour in april, and old town school of folk music and CD release at the cedar cultural center in june. stay tuned for more polkas.

1.4.11 busy month to start off the new year: january will be a whirlwind of recording. kaivama has been recording for months, and we hope to finish before february: our hip, progressive yet traditional finnish-american album will be released in the spring. i am also honored to add violin tracks on saana's upcoming album - other guests include Peter Ostroushko and Dan Chouinard.

11.2.10 folklore village: who knew western wisconsin was so beautiful? i just spent the weekend with the american swedish institute spelmanslag at folklore village in dodgeville, wisconsin. highly recommended. all of it. looking forward to more!

10.30.10 nordic lights film fest: the second annual nordic lights film fest is coming up! i am performing on three occasions with two groups. come and hear us play!

10.16.10 tango pohjan tähden: i finally have a finnish tango group! bass, violin, vocal, accordion. check us out here. we're just starting, so stay tuned for more!

10.1.10 kaivama recording: my finnish-american folk duo kaivama has started to record an album to be released in the spring of 2011. i'm very excited. very. half traditional tunes in our own style, half original tunes by real finnish-americans (us). check out the calendar and come hear us play!

9.27.10 grant trip: i had an incredible time studying and playing folk music in finland, sweden and denmark in the past 5 weeks. a grant from finlandia foundation enabled me to explore the music i've become very interested in!