Erja Lyytinen has been making a name for herself as “the queen of slide guitar” and one of the world’s top blues guitarists for 20 years since her debut album “Wildflower” was released in 2003. Thus, it was time to reminisce about the years gone by on Wednesday, October 18th, 2023. With a mouthwatering lineup of top musicians on stage and an interesting assortment of songs from the different stages of Lyytinen‘s career, we naturally headed to Tavastia in Helsinki to see what the night had to offer.
From start to finish, the night demonstrated that a top talent like Lyytinen also owes a lot to the top musicians backing her on stage. The lights naturally focused on Lyytinen throughout the night, but whenever the other players took the spotlight for a moment, it was evident that there were top players on stage all through the night.
However, Lyytinen opened the night solo, playing a resonator guitar and showing that she can handle a stage all by herself too. Next, she was accompanied by Davide Floreno and Timo Tuppurainen, the players from the 2003 album “Wildflowers.” Throughout the night, players kept rotating on the stage. The first half of the show was more focused on history and visitors, such as the fantastic Heikki Silvennoinen. The second half of the show was more about Lyytinen‘s current-day lineup, featuring Tatu Back on bass and Iiro Laitinen on drums.
During the night at Tavastia, Erja Lyytinen displayed her versatility by playing songs from classic blues to the more modern blues-rock sounds she is perhaps better known for. What makes Lyytinen interesting as a blues guitarist and songwriter is not only her superb technical playing but also the courage she has in combining classic and modern elements in both her compositions and the sounds she uses.
The 20th-anniversary show we witnessed left no question about Lyytinen‘s quality as an entertainer who can hold an audience at her fingertips and a blues force capable of gathering top co-players around her act.
Photos by Arto Alho
