Kronoby - a high ranking village in music

My home village Kronoby, located at the west-coast of the Swedish-speaking part of Finland, is represented in Swedish Idol and Finnish Eurovision Song Contest. I have to say I'm a bit proud. After all there are only around 6000 inhabitants living in Kronoby!

And many of us moved.... including myself.

I found it a bit interesting that such a small village is able to produce successful artists year after year. Elin Blom is improving week by week in this year's Swedish Idol. Despite she is only 16 years she has already prepresented Finland in Junior MGP 2007. In the local Finnish ESC 2010 she was in the final with her group Sister Twister.

Father McKenzie is a new group and they managed to get one of the three web wild cards in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The composer (and singer) of the song "Good Enough", is Tobias Granbacka from Kronoby. The other members, Emil Johansson (Bass/Vocals), Simon Larsson (Drums/Vocals) and Jochum Juslin, are partly from Sweden, partly from Åland in Finland.

In addition to the above "hot shots" we should not forget Sonja Biskop who also was participating in this year's web wild card contest in Finland. She is well experienced and has competed in the Finnish ESC final year 2004 with the song "Should I run, Should I hide".

I wish the best of luck to Elin Blom in Idol and Father McKenzie in ESC.



Sourse: TV4, YLE, fathermckenzie.se, sonjabishop.com

Summer in Finland

Sommar i Kronoby kan beskrivas på många olika sätt. Här är några av dem.
Summer in Kronoby, Finland, may be described in many ways.

Det är röda pelargoner, fattiggubben som vaktar klockstapeln, andungar som tigger mat och vatten som sinar i ån.
It might be red pelargonium, the poor man who is keeping his eyes on the church’s clock tower. Or birds begging for food and lack of water in the river.

Sommar är också vara kortspel, glittrande vatten och intressanta vägskyltar som verkar leda till landet i väst.

 Summer is also playing cards, glittering water and interesting road sign which seems to lead to the country in West.

Kyrkan som vakar över Tingshuset eller tvärtom. Skogsväger som leder till någonstans och höbalar som ser ut som nötta jättetärningar i ett Yatzyspel . 
The church and the old courthouse. Roads in the wood leading to somewhere and hay bales looking like worn out, supersized dices.

 Photos: Lilian, Teija

Kurt Gertrudz från Småbönders - ett framtida Eurovisionsbidrag?

På Sveriges Nationaldag kan man välja att gå ut och vifta med flaggor på Skansen och få en glimt av den kungliga familjen. I år fanns även andra alternativ. T.ex att lyssna till Kurt Gertrudz på Mosebacke. Bandet här "världsberömt" i svenska Österbotten med sitt varierande låtutbud framfört på Småböndersdialekt.
Repertoaren spänner från visor, country, folkrock till Lady Gaga och rock n'roll. Här finns något för alla smaker. Kanske blir nästa steg att erövra Eurovision Song Contest. Numera är det ju helt OK att sjunga på sitt modersmål.

Alexander Rybak får allt se upp så han inte blir utkonkurrerad av talangfulla Mikaela och Paulina Storbacka som river av "Fairytale" och annan virtuos fiolmusik utan att blinka.



Video: Lilian
Bild, logga: Kurt Gertrudz