Blues-rock guitarist Erja Lyytinen promises 'old gems and new tunes for a rocking 100 minutes' at live Sheffield show

Erja’s live gig at The Greystones pub on April 8 is one of 11 dates across the UK and the Finnish musician is looking forward to sharing her compositions. She said: “I´m especially excited about the fact that we will be renewing our set list with songs from our new album! We will perform old gems and new tunes for a rocking 100 minutes on stage. Expect a lot of slide guitar playing. I´m also planning to take a few more new guitars with me on tour.”

Her new studio album, Smell the Roses, is released on March 28. Erja said: “The message is simple - wake up and Smell the Roses. There’s so much beauty in the world, so why don’t we stop and enjoy it rather than fighting and wanting more."

At the close of 2024, the Queen of the Slide Guitar released a new live album titled 20 Years of Blues Rock! The concert recording was captured in her hometown of Helsinki, during an evening that celebrated a musical milestone – that being the 20th anniversary of the release of Erja’s debut solo album Wildflower.

Last year was a busy one for Erja who spent a large part of it writing songs from Smell The Roses.

Erja spent a large part of 2024 writing songs for Smell the Roses. She also toured the UK during the springtime. “It was so cool to meet my friends and fans at several club and festival gigs during those two weeks,” she said. “Stopping along the way to take in the breathtaking scenery in Scotland, going to tea houses and enjoying a pint or two was lovely. “The most exciting part was probably when I finally got to drive in the UK in the left sided traffic! That had been something I wanted to do on all my UK tours. I drove six hours from York to Southampton! That box is now “checked” on my to-do-list.”

In the latter part of 2024 Erja appeared in The Masked Singer on Finnish TV where she made it through to the finals. She said: “ My character was Skeleton, and I got to sing cool songs like Master of Puppets by Metallica, Running up That Hill, by Kate Bush and Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. I recorded my version of the latter as a single.”

Tickets for Erja’s gig at The Greystones in Sheffield cost £24.20 (including booking fee), go to https://wegottickets.com/event/636926