Legendary Finnish bluesman Pepe Ahlqvist celebrates his 70th anniversary and his over five decades in music with “Dreaming Away”, a deeply intimate album released by Bluelight Records. The recording is far from just another entry in his faultless discography, it is a warm family celebration, recorded in close collaboration with his sons Jan and Joel Ahlqvist, and featuring artistic portraits by his daughter Julia.

Throughout the track list, Ahlqvist exudes a reflective maturity, blending nostalgia for the passage of time with the genuine gratitude for life’s small miracles. The album kicks off with the fiery, intense vitality of “Blue Devils,” proving that his soul remains as youthful and sharp as ever. Original tracks like “Hayfield Blues” or the dynamic shuffle “Run Like a Chicken” (the latter featuring Jukka Gustavson on keyboards) overflow with an overwhelming feeling that raises them far beyond a mere stylistic exercise.

Ahlqvist’s acoustic, introspective side brightly shines in “My Old Friend”, a heartfelt toast to friends who have passed away, and in the title track “Dreaming Away”, the album’s longest cut and a true ode to inner peace and the art of listening to the silence. The chosen covers are seamlessly integrated with absolute mastery, like the double tribute to Willie Dixon with the hypnotic, percussion driven “I Live The Life I Love” and the raw, intimate “Little Red Rooster” powered by Tomi Leino’s superb slide guitar, perfectly fit into the album’s spirit. Towards the back end of the record, the melancholic “My Younger Days” by Sonny Boy Williamson II (I deeply love Sugar Ray’s version) and the stark, almost naked closing song “Don’t Leave Me When I’m Old” round out a beautiful, twilight masterpiece.

“Dreaming Away” is a sincere and beautifully developed recording, that firmly confirms Pepe Ahlqvist as the undisputed patriarch of Finnish blues.