Pia Leinonen and Joni Tiala are making their way from New York City south to the Florida Keys and east to California, driving about 10,000 miles in a rental van. Their dressing rooms are frequently campsites.
Leinonen and Tiala make up the Finnish folk duo Vellamo, which performed Sunday afternoon at the High Springs Branch Library. An audience of about 50 people sang to the traditional Finnish songs and “It Ain’t Me Babe” by Bob Dylan.
Leinonen, 33, and Tiala, 35, stay for free in state parks across the country and trade concerts for accommodations. They said they are enjoying the beauty of Florida parks and the small, historic towns.
The songs they performed told of friendship, love troubles and even moonshine.
Vellamo produced two albums of traditional Finnish folk music. Its most recent album, a collection of traditional songs, hasn’t been released in Finland yet, but the High Springs Branch Library has one copy in circulation.
Alicia and Carl Myers, of Trenton, both attended the library-sponsored concert. Alicia Myers said they regularly attend library-sponsored concerts, and Carl Myers said they enjoyed the afternoon because of the folk music influences.
Alicia Myers raised her hand and asked for an encore. In response, the band played a loud, bouncy Swedish song followed by applause.
“This was one of the best concerts,” Leinonen said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/3/2014 under the headline "Touring Finnish band plays High Springs library concert"]
