Take one part blues traditionalist, blend it with a forward-thinking music academy graduate, serve with a side order of skill and a garnish of Nordic beauty. What have you got? Singer/guitarist Erja Lyytinen, a.k.a. “the Finnish slide goddess” (The Blues Magazine).

Since first stepping foot in a recording studio nearly 15 years ago, Erja Lyytinen has become a bona fide star in her homeland and a celebrated fixture on the international music scene. In that time, she has recorded nine studio albums in places as diverse as Helsinki, Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi, earning numerous awards and honors along the way. She feels equally at home playing traditional and modern blues, but has never been afraid to incorporate styles like jazz, pop and soul into her songwriting. Even motherhood hasn’t slowed her down: Her most recent album, the Elmore James tribute The Sky Is Crying – recorded a few months before she gave birth to twins – has been universally hailed as her best and bluesiest to date. “With The Sky Is Crying, Erja has seemingly achieved the impossible by both sounding like Elmore as he played in the 1950’s whilst adding her unique flair and 21st century vista,” wrote Blues In Britain in a glowing review.

Born into a musical family in the town of Kuopio, Lyytinen quickly emerged as an artist to watch in her native country. She signed with Germany’s prestigious Ruf Records label in 2005 and recorded her international debut Pilgrimage later that year. Her participation in the 2006 Blues Caravan tour gave audiences outside of Finland a first taste of her spirited live performances and led to a string of successful appearances in the United States.