Turku Music Festival brings the festival atmosphere to the heart of the city – new Music Oasis opens at Market Square

This summer, the Turku Music Festival will be seen and heard across the city in a whole new way. During the August festival weeks, Music Oasis will be created at Turku Market Square for the first time – the festival’s own meeting place, inviting visitors to pause and enjoy the atmosphere in the heart of the summer city.

Music Oasis is a new initiative by the Turku Music Festival, designed to bring the festival closer to the people of Turku. Throughout the festival, taking place from 1–21 August, Music Oasis will serve as a welcoming meeting place where visitors can explore the festival programme, meet fellow festivalgoers, or simply relax and enjoy music and the summer atmosphere.

– We want the Turku Music Festival to be more visible and more present across the city than ever before. Music Oasis is an open and welcoming meeting place where local residents, visitors and festivalgoers can pause for a moment, enjoy music, meet one another and discover the festival’s concerts. At its best, the festival begins at Market Square, through shared encounters before anyone even steps into a concert hall, says Jussi Merikanto, CEO of the Turku Music Festival.

Music Oasis is home to the festival’s ticket sales and information point, where visitors can purchase tickets for the August concerts. The area also features a HiFi Klubben listening station, offering visitors the opportunity to experience high-quality sound reproduction while discovering the festival programme. The soundscape of Music Oasis has been designed by Turku Music Festival Artistic Director Lauri Porra, who is equally renowned in the worlds of classical music, rock and film music.

Music Oasis is home to the festival’s ticket sales and information point, where visitors can purchase tickets for the August concerts. The area also features a HiFi Klubben listening station, offering visitors the opportunity to experience high-quality sound reproduction while discovering the festival programme. The soundscape of Music Oasis has been designed by Turku Music Festival Artistic Director Lauri Porra, who is equally renowned in the worlds of classical music, rock and film music.

– One of the Turku Music Festival’s core objectives is to create meaningful encounters between people and music. With Music Oasis, we aim to make those experiences more accessible and lower the threshold for people to engage with the festival. While the concerts are naturally at the heart of the Turku Music Festival, I believe it is just as important to bring the festival beyond the concert halls and into the everyday life of the city. Music Oasis makes exactly that possible: experiencing music as part of daily life, without barriers or a ticket. I hope everyone in Turku will have the chance to enjoy what the festival has to offer and feel that it belongs to them, says Porra.

Music Oasis will pulse with the rhythm of the festival throughout August. The programme includes relaxed concerts, artist talks, discussions and other unexpected encounters.

Every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 AM, Music Oasis hosts a Morning Kick-off, where Jussi Merikanto welcomes festival artists, partners and other inspiring guests for informal conversations. Each session also features live music.

Music Oasis opens on 31 July and will remain at Turku Market Square until 21 August. It is generally open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, on Wednesdays from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and on Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Detailed opening hours and the weekly programme will be published throughout the festival on the Music Oasis programme page and the Turku Music Festival’s social media channels.

Music Oasis is presented in collaboration with the City of Turku, Turku Market Square, HiFi Klubben, Väriset, Kirkkopuiston Terassi, Ent, AdWorks, Naantalin Aurinkoinen, Lootus Puutarha, Flör and the creative agency 4D.

The Turku Music Festival takes place from 1–21 August 2026. More information about the festival programme and concerts is available on our website.

Maaria Toskala
Production Manager, Turku Music Festival
maaria.toskala@tmj.fi
+358 (0)40 059 5926

Heli Koskinen
Head of Sales and Marketing, Turku Music Festival
heli.koskinen@tmj.fi
+358 (0)40 820 3205