Visual kei, abbreviated v-kei, is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of Bounce wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it "revolves around the creation of a band's unique worldview and/or stylistic beauty through visual expressions in the form of makeup and fashion". While visual kei acts can be of any music genre, it originated with bands influenced by glam rock, heavy metal, punk rock and gothic rock.
Don Johnson Big Band is an alternative hip hop group from Helsinki, Finland. Their music blends influences from a variety of genres such as electronic music, funk, rock, jazz and hip hop.
Breaking Daylight is the second album by Finnish hip hop group Don Johnson Big Band. It topped the Finnish album charts and has been certified Platinum in Finland. Both singles released from the album reached top-ten on the singles chart.
Raviv Chanan "Ricky" Ullman is an Israeli-American actor, director, and musician. He is best known for playing Phil Diffy, the main character in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future.
Carlton "Santa" Davis is a musician from Jamaica, primarily known for his drumming with bands such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Aggrovators, Soul Syndicate and Roots Radics. He has worked with reggae artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Big Youth, The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Andrew Tosh, Wailing Souls, Ini Kamoze, Big Mountain, Michael Rose, and Ziggy Marley.
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
Leroy Smart is a reggae singer-songwriter and record producer from Kingston, Jamaica.
Roy Anthony Johnson, better known simply as Anthony Johnson, is a Jamaican reggae musician who was a member of the group Mystic I and is known for the 1980s hit song "Gunshot".
Tommy Whittle was a British jazz saxophonist.
The Ilosaarirock Festival is an annual rock festival held on the second weekend of July in Joensuu, Eastern Finland. Founded in 1971, Ilosaarirock is the second oldest rock festival in Finland still active, and one of the oldest in Europe. In 2007 the event had 21,000 daily visitors. The festival sold out in advance every year from 1998 to 2011.
Phil Dwyer is a Canadian jazz saxophonist, pianist, composer, producer and educator. In 2017 he graduated from the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Faculty of Law in Fredericton, New Brunswick and was called to the bar of British Columbia in 2018. Dwyer is Member of the Order of Canada, having been invested in 2013 "For his contributions to jazz as a performer, composer and producer, and for increasing access to music education in his community." Dwyer has been nominated for Juno Awards six times and won Best Mainstream Jazz Album in 1994 with Dave Young for Fables and Dreams and Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year in 2012 for the recording Changing Seasons. Dwyer has also appeared on Juno Award winning recordings with Hugh Fraser (1988), Joe Sealy (1997), Natalie MacMaster (2000), Guido Basso (2004), Don Thompson (2006), Molly Johnson (2009), Terry Clarke (2010), and Diana Panton (2015). He is an alumnus and Honorary Fellow of The Royal Conservatory of Music.
Pippi Longstocking is a Swedish children's novel by writer Astrid Lindgren, published by Rabén & Sjögren with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman in 1945. Translations have been published in more than 40 languages, commonly with new illustrations.
Loren Gold is an American keyboardist, vocalist, music director, and songwriter. Gold is a keyboardist and vocalist for the Who and Chicago. In addition, Gold has been the touring keyboardist and backup vocalist for Roger Daltrey since 2009. Gold also performs with Rita Wilson and has toured regularly with Don Felder since 2009. Other artists he has toured with include Kenny Loggins, Natalie Maines, and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. Gold has been musical director for pop stars Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Hilary Duff, and he continues to build and develop bands for other artists. Gold has published two instructional books through his collaboration with Alfred Music, and his original compositions have been featured on HBO and Showtime.
Ricky Rapper is a main character in a series of children's fantasy books and comic strips by Finnish writers Sinikka Nopola and Tiina Nopola. Ricky Rapper is a ten-year-old boy who likes to play drums. He lives in an apartment building with his aunt Serena Rapper.
GG Caravan is a Finnish rap and hip-hop group of artists and musicians from various formations. The group is a collective advocating anti-racism through music, concerts, music videos and public awareness campaigns.
Jeffrey E. Campbell, better known as Agent Sasco, and Assassin, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.
Carl-Johan Häggman is a Finnish composer, musician and multi-artist. He has also been working as a journalist for example at YLE. He has often worked together with his artist wife, the choreographer and director Marja Merisalo in different productions.
Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen is a Finnish jazz guitarist, pianist, composer, bandleader and producer. He is best known as bandleader and composer of the 20-headed Ricky-Tick Big Band and the award-winning jazz-sextet Dalindèo.
Timo Lassy is a Finnish jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He is best known for Timo Lassy Band with whom he has recorded 6 albums together. Prior to his solo career he was a member of U-Street All Stars and The Five Corners Quintet.
Felix Elmeri Zenger is a Finland-Swedish beatboxer and multiple freestyle footbag Finnish champion. Zenger formed the Iiro Rantala New Trio together with Iiro Rantala and Marzi Nyman. Zenger joined the Don Johnson Big Band in 2018.
