Erja Lyytinen
New live single “Hard as Stone”
As part of her 50th Birthday celebrations, Finland’s undisputed “Queen of the Slide Guitar” Erja Lyytinen will release “Hard as Stone” – the second single taken from her upcoming highly anticipated double live album Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026.
Released
Wednesday September 9, 2026, “
Hard as Stone” is available on all streaming platforms
HERE. The official live video is available to stream on YouTube
HERE.
Released by
Tuohi Records on
Friday October 9th,
Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026 is available to pre-order on CD and vinyl
HERE, and digitally
HERE.
As part of her spectacular 50th Birthday celebrations, Erja is set to unleash a deluxe live album package featuring a double CD, double vinyl, and full-length DVD, capturing an unforgettable night at Helsinki, Finland’s prestigious House of Culture — affectionately known as “Kultsa” — on 21st March 2026. Steeped in rock history, the legendary venue hosted some of music’s most iconic names, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Slayer, making it the perfect setting for Erja’s landmark birthday concert.
Erja reflects on why she made “Hard as Stone” a part of the set list on her 50th Birthday album — “Hard as Stone is the second single from the live album, and I’m thrilled to have it back in the set list,” says Erja. “It has a force and personality all its own and stands apart from the rest of the songs.”
“In 2019, Hard as Stone first appeared on my studio album Another World, and it’s always been a track I’ve loved,” says Erja. “Since then, my guitar playing has evolved so much that I started to feel the original version was a little too sweet. I knew it was time to give it a tougher edge.”
Erja continues, “I changed some of the chords and drove them harder to give the track more punch — to make it truly hard as stone. I recently bought my first Floyd Rose-equipped guitar, a 1989 Kramer Nightswan, and it proved to be the perfect weapon for this song, especially for the Whammy Octave solo section and the heavier refrain.”
On the double live album, Erja’s amazing band backs her through this 90-minute-long concert full of old gems from her colourful career. The release features songs from albums such as Voracious Love, Another World, and the latest studio album Smell the Roses.
This is a heavy blues rock show with international stars. Erja brought her favourite artists to perform alongside her on the show. Swedish banjo punk/blues group Baskery featured on the song “Torn” with Erja accompanying their vocals with her guitar.
Legendary bassist Sami Yaffa (Joan Jett, Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls) stormed the stage with Erja and her band for “
One Thing I Won’t Change,” injecting the performance with a raw, electric charge. Rearranged especially for the celebration from Erja’s 2012 album
Forbidden Fruit, the song becomes a full-throttle tribute to life, fearless musicianship, and Erja’s ever-evolving fire as a performer.The evening starts with an introduction from Erja´s twin boys inviting the group on stage and after that the first band song “
Ball and Chain” kicks in hard. We also hear “
Smell the Roses” and “
Going to Hell” from the latest studio album, before the set list continues with songs from older gems such as the rocking “
Bird,” Erja’s beautiful slide solo take on “
Lullaby,” the lushy “
Cherry Overdrive” and “
Nasty Weather” from Erja´s “
Dreamland Blues” album. The latter was recorded in Mississippi in 2006 with Kinney and David Kimbrough and has now been played and renewed exactly twenty years after.
On the song “Another World,” Erja makes a vocal break down, where a thousand people in the audience join her to sing along and savor this great moment together. The live recording also includes “Stoney Creek” and “The Ring” as an encore song, that wrap up the joyous evening at House of Culture on Erja´s Birthday.Additionally, the live album contains a concert from the “Smell the Roses” studio album release tour in October 2025. Recorded in Tempo, Mikkeli Finland, this recording has all the album songs, like “Dragonfly,” the heavy “Abyss,” the heart wrenching ballad “Empty Hours,” huge southern-rock vibey “Wings to Fly” and in addition Erja´s favorite live tracks “You Talk Dirty” and a 13-minute-long rendition of “Wedding Day”. The latter was originally recorded on the album Another World together with slide maestro Sonny Landreth.
Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026 album is a great package showing that this firecracker lady continues to enjoy playing live and isn´t anywhere near ready to stop making music and developing herself as a musician, songwriter, and entertainer. This live album is a must for all Erja fans, who enjoy unique hard rock and blues music played with an attitude. And it will leave you with a smile on your face!
TRACK LISTING
50TH BIRTHDAY LIVE 2026
CD/DVD
1. Introduction by Massimo & Dante (0:50)
2. The Road Leading Home (1:21)
3. Ball and Chain (4:55)
4. Smell the Roses (5:29)
5. Going to Hell (5:28)
6. Hard as Stone (4:48)
7. Bird (6:46)
8. One Thing I Won’t Change featuring Sami Yaffa (4:19)
9. Another World (7:23)
10. Torn featuring Baskery (3:54)
11. Lullaby (2:03)
12. Nasty Weather (4:01) (Only DVD)
13. Cherry Overdrive (5:59)
14. Don’t Let a Good Woman Down (4:01)
15. You Talk Dirty (6:51)
16. Stoney Creek (7:45)
17. The Ring (7:12)
SMELL THE ROSES LIVE 2025
CD
1. Ball and Chain (4:48)
2. Smell the Roses (4:55)
3. Dragonfly (7:54)
4. Going to Hell (5:00)
5. Abyss (7:24)
6. Stoney Creek (6:09)
7. The Ring (7:10)
8. Empty Hours (5:08)
9. Wings to Fly (7:00)
10. You Talk Dirty (8:52)
11. Wedding Day (13:19)
PRODUCTION CREDITSErja Lyytinen – Vocals, guitars
Harri Taittonen – Hammond, backing vocals
Heikki Saarenkunnas – Bass, backing vocals
Jesse Lehto – Drums
Olli Huttunen – FOH Sound engineer
Santtu Lehtiniemi – Guitar tech
Elsa Wellamo – Photography
Marko von Konow – Graphic designRecorded by Olli Huttunen at Mikkeli, Tempo, Finland on 03.10.2025 and House of Culture, Helsinki Finland on 21.03.2026
Mixed by Matias Kiiveri at Hollywood House, Helsinki Finland 2026
Mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers, Espoo Finland 2026
Executive producer Erja Lyytinen for Bluesland Productions/Tuohi Records
