Finland’s Flow Festival has announced the first artists for its 21st edition, once again taking over select venues in and around the iconic Suvilahti Power Plant in downtown Helsinki. From August 14-16, 2026, the festival will present a characteristically eclectic lineup that brings together diverse scenes from around the world for a three-day celebration of contemporary pop culture.

The first artists unveiled today represent some of the most popular, groundbreaking and enduring voices in hip-hop, pop, rock, hardcore, techno, house and more, reiterating Flow’s reputation as a meeting place for scenes, styles, and cultures.

Generational icons and future classics

Leading the list of international names come two quietly radical artists, whose enduring presence in the charts over the past 15 years belies their experimental nature. Florence + the Machine sees the return of a true icon to Flow, whose emotionally charged lit-rock has inspired a generation of songwriters to be themselves, unapologetically; while Sweden’s Zara Larsson’s surface pop perfection belies a deep understanding of dance music history, and to whose back catalog, hyperpop owes a surprising debt.

Also announced are two contemporary pop icons from different sides of the Atlantic, both making their Flow Festival debuts. London’s PinkPantheress, has dominated the internet in 2025 thanks to the diabolically catchy ‘Illegal’, a track that, with its nods to UK garage and the hardcore continuum, showed her as an artist uniquely in command of the zeitgeist. Similarly flipping the script, New York’s Sombr has emerged from the shadows of bedroom pop as a generational songwriter, whose I Barely Know Her, marries confessional Gen-Z ennui with an ear for ecstatic earworms inspired by everything from new-wave to disco via glam rock.

The starting lineup also includes the long awaited reunion of Pusha T and Malice as Clipse, the pioneering rap duo whose stripped back, gritty ‘coke-rap’ has had an outsized influence on many of the most interesting sub-genres that have come to define the form, from Atlanta trap to UK drill. 15 years after their last studio outing, the brothers return to the international stage with Let God Sort ‘Em Out, once again produced by long-term collaborator Pharrell.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds pass through Helsinki after two years on the road in support of their critically acclaimed Wild God LP. Consistently rated as one of the best live acts in the world, the band, featuring Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood and Cave’s long time creative foil Warren Ellis, will be performing tracks from their more than four decades soundtracking a changing world. And, in a world more divided than ever, two bands on this year’s lineup represent the power of righteous anger to bring us all together, with the sheer hardcore assault of Turnstile – capable of turning even the biggest stages into an intimate and inclusive mosh-pit worthy of Minor Threat or Youth of Today – while Lambrini Girls speak to the girls-to-the-front ethos running through punk music from The Slits to Peaches via Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrl movement of the mid 90s. Say it with me “C.U.N.T.Y!”

As perhaps the most popular genre of our time, electronic and dance music continues to influence artists from across the world, as reflected in this first announcement. Ireland’s ambassador for emotional hard-techno KETTAMA proves why he’s one of the hottest names on the scene following his recent collaboration with Fred Again..; genre outlier Oklou’s songwriting prowess and production skills on Choke Enough all but guarantee her influence over future generations of artists; whilst Honey Dijon promises to deliver a masterclass in the Black, queer roots of the artform with a set that allows equal time for house and disco classics and the harder, techno-adjacent Chicago sound. Elsewhere, Neapolitan dance music historians, Nu Genea’s continuing exploration on the influence of African musics on the sound of their home town will be brought to life through their explosive Live band performance.

Where scenes flow together

Helsinki has always been a meeting place for styles and cultures, and the Finnish artists in this announcement show a genre-agnostic approach rooted in unparalleled musicality. Local highlights for 2026 include neo-pop chanteuse Vesta, and alt-rock revivalists Pearly Drops, along with a selection of artists that demonstrates the incredible diversity of the local scene – from the Euro dance and rap-inflected avant-pop of Olga, through to the emo-trap of louna0nline passing through living legends such as folk icon J. Karjalainen, to breakout stars such as Jaakko Kulta and Arppa 8-pack – it’s clear that no genre is off limits in a city that embraces difference as a point of pride.

Artists Announced 2/12 (A-Z)

Ares
Arppa 8-pack
asla jo
Clipse
DJ Kridlokk: Hai
Florence + The Machine
Honey Dijon (tbc)
Jaakko Kulta
J. Karjalainen
KETTAMA
Lambrini Girls
Louie Blue
louna0nline
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Nu Genea Live Band
Oklou
Olga
Pearly Drops
PinkPantheress
Sombr
Turnstile
Vesta
Zara Larsson