Erja Lyytinen: 50th Birthday Bash Live 2026 Review
Finnish blues-rocker Erja Lyytinen, dubbed the ‘Queen of Slide Guitar,’ certainly knows how to celebrate in true rock and roll style. Her new album, 50th Birthday Live 2026 isn’t just a party marking her milestone. At over two hours long, including 27 songs, it provides the musical backdrop to anyone looking to host a high-energy birthday bash.
The Finnish veteran rocks the offering from start to finish. Blistering guitar solos, especially her renowned slide guitar passages, prove she is a match for her counterparts in a male-dominated genre. From Southern rock to heavy metal to punk, there are a lot of influences here but through it all she is able to maintain her signature sound.
This assessment is backed by international accolades including being awarded “Best Guitarist” at the 2017 European Blues Awards. Lyytinen was the first Finnish artist to be nominated for the “BB King International Artist of the Year” at the Maple Blues Awards in Canada in 2022.
Drop the needle almost anywhere and you’ll be met with a wall of brazen rock and roll. But there are some tender moments too, like her offering of “Lullaby,” containing melodic slide work, and ballad, “Empty Hours.”
The release is actually a two-volume set that also includes Smell the Roses Live 2025. The Birthday album includes 15 tracks and an intro, while the Roses contribution includes 11 more.
The studio version of Smell the Roses, released in March 2025, was ranked #6 on the UK’s Independent Blues Broadcasters in April.
The album is set to be released on October 9 but a single, “One Thing I Won’t Change,” is available on YouTube. It features Sami Yaffa best known as a punk, glam-rock bassist with icons Joan Jett, Hanoi Rocks, and the New York Dolls. Here, he contributes bass guitar and backing vocals.
Besides Lyytinen on guitar and vocals and guest Yaffa on bass, the band includes Jesse Lehto on drums. Harri Taittonen plays Hammond and Heikki Saarenkunnas is on bass, with both providing additional backing vocals.
And Swedish banjo punk/blues group Baskery are featured on the song, “Torn.” The song reminds North American fans that forays by Blues Rock Review into Northern Europe often uncover musical gems like this one and others, like Denmark’s Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado, Dom Martin from Ireland and John Lindberg of Sweden.
The Live album was recorded at the House of Culture, known as “Kultsa” in Helsinki, Finland back in March. Production of the collection is very good but it also maintains the blemishes of a live show, complete with guitar feedback as well as audience participation.
The album is a great collection for all of her fans. It offers some deep cuts and avoids hits like “It Hurts Me Too,” and “Heartstrings.” Effortlessly switching between her native Finnish and English, Lyytinen serves up plenty to offer new as well as existing fans, especially on this side of the Atlantic.
The Review 8/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Ball and Chain
– Hard as Stone
– The Ring
– Torn
– Smell The Roses
– One Thing I Won’t Change
The Big Hit
– One Thing I Won’t Change
