Artists and programme

Accordion, zither, bagpipe and all their friends have been invented to nourish our souls and bodies mainly by accompanying dancing. Dancing is what brings the village together. You can communicate with each other verbally but through dancing you create a bond with your partner and the rest of the people in the dance hall.

New urban and festival parties have overshadowed the village parties but the aim has remained the same - to come together and find joy in movement and music. In the late hours of the festival, you can experience this first hand in the Traditional Music Center. All dance lovers both experienced and less experienced are welcome. If you are not sure what to do, just observe what the others are doing and you will be dancing in no time! Local and foreign instrument players and singers are at your service. The dancing will commence until the morning!

THURSDAY
00.00 Keris
00.20 Maarja Soomre
00.40 Suits ja Kool
01.35 Ülemakstud Rentslihärrad

FRIDAY
00.00 Keris
00.20 MandoTrio
01.00 Kiharakolmio (Soome)
01.45 Evelin Leima
02.30 Leana Vapper-Dhoore ja Hartwin Dhoore (Eesti/Flaami)
03.15 Kelly Veinberg ja Elina Kasesalu

SATURDAY
00.00 Keris
00.20 Villu Talsi ja Martin Müller
01.15 Kulno Malva
01.45 Torupilli Jussi Trio
20.30 Puuluup

“Kasesalu dances”

In recent years our music group Suits and Kool has played a variety of different Estonian dance tunes and we are especially fond of Erni Kasesalu, an accomplished kannel-player from South-Estonia, whose waltzes and polkas sound as clear as crystal.

Playing dance tunes we always wish for a joyful audience, who really appreciates these melodies and also knows the dances. That is why we are celebrating this Viljandi Folk Music Festival with an exclusive program of Erni Kasesalu’s music. We also invite a few dancers on stage, so that the audience can take after them and dance through the whole concert.

“Kasesalu dances” really has a double meaning. While we play Erni Kasesalu’s tunes for dancing the word kasesalu also means a birch grove that symbolizes the kind of places - groves and village greens - where young people used to get together to dance and socialize.

Janne Suits - nyckelharpa
Kristi Kool - Estonian diatonic accordion
Joyful dancers from UT Viljandi Culture Academy

www.suitsjakool.ee 
www.facebook.com/SuitsJaKool 

The song collection of Ülemakstud Restslihärrad has melodies from the times our grandmothers-grandfathers were yet to be born ad also from times where they were long born and singing happily in the twilight with friends from neighbouring farms. They were singing beautiful songs drenched in emotions and pathos alongside back-country-pagan and gutter-romantic masterpieces. But. Accordion and singing, accordion and singing mixed together are the biggest joy for dancing feet that we can offer! And there’s something for listeners as well!

Tarmo Noormaa - accordions, vocals
Lauri Õunapuu - accordions, vocals

www.facebook.com/Ulemakstudrentsliharrad/