Fresh off their 4th place finish at the Eurovision Song Contest, the Fenno-Swedish comedy and music group KAJ kicked off their extensive Sauna Tour at Gröna Lund in Stockholm. The amusement park was packed with KAJ fans, both long-time Finland-Swedish fans as well as newer recruits who found the group through their participation in Melodifestivalen.
The Ostrobothnian group consisting of Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman and Jakob Norrgård have risen to fame not just in Sweden but also in their native Finland during this spring. They have pretty much charmed everybody with their wholesome sauna fun, comedic talent and strong cultural identity.
At Gröna Lund KAJ took the audience on a journey through some of their most beloved songs. They jumped from dansband to latin rhythms and opera to KajPop with ease. The crowd was singing along to Karar i arbeit, a comedic yet affectionat anthem about men doing manual labour. The latin banger satirizing the Nordic obsession with Tex-Mex cuisine, Taco Hej, was delivered with spice-shaker dance moves.
One of the highlights of the evening was Jåo nåo e ja jåo yolo ja nåo, the band’s fun take on the YOLO mindset. Pa to ta na kako? was another fan favorite showcasing KAJ’s linguistic playfulness. While the title may sound like gibberish to outsiders, it is a comedic twist on dialectal expressions from their home region.
KAJ of course wrapped up their show with their breakthrough Melodifestivalen winner Bara bada bastu, which inevitably brought the house down. Dancers in sauna towels joined the trio on stage for the energetic finale. The crowd cheered, laughed and danced along. For a moment there everything was – in KAJs own words – hot, loud and beautiful, just like a sauna!
The Sauna Tour is taking the trio all around Sweden and Finland this summer, so make sure you catch them!
Here are some more of our favorite pictures from the show captured by our resident Eurovision fan Nina Uddin.
All photos © Nina Uddin
