As part of her 50th Birthday celebrations, Finland’s undisputed “Queen of the Slide Guitar” Erja Lyytinen released “Hard as Stone”in September – the second single taken from her highly anticipated double live album Erja Lyytinen – 50th Birthday Live 2026 released today. Erja is also currently in the UK beginning a tour over here.
As part of her spectacular 50th Birthday celebrations, Erja unleashs 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.”
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!
ERJA LYYTINEN
50TH BIRTHDAY LIVE OCTOBER 2026 UK TOUR
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM
https://erjalyytinen.com/tour
Images © Elsa Wellamo
