As usual, Christmas concerts will again take place after the corona. The concerts have been well attended, but tickets are left to the last minute.
– Are there men in the audience? Usually when you don’t make any noise.
The singer knows how to relax even the stiffest of church audiences. She has been performing Christmas concerts in churches for ten years.
The church was initially an unusual place for a wedding musician to perform.
– It was very exciting and challenging. Didn’t know what to do. And by the way, the audience didn’t know either. It was very fun and that you can clap. Today it is much more free.
The singer’s heaven with Christmas music already started with the Hard Christmas project almost 20 years ago. Heavy versions of well-known Christmas carols sank into the hearts of Finns both on records and at concerts.
Over the years, Hard Christmas has become part of the Finnish Christmas tradition. Ahola is rarely involved anymore, because his own Christmas career opened up for him.
Ahola’s version of *Sylvia’s Christmas song* led to the singer’s own Christmas album *Ave Maria – Joulun klassikot* (2012). Two years later, a sequel appeared with the album *Guardian angel – Christmas classics 2*.
The Christmas music took its toll, and Ahola still can’t seem to understand it.
– 11 years ago, I would not have believed that something like this would happen. In steel concrete, you went without a shirt and you were very metal. It was quite a change, but life takes and what can it do.
Jarkko Ahola performs mostly traditional Christmas songs in his Christmas concerts. Audience favorites include *Guardian Angel*, *Ave Maria* and *O Christmas Eve*.
On this year’s tour, the singer interprets more than the dark Christmas songs loved by Finns.
Since the world situation is already dark enough, he sings lighter American classics such as *Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas* and *Winter Wonderland.*
In Ahola’s opinion, there is a special order for Christmas music at this time.
– Life ends sometimes and everyone knows it. Now that it’s so present in the news, it’s getting serious. People certainly feel that they need to seek that support, security and understanding from somewhere, so why not Christmas carols.
Christmas concerts are in high demand
Christmas concerts have been organized normally again after the corona years. Most of the hundreds of concerts are held in churches, and there have been enough audiences wanting the Christmas atmosphere.
Corona, however, left its mark on people’s ticket purchases. Decisions about going to the concert are made at the last minute. This has been noticed in the Warner Music Live program office, which organizes about a hundred Christmas concerts this year.
This year’s Christmas concert season was dimmed by the bankruptcy of RH Entertainment, one of Finland’s largest event organizers. As a result, 11, or almost half, of the concerts of the popular Hard Christmas tour had to be cancelled. This in turn created more uncertainty for the audience, who were already planning to go to the concert until the last few meters.