Erja Lyytinen announces “50th Birthday Live 2026” album

Finnish blues rock guitarist Erja Lyytinen will celebrate her 50th birthday with a new live release, Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026, arriving October 9 via Tuohi Records.

The package will be available as a double CD, double vinyl and full-length DVD, documenting Lyytinen’s 50th birthday concert at the House of Culture, also known as Kultsa, in Helsinki, Finland, on March 21, 2026.

The historic Helsinki venue has hosted a long list of major artists over the years, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Slayer.

The first single from the upcoming release is a live version of “One Thing I Won’t Change,” featuring former Hanoi Rocks and New York Dolls bassist Sami Yaffa. Yaffa also contributes backing vocals to the performance.

Originally appearing on Lyytinen’s 2012 album Forbidden Fruit, “One Thing I Won’t Change” was rearranged for the birthday concert. Yaffa, who has also worked with Joan Jett, joined Lyytinen and her band for the performance.

The approximately 90-minute birthday concert features material spanning Lyytinen’s career, including songs from Voracious Love, Another World and her most recent studio album, Smell the Roses.

The show begins with an introduction from Lyytinen’s twin sons, Massimo and Dante, before the band launches into “The Road Leading Home” and “Ball and Chain.” The set also includes recent material such as “Smell the Roses” and “Going to Hell,” along with older songs including “Bird,” “Cherry Overdrive” and “Nasty Weather.”

“Nasty Weather” originally appeared on Lyytinen’s Dreamland Blues, which was recorded in Mississippi in 2006 with Kinney and David Kimbrough. The song returned to the stage for the birthday performance 20 years later.

Swedish group Baskery also appears during the concert, joining Lyytinen for a performance of “Torn.” Other highlights include a solo slide guitar performance of “Lullaby,” along with “Another World,” which features an audience singalong.

The birthday concert closes with “Stoney Creek” and an encore performance of “The Ring.”

In addition to the Helsinki performance, the live package includes a second concert recorded during Lyytinen’s Smell the Roses album release tour in October 2025 at Tempo in Mikkeli, Finland.

That performance includes all of the songs from Smell the Roses, including “Dragonfly,” “Abyss,” “Empty Hours” and “Wings to Fly.” The set also features “You Talk Dirty” and a 13-minute version of “Wedding Day.” The latter originally appeared on Another World and featured slide guitarist Sonny Landreth on the studio recording.

Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026 will be released October 9 through Tuohi Records.

TRACK LISTING

50TH BIRTHDAY LIVE 2026

CD/DVD

1. Introduction by Massimo & Dante (0:50)
2. The Road Leading Home (1:21)
3. Ball and Chain (4:55)
4. Smell the Roses (5:29)
5. Going to Hell (5:28)
6. Hard as Stone (4:48)
7. Bird (6:46)
8. One Thing I Won’t Change featuring Sami Yaffa (4:19)
9. Another World (7:23)
10. Torn featuring Baskery (3:54)
11. Lullaby (2:03)
12. Nasty Weather (4:01) (DVD only)
13. Cherry Overdrive (5:59)
14. Don’t Let a Good Woman Down (4:01)
15. You Talk Dirty (6:51)
16. Stoney Creek (7:45)
17. The Ring (7:12)

SMELL THE ROSES LIVE 2025

CD

1. Ball and Chain (4:48)
2. Smell the Roses (4:55)
3. Dragonfly (7:54)
4. Going to Hell (5:00)
5. Abyss (7:24)
6. Stoney Creek (6:09)
7. The Ring (7:10)
8. Empty Hours (5:08)
9. Wings to Fly (7:00)
10. You Talk Dirty (8:52)
11. Wedding Day (13:19)