Fresh from his recent appearance on Swedish TV show Idol in 2025, indie musician Tomas Rimeika is finally starting to get the attention and recognition he deserves. Long before he met the TV cameras, he had already demonstrated his fearless showmanship in his live shows.
We checked him out at Herrljungafestivalen 2024, where his afternoon slot turned out to be one of the festival’s most chaotic, funny, and unforgettable performances.
From Säffle to the TV Spotlight
Few artists embody pure spontaneity quite like Tomas Rimeika. The Säffle-born, Uppsala-connected singer has been making music for over two decades, though his releases on streaming platforms only appeared in recent years.
In 2025, he reached the final audition stage in Idol, but a year earlier — at Herrljungafestivalen 2024 — he was still a hidden gem with a stage presence that would take the crowd completely off guard.
Small Crowd, Big Performance
Performing around 5 pm on the smaller Northside Stage, Rimeika faced a modest audience under a blazing late-summer sun, where initially only a small group of teenage girls dared to approach the stage.
Many artists might have played it safe — but certainly not Rimeika.
With a three-piece band and his signature keytar, he attacked the set with contagious energy, refusing to let the sparse turnout dull the mood. His enthusiasm felt almost defiant — as if to prove that the size of the crowd mattered far less than the spirit of the show.
High Fives and Mid-Show Bike Rides — “That Escalated Quickly”
Before long, Rimeika was off the stage, joking with the teenage girls and other kids while mingling with amused festivalgoers.
When a young boy rolled past on his bicycle, Rimeika asked if he could ride along — and minutes later, the pair were circling the festival grounds as the singer handed out high-fives to children whose reactions ranged from laughter to sheer bewilderment.
Later, he happily joined a group of visitors taking a mid-show selfie in front of the stage. Rules didn’t seem to apply; every moment was fair game for connection, chaos, and charm.
Wild, Funny and Completely Unfiltered
Musically, his indie pop-rock songs rode on the same mischievous energy that defined his performance. With expressive gestures, exaggerated facial expressions, and wide-eyed humour, he felt like a cross between Timo Räisänen’s playful charm and The Hives’ manic unpredictability. Every song was an opportunity for theatrics, and every moment on stage seemed to blur the line between concert and performance art.
At times, the spectacle risked outshining the music itself: a sudden sprint into the crowd, a spontaneous bicycle ride, or a mid-set selfie could steal attention from the melodies and lyrics. Yet that very unpredictability was part of the fun, giving the audience a sense of being part of something genuinely unscripted.
For a rising artist like Rimeika, that balance — between musical craft and sheer entertainment — is a delicate one, but here it worked to his advantage: even if some songs were momentarily eclipsed, no one left the stage without a smile, a laugh, or a memory of a performance unlike any other.
A Moment to Remember
Rimeika’s Herrljunga appearance may not have drawn the biggest crowd, but it delivered the biggest smiles. It was spontaneous, chaotic, and irresistibly human — a festival moment people would talk about long after the amplifiers went silent.
If his later Idol appearance hinted at a coming breakthrough, Herrljunga showed us the reason why: Tomas Rimeika is impossible to forget.
This show was shot with
Wider Shots
- Camera: Sony a7 III
- Lens: Tamron 28-75/f2.8
Long Range and Close-Ups
- Camera: Sony a7R II
- Lens: Tamron 70-180/f2.8
Concert Photo Gallery
