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sidebar Greenrose Faire plays rousing Celtic folk rock with head-bobbing, toe-tapping rock feel. The Finnish sextet meshes mandolins and violin with rock drums and bass and symphonic synths, and spikes the rollicking attitude with the slightly ominous overtones of Finnish melancholy. Greenrose Faire sounds lively and modern but still tugs at the nostalgia strings for the long-gone days of yore.

The band has great fun on stage, and have played everywhere from corner pubs to concert halls, and from intimate weddings to international festivals, among others Elfia in The Netherlands (with e.g. Rapalje and Harmony Glen) and the Häme Medieval Fair ten years in a row (with e.g. Värttinä, Korpiklaani and Corvus Corax) They also host an annual two-day Medieval Folk Festival of their own in Tampere.

Bio

Songwriter Tomi Hyttinen used to play in a hard rock group with the other founding member Niilo Sirola. After a couple of years of playing together they realized both were into fantasy literature and medieval rock and decided to try making new music along those lines. “Neither of us really had done much acoustic stuff before, so we had great fun trying out different things. ‘No electric guitars’ was the only rule,” recalls Tomi.

The two recorded an album’s worth of demos at Niilo’s home studio and then set out to find the other members for the band. Eventually a line-up of local musicians were found who had always liked to play this kind of music but just had not realised it yet. Things clicked into place with finding of the vocalist Salla Rimmi, with her elegant phrasing and tone clear like a bell. The band’s debut album “Neverending Journey” was released in 2011, followed with “My Home Is Where My Heart Is” in 2013 and “Feed the Flames” in 2015. The first albums had sold out at this point, so 2017 saw a compilation album “Decade of Songs and Stories” to honor the band’s 10th anniversary. The fourth album “Riders in the Night” was released in 2018, and finally, “Following the Wind” in 2021.

The band aims to bring the music and faires to all people in every castle and village around the world. “It has been amazing to notice the effect our music has on people. Our songs seem to have a special kind of magic,” Salla jests. “We even had to stop playing ‘Raindrops’ at outdoor gigs because it often started to rain during the song.”

Management, press inquiries:

Kathy Keller (Friendly Folk Records)
+358 40 5454 208
info@friendlyfolkrecords.org
+31 63 0094 688

Live reviews

Aside from the fact that they are amazing musicians, and they seem to have a great talent for writing music that connects with the listeners, the one thing that I really want to point out about their performance is that they radiate fun. They enjoy their time on stage, they enjoy being together and playing together, and that shows!
CeltCast 28.5.2016

Greenrose Faire’s show relies largely on Salla Rimmi’s charming stage presence and wonderful voice, but above all on their extremely solid original songs.
Translated from Keikkaguru 18.8.2014

I’m enjoying every moment. I’ve heard something similar before when I listened to the band Blackmore’s Night, which took a similar approach, combining Irish influences with a slightly rockier sound. It’s nice to see that Greenrose Faire did it—how should I put it—a little better.
Translated from Ilveksen pesä 10.10.2015

And just like at every other show I’ve seen by this band, the members of Greenrose Faire were cheerful, in good spirits, and clearly enjoying being on stage and performing.
Translated from Kulttuurikukkanen 5.12.2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a78L7m7xx8

Following the Wind (2021)

Greenrose Faire’s fifth album Following the Wind was released on 4.6.2021 by Friendly Folk Records.

Just seeing the name Greenrose Faire makes me smile as there is a joy in their music as they combine Celtic and traditional folk together in a way which works every single time, and this is no different.

Kev Rowland / House of Prog

“Following the Wind” is, to put it nicely, an album that reaches in many directions, featuring both epic, cinematic soundscapes and a more organic groove. On the one hand, the band draws on authentic Celtic folk; on the other, they dabble in an American cultural melting pot; and in between, they find time to venture into more northern landscapes. A newer band would surely start sputtering when faced with such a multifaceted monster, but Greenrose Faire is already on its fifth full-length album and is putting its accumulated experience to good use.

Translated from Mika Roth / desibeli.net

Riders in the Night (2018)

Greenrose Faire’s fourth album Riders in the Night was released on June 1st 2018 by Friendly Folk Records.

The band’s playing is top notch, be it from sea shanties (‘Never Walk Alone’), melodic ballads (‘By The Grace Of God’), or knee slapping jigs (‘Cold Winds Are Rising’), with Hanna Heinonen’s violin, Sirola’s bouzouki and mandolin, providing an infectious medieval feel that chimes with the band’s ‘fantasy’ themes.
Pete Whalley / Get Ready to Rock

An album that any lover of music created by musicians, whatever the genre, will undoubtedly enjoy.
Kev Rowland / FRAME music

Feed The Flames (2015)

Greenrose Faire’s third album “Feed The Flames” was released in May 2015. The third album’s songs penned by Tomi Hyttinen sound both modern and magically nostalgic, and the warm clear vocals of Salla Rimmi brimming with joy in one song, and painful longing in the next. The band’s new violinist Hanna Heinonen ranges from scandinavic folk fiddling to shredding solos, and Niilo Sirola finalizes the brew with his Irish bouzouki..

If you enjoy Celtic flavoured folk rock you will want to give Feed the Flames a listen. Rousing tempos with a flamboyant flair are mixed with slower ballads giving the album a nice balance.
Sea of Tranquility 11.6.2015

The songs are long but stay interesting, the band members are skilled and versatile, and together they make up a winning formula, whatever type of song they play.
CeltCast 29.5.2015

My Home Is Where My Heart Is (2013)

The band’s second album “My Home Is Where My Heart Is” was released in August 2013. The first two tracks were mixed by British producer Stuart Epps.

Greenrose Faire leikittelee toisella pitkäsoitollaan perin joviaalilla folk rockilla, jossa helkkyy aineksia keskiaikaisista, kelttiläisistä ja renessanssiajan traditioista.
Juha Seitz, Ilkka/Pohjalainen 19.8.2013

…one of the most wonderful folk albums I have heard in many years.
Kev Rowland, mlwz.pl / Amplified 15.11.2013

Très bon album, frais et varié dans ses ambiances, de la part de GREENROSE FAIRE.
Nawak Posse 5.10.2013

Neverending Journey (2011)

The first full-length album Neverending Journey was released worldwide in September 2011.

“Tamperelaisbändin esikoisalbumi pistää pystyyn jalkaa liikuttavat pippalot, joissa perinteet riemuitsevat oktaavimandoliinin ja viulun säestyksellä.”
Juha Seitz, Ilkka/Pohjalainen 3.10.2011

Greenrose Faire’s Neverending Journey is an unexpected, phenomenal and original album that will remain in my playlist for a while
Indie Band Guru

Their jaunty playing, Tomi Hyttinen’s songs and Salla Rimmi’s classic folk vocals come together to form something that falls between Steeleye Span’s finer moments and the hugely enjoyable Circulus.
Leicester Bangs

Press photos:

Photos by Pauli Borodulin, Kees Stravers and Arto Ilkka Jalonen (photographer’s name mentioned in file name).
Right-click->Save Link As… to save directly:Tallenna normaalisti oikea-klikkaamalla, ja “tallenna linkitetty sisältö nimellä…”.