Aknestik
Aknestik was founded in the summer of 1986 on route to Roskilde, where its founding members, Kai Latvalehto and Jukka Takalo, were headed to see Sielun Veljet (who never were scheduled to play at the festival) and The Replacements (whose entire European tour had been cancelled—news that, regrettably, never reached the blockheads from Haukipudas).
The band’s 40th anniversary will be marked with a special performance at the 2G Festival. Aknestik’s wild years came to a halt in 2002 under dubious circumstances, yet in recent times they have performed with sporadic regularity—largely because the prevailing view, also outside the band, is that they are in finer form than ever before.
Latvalehto has, in a sense, lumped a career out of his Sweden-Finnish heritage; he was named the Sweden-Finn of the Year in 2013, thanks to the documentary Finnish Blood Swedish Heart. Meanwhile, Takalo—world championer of air guitar—also has genuine Sweden-Finnish roots, having been born in Skinnskatteberg, Sweden, as the son of a miner.