Laments are a genre of oral poetry that expresses personal and communal grief. The tradition is global, but the specific practices culturally vary. In contemporary Finland the originally Karelian and Ingrian ritual traditions have sprouted into various practices, from performing arts to therapeutic and new spiritual interpretations that are sometimes called neo-laments. We analyse the emotions of contemporary laments in the context of music and performing arts in Finland, and present the course of events behind the current practices with audio examples. As earlier research shows, in traditional laments, emotions are experienced, expressed, performed, and conveyed. We argue that emotions arise in the interface of the subject of the lament, the lamenter’s images and impressions of the tradition, performance, and body.