“Hello Flow!” cried Florence Welch sweetly as she took to the main stage of the Helsinki festival on Sunday night. “It’s funny saying that because it’s like my name,” she added, receiving an overwhelming cheer. Having spent the summer touring from country to country, enchanting crowds at festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, Florence and her machine found themselves in the incredibly unique locale of Helsinki’s disused power station. With its skate park, brewery and the power station itself, the old industrial area of Suvilahti was an impressive venue for both Flow and Flo.
Culminating a varied weekend line-up that featured everyone from Major Lazer to CHIC; Belle and Sebastian to Skepta; and Tyler, The Creator to Alt. J; Florence and her band were without a doubt the shooting stars of the festival. “Wherever we’re travelling and wherever we go, when we see you singing, we’re at home!” she told the audience, before beginning a set that both spanned the new album and brought back classics like the euphoric Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) and Dog Days. Anyone who has seen Florence perform will know that watching the British talent is spellbinding. As she danced, jumped and twirled about the stage barefoot, her long hair, oversized shirt and flares flowing, she inspired a whole journey of emotions. Dedicating How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful to Beck, who played the main stage before her, she explained that the song was inspired by Beck’s LA hometown, where the sky just so happens to be as big, blue and beautiful as it was right there and then in Helsinki.
Backed up by a wonderful band (brass and harp included), Florence was illuminated as she moved theatrically, taking the mood from euphoria to furious as What Kind Of Man saw her collapse in a passionate rage. The rage was soon forgotten as a new song began and the scene changed once more. “Take off an item of clothing and wave it like a flag!” she instructed her fans. “And take off any doubt or fear that you have and just love one another! Embrace one another! That’s why you’re here!” As the sun went down literally and figuratively on Flow Festival 2015, a fan held up a sign reading OUR QUEEN OF PEACE, and immediately everything made sense.