Sommelo Folk Music Festival 2024
Ritva Nero – Headbanging Folk Group from Finland
Ritva Nero is a Finnish band founded in Helsinki in 2017 that performs headbanging folk music. True to their style—Party Metal Folk—the band's music blends 19th-century folk traditions with the distorted bass and heavy
drums of metal music.
The band is currently working on its new Haudasta kaivettu / Exhumed repertoire, fronted by the explosive vocal duo Laura Maria Rinta and Erika Hammarberg. The themes draw from history as the
band dances in the devil's teaching, unearthing everything from shepherd's music and the ghosts of folklore collectors to the oral history of the fictional character Ritva Nero. Through interviews and memories,
the band's enigmatic namesake weaves together the stories of countless individuals.
Ritva Nero has had audiences dancing at festivals in Finland, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland—their shows have featured everything from mosh pits to mazurka! The band's debut album, Immortal Tradition
(Bafe's Factory), released in 2022, also sparked international interest and has received radio play on numerous programs in Europe and North America.
Laura Maria Rinta – Vocals
Erika Hammarberg – Vocals, Hurdy-Gurdy
Santte Salonen – Soprano Saxophone, Hurdy-Gurdy
Janne Ojajärvi – Harmonica, Jew's harp, Overtone Flute
Emilia Lajunen – Nyckelharpa
Jani Snellman – Bass
Patrik Fält – Drums
Digital single Bombschottische out 9th of October, 2026.
Digital single Trepatska Thrasher out 22nd of October 2021.
Debut album Immortal Tradition out 14th of January, 2022.
Album Immortal Tradition has entered the World Music Charts 2022:
World Music Chart Europe: February #11, March #12
Transglobal World Music Chart: February #37, March #36
Listen to Ritva Nero on Spotify