Joensuun Popmuusikot ry – In English
Joensuun Popmuusikot ry (Joensuu Pop Musician’s Association) is a non-profit live music association founded in 1971. The association’s goal is to promote and support pop music in North Karelia and to elevate its artistic level. The association carries out its core mission by awarding grants to local musicians three times a year.
Joensuun Popmuusikot ry is also known as the organizer of Finland’s largest music film festival, Rokumentti. Additionally, the association is known as the owner of Ilosaarirock Festival, one of Europe's oldest and Finland's largest music festivals, as well as Joensuun Töminä Oy, which operates the beloved Joensuu-based venue and restaurant, Kerubi.
Our goals
We organize the largest festival in Eastern Finland, the renowned Ilosaarirock, which has been held continuously since 1971. We use the profits to promote and support popular music in North Karelia in order to make Joensuu a better place to live.
Our values
- All music is valuable — the association was founded out of love for music.
- The association exists for live music — the cultural heart of the region is shaped by local music enthusiasts.
- We make North Karelia a better place to live — the association supports and advocates for the local grassroots music scene, creating opportunities for its growth.
- All music enthusiasts are welcome — everyone is treated equally, regardless of status, skin color, gender, or age.
- We take responsibility — our operations are transparent, open, and ethical, always putting the interests of local music enthusiasts first.
- We aim to leave behind a stronger association — a vibrant advocate for music culture, now and for generations to come!
Our mission
We promote and support the pursuit of popular music in North Karelia while striving to elevate its artistic quality.
Our vision
We foster and nurture a live music culture that delivers unforgettable experiences to everyone equally and safely — standing firmly on its own two feet.
What we do
Our fund
The Joensuu Pop Musicians Association Fund was established in 1997 using proceeds from Ilosaarirock Festival.
Since its founding, the fund has awarded a total of over 400 000 euros to support popular music and culture in North Karelia.
The fund promotes popular music in North Karelia by awarding grants to musicians and practitioners three times a year. In addition to regular grants, a special grant is available for women and non-binary individuals.
As of now, the grant application is only available in Finnish. You can see all past grant recipients here.
Rokumentti Rock Film Festival
Rokumentti is a film festival focused on music-related movies. Held in the darkest days of November, Rokumentti offers five sensory-packed days of films, concerts, and unique experiences. First-time attendees are often amazed by the countless premieres, outstanding gigs, fascinating guests, and thrilling films that can’t be seen elsewhere. Rokumentti is considered the largest music film event in the Nordic countries.
The festival began in 2005 as part of a project managed by North Karelia University of Applied Sciences, with Joensuu Pop Musicians Association overseeing production from the start. By 2007, the association took full responsibility for organizing the event.
At its heart, Rokumentti is defined by a high-quality, bold, and surprising film selection, curated with great care and thought. Over the years, the festival has also featured captivating guests, seminars, arena concerts, vinyl fairs, sing-along screenings, and even outdoor screenings where attendees could enjoy films from a hot tub in the chilly November air.
Rokumentti is a cherished cultural highlight in Joensuu, brightening the darkest season of the year for local culture enthusiasts.
Ilosaarirock Festival and Kerubi
Joensuun Popmuusikot ry is also the proud, independent and sole owner of Ilosaarirock Festival and Joensuu-based venue and restaurant Kerubi.
You can read more about the festival and Kerubi on their own websites.
History
Joensuun Popmuusikot ry was founded on the 20th of July, 1971. The founding members were concerned about the limited concert opportunities in the surrounding areas and the lack of collaboration between local musicians. The members got to work, and the association’s first event was held the following month in Ilosaari, Joensuu. The event, called Rockrieha, is also known as the first ever Ilosaarirock. The 1970’s had a lot of financial difficulties for the association, but in 1979, it acquired its first permanent business premises.
In the 1980s, the work of Popmuusikot was rewarded with the success of Joensuu- based bands in Finnish music competitions. In 1981 a large stage and a professional sound system were brought into Ilosaari for the first time. During the 80’s the association saw a lot of financial difficulties, and its debt increased. Attempts were made to remedy the situation by changing the name of the festival into Ilosaaripop and selecting a lighter program for the event, but at the end of the decade, the association’s board had to ask the city for financial support.
The year 1990 for the association was one of a fight for survival. However, the successful Ilosaarirock in 1990 and a fundraising concert helped the association to carry on with its activities. The City of Joensuu granted support for organizing the 20th anniversary of Ilosaarirock in 1991. Due to the occasion, the festival was held for the first time on Laulurinne, which later became the permanent venue for the festival. Ilosaarirock was profitable for the first time in a long while, and by 1995, the debts had been paid. Ilosaarirock's success story was ready to begin. After the mid-1990s, Ilosaarirock began to host international bands, and the number of visitors increased considerably. The improved financial situation made it possible to support local bands as well. In 1996, the board decided to buy the Restaurant Kerubi in a narrow vote.
At the turn of the millennium, in the 00’s, the association was in a good financial position, thanks to successful management. In the previous decade, Ilosaarirock had risen to the big leagues of Finnish festivals — tickets were sold out in advance each summer. The association could afford to hire year-round staff and had resources to focus on activities other than organizing Ilosaarirock. A major project at the beginning of the millennium was to find a new location for Kerubi, which was forced to close its doors due to renovations. Over the decade, the association took part in various regional and cultural development projects and its operations became more professional. The association received international recognition for reducing Ilosaarirock’s environmental load.
In the early 2010’s, after a lot of planning, the association opened a restaurant and concert venue in Karjalantalo in the original Ilosaari, where the first Rockrieha was held in 1971. In addition to concerts, the new Kerubi also provided movie and theater shows, stand-up evenings, DJ shows, a nightclub, and various corporate events. Competition in the festival industry grew fiercer during the decade as it became more international, and Ilosaarirock’s success could not be taken for granted. A number of successful reforms were made to the festival; the area was expanded, and the festival extended to three days in 2017. New visitor records were set again.
Ilosaarirock’s 50th anniversary year was marked by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 festival had to be canceled, just like the previous summer's event. However, the long history of both the festival and the association was celebrated safely through virtual events. In 2022, Ilosaarirock returned to Joensuu’s Laulurinne, achieving the highest attendance in its history with 71,000 visitors.
In 2024, Joensuun Popmuusikot ry made the decision to incorporate Ilosaarirock. The change in the festival’s operating structure aimed to safeguard the future of the association’s and the festival’s assets and rights, support the development of the association’s non-profit activities, and enable the continuous growth of the festival’s business operations in an ever-evolving environment. In an extra general meeting held in June, the association’s members unanimously approved the decision to incorporate the festival, separating it from the association’s activities. Ilosaarirock Oy was officially established in November 2024.
With the incorporation, both the association and the festival are entering a new era. Joensuun Popmuusikot ry continues to focus on its mission of promoting, supporting, and elevating the artistic level of pop music in North Karelia, while the festival is now organized by the limited company. Despite the separation, Joensuun Popmuusikot ry remains the sole owner of Ilosaarirock, and the festival continues to share the association’s values.