This fact was demonstrated most simply in the steady evolution of the Kelo tent – a third stage which has become a proving ground for experimental new projects at the festival, particularly from local musicians, offering completely alternative forms of music to the predominantly club programme. These aren’t at all side shows: I knew from previous years not to risk missing Grande Mahogany, despite the slot competing for time with Powder and CCL & Simo Cell. Fully in sync with the backing band, his funk-rock sound was a refreshing experience among a line-up of club acts; completely packed with smiles, the tent was barely able to contain the energy.  

Alongside offering quality ambient sets from Atte Elias Kantonen, Sky H1, and Torus, Kelo also provided the opportunity for more internationally-renowned artists to showcase new and different musical directions: upsammy’s tender and pensive live set tangled labyrinthine melodies into the bristling treetops, Maara debuted forthcoming material divided between downtempo and jungle, and Solstice mainstay Sansibar revealed a new alias, Sans-i, stamping slow motion trance with his bubbling electro fingerprint. 

Up the hill, away from the experimental tent, the Peak stage’s more industrial overtones set a consistent scene for some of the weekend’s crowd-drawing club acts, with energetic solo sets from x3butterfly, Courtesy, and BADSISTA, and special b2bs from Paula Koski & CEB, and CCL & Simo Cell. You could tell the latter had sparred before as they swept the crowd from blindsiding oddity to five-star curveball. 

Between the two extremes of the festival lies the Valley stage, a wooden platform facing out onto the forest that hosts a broad range of musical styles. A live performance from Dialog, the production duo of Samuel van Dijk (VC-118A) and Rasmus Hedlund, was among the highlights. I’d caught the pair’s instrumental ambient set in a boiling room in Barcelona back in March, but Solstice assembled them with Jamaican-born vocalist and collaborator Benji and his son Josei. The solid dubtechno foundation was the perfect warm-up for Darwin, who whisked the crowd through dubstep classics to drum ‘n’ bass.

It’s surprising how quickly one can cover the distance between the three stages, and from the festival site to the village, with such an unmissable line-up as motivation. The festival isn’t as sprawling as it first seems in relation to its environment, but good outdoor shoes are needed to flit around and catch a bit of everything on show.

Under Thursday’s blustery but sun-streaked skies, the Kelo stage opened with a bewitching multi-deck ambient opening set from e/tape, morphing into stepper-esque downtempo excellence from Oulu’s vinyl specialists, Otilia & Oivo. Meanwhile, Akanbi played a winning selection of sun-summoning gospel, funk, soul and reggae on the Valley stage’s open platform, until strengthening winds paved the way up to the walled protection of the Peak stage for Hewan Aman, who shelled out rough and syncopated dub sophistication.

The curated crescendo of the programme saw upsammy, Jane Fitz, and Lil’ Tony, Helsinki’s underground scenemaker, keeping every dancefloor brimming with the singular excitement of the first day of a festival. But, without the delineation of night and day, the excitement seems to only increase, and the order of memories becomes shuffled. Suddenly, all too soon, it’s Laurel Halo’s steady hand steering the wooden raft of the Valley in a constant rising arc towards Francesco Del Garda’s closing set, and Radiohead’s Everything In Its Right Place echoing in the chattering of the crowd trudging downhill for the final time.

Arriving on Wednesday evening, all forecasts had promised grey skies and rain for the week, but by the last day, the sun had cracked the grey veil completely. It was during Priori’s set when the low sun undercut the cloud shelf, beaming onto the dancers at the Peak stage. From the speakers, a voice repeated “eyes… open” – instructions against that instinct to steal a private, dark moment. Instead, strangers caught each other’s eyes in fellow amazement at what they were doing, in this far-flung place, with such incredible music flowing from the speakers. The cloud seemed to untether and drift over to the horizon, and we danced under heaven-sent blue skies for the rest of the festival. 

At a festival that celebrates our longest day, these moments have the aura of genuine magic. But it was in the blacked-out lodge serving as the official afterparty venue that I heard the highlight set of the festival: the closing b2b by the festival’s organising crew, the Post Bar Posse (Daniel Kayrouz, Denzel, Joni DJ, Justus Valtanen, with friends), which turned the whole place upside down. The final unforgettable moment of Solstice 2025: a tiny cabin on a cliff, shaking with stamping feet, screams, whistles and clapping hands, a cacophony of gratitude obliterating the stunned silence following the final track.