1. Erja Lyytinen began playing the guitar when she was 15 years old.
22 Facts About Erja Lyytinen
1. 2.
Erja Lyytinen returned to Finland to study music education at Sibelius Academy.
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Erja Lyytinen took part in Finland's MTV3 channel's series called Kulkuri ja Kaunottaret in 1999.
4.
On 10 November 2002 Erja Lyytinen was the opening act for Robert Plant, the former vocalist of Led Zeppelin.
5.
Erja Lyytinen has mentioned that the occasion is one of her most treasured concert memories.
6.
Erja Lyytinen was the only Finnish act to perform at "Puistoblues" in 2003, the biggest blues festival in Finland, where she played on the main stage.
7.
The artists Koko Taylor and Bonnie Raitt, two of her biggest influences and idols, performed at the festival, and Erja Lyytinen had the chance to meet Bonnie Raitt there.
8.
In 2006 Erja Lyytinen had a chance to record her next album Dreamland Blues in Oxford, Mississippi with local musicians.
9.
Erja Lyytinen has mentioned that she think of this record as her first "real" album as it was the first record to feature her own band.
10.
At the beginning of 2009 Erja Lyytinen toured again with "Ruf's Blues Caravan".
11.
In late 2010, Erja Lyytinen toured for five weeks with her band in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and England.
12.
Later in the same year, Erja Lyytinen graduated from Sibelius Academy with a master of music degree.
13.
In late 2012, Erja Lyytinen participated in the Finnish version of the Strictly Come Dancing TV show.
14.
In 2014, Erja Lyytinen released the album The Sky is Crying, which was a tribute to the music of Elmore James.
15.
Erja Lyytinen was awarded "The Artist of the Year" title in the Finnish Blues Awards.
16.
In 2017 Erja Lyytinen was voted as "The Best Guitarist of the Year" in the European Blues Awards.
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Erja Lyytinen took part in "Tahdet, Tahdet", a competitive music entertainment TV show on Finland's MTV3.
18.
Erja Lyytinen performed with Carlos Santana in front of 20,000 people at Kaisaniemi, Helsinki in 2018.
19.
Later in the same year, Erja Lyytinen performed in Canada with Downchild Blues Band, and with the actor Dan Aykroyd.
20.
On 21 November 2019, Erja Lyytinen was bestowed the prestigious "Savonmuan Hilima" award by the Savon Sanomat newspaper.
21.
The award carries a long tradition, but Erja Lyytinen was the first recipient to represent the popular music genre.
22.
Erja Lyytinen's autobiography called Blueskuningatar was released in Finland in November 2019.