Mirja Palo is a musician and a singer from Árviesjavrrie based in Jåhkåmåhke. 2024 she releases her first full length album "Riegádahttin" on the record label Bjärka. She creates her music from the meeting between her Finnish roots and the Sámi cultural landscape where she lives. Many of her songs are written in north sámi; a language she´s learned as a grown up.

Mirja Palo has created an unique artistery in her way of combining the Finnish traditional string instrument Kantele with lyrics written in North Sámi, The beautiful and yet vast landscape of north-western Sweden is her biggest source of inspiration. Her voice is described as warm and passionate, holding a power of its own, and with an ability to affect the audience on a deeper level. On her new album she deals with themes and experiences related to pregnancy and giving birth, both historically and today. This is a subject of great importance to so many and yet it is given so little space on the stage or in the cultural debate.

Even though the sami language has been gone for generations from her fathers family, herself the language in combination with finnish folk instrument Saarijärven Kantele is crucial for her artistic expression where she creates modern folk music influenced by pop and ballad. She´s competed in the Sámi Grand Prix 2022 and released Ep Bávllosa Divttat / Poems By Paulus Utsi in 2020

Mirja has a bachelor Degree in classical singing from Malmö Academy Of Music. She also studied folk singing at The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and at Ala-Könni Opisto in Kaustinen (Finland). The Kantele has been her first instrument since 2015.

She´s received many scholarships such as Rubus Arcticus from Region Norrbotten, Hövenmarks stipendium, Jokkmokks kommuns kulturstipendium and has also been granted work scholarships from Konstnärsnämnden for many years.