- Feature image: Iceland Airwaves Facebook Page
The organizers of the popular music festival, Iceland Airwaves, are holding a two-day event where concerts from 16 musicians will be streamed live from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík.
The global online event will be held on November the 13th and 14th in place of this year’s Iceland Airwaves which had to be postponed until November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Live from Reykjavík tickets & line-up
Tickets are available worldwide, and the event will start on Friday the 13th of November at 7:30 PM on Icelandic time (GMT). You can get tickets here.
Performances will be streamed from iconic Iceland Airwaves venues such as Gamla Bíó, Iðnó, and Reykjavík Art Museum.
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You have the option to buy a full 2-day pass or a 1-day pass for either Friday or Saturday. There is also the option to buy a ticket to a single concert from selected performers.
The line-up is as diverse as it is talented; from well-known global bands like the bondage-techno band Hatari (known for their controversial Eurovision entry) to Cell7, a seasoned veteran of the Icelandic rap scene.
Below is a full list of performances and the date and time which they will be performing.
Auður
Award-winning musician Auður creates popping electronic music infused with slick and sensual R&B vibes.
He’s earned a reputation for releasing his music in unconventional ways. At the 2016 Iceland Airwaves, festival-goers could hunt his album in Pokémon Go-style. The following year he partnered with Icelandic chocolate company, Omnom, and released a special chocolate bar with links to five songs.
Auður will play on Saturday the 14th of November 9 PM.
Ásgeir
Ásgeir released his first album, Dýrð í dauðaþögn, at the age of 20. It won Album of the Year at the 2012 Icelandic Music Awards and became so popular that it is now estimated that one-tenth of the Icelandic population owns a copy of it.
Since then, Ásgeir’s slow folk-infused electro music has swept the world. His albums have reached the top 40 charts in the UK, France, Japan, Australia, and Denmark, and he’s had sold-out shows across the world, including two headline dates at the Sydney Opera House.
Ásgeir’s concert is scheduled for Friday the 13th of November 10:20 PM.
Bríet
Bríet has been playing since she was fifteen years old. Now at 21, she’s released her much-anticipated first LP album, Kveðja, Bríet.
Her music can be described as a soothing mixture of R&B and electro-pop. Her songs range from dance hits which could be played at any club in downtown Reykjavík, to emotional pop ballads which can easily bring you to tears.
Bríet will play on Friday the 13th of November 9:10 PM.
Cell7
The mesmerising Cell7 was recently voted as the “best Icelandic rapper in the history of Iceland” by Icelandic musicians in an unofficial survey done by newspaper Fréttablaðið.
This fantastic compliment from her peers comes well-deserved, seeing that she’s considered one of the pioneers in the Icelandic rap scene.
She started out as a founding member of the groundbreaking (but short-lived) rap band Subterranean in the late 90s before moving on with her solo career as Cell7. Last year, she released the album ‘Is Anybody Listening?’ which has been nominated for several awards.
Don’t miss Cell7’s concert on Friday the 13th of November at 8:05 PM.
Daði Freyr
2020 has been downright hard. But amid COVID-19, wildfires, series of earthquakes in Iceland, and whatever’s happening in America, there have been a few truly good moments.
One of those is Daði Freyr’s single Think about Things becoming an internet sensation.
The song was initially planned as Iceland’s entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was later cancelled, but that didn’t stop Think about Things from going viral with fans replicating the video’s iconic dance and celebrities such as Russell Crowe retweeting the song.
Though COVID-19 took away our chance to see Daði Freyr performing live at Eurovision, Reykjavik Live has given us another opportunity. He is currently writing Iceland’s entry for next year’s song contest, so you never know if he’ll give a sneak peek at what is to come.
Daði Freyr’s concert will be held on Saturday the 14th at 9:50 PM.
Emiliana Torrini & Friends
Perhaps you recognise singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini from her 2009 single Jungle Drum, which reached no. 1 spot on charts in Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Iceland.
Or maybe you know her from her 1999 album ‘Love in the Time of Science’ which featured three singles that made it into the top 100 in the UK.
Perhaps you know of her performance of Gollum’s Song for the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
But it is also possible you know her from any of the hundreds of other works she’s done in the last 25 years or so.
Emiliana Torrini will perform at Reykjavik Live with her friends which include Oscar winner Marketa Irglova, singer/songwriter Pétur Ben, multi-instrumentalist Helgi Jónsson, and Tina Dickow, one of the biggest musicians in her native Denmark.
Catch them on Friday the 13th at 9:25 PM.
GDRN
Pop singer’s GDRN’s debut album, “Hvað Ef” (What If) made quite a splash when it was released in 2019. It swept up awards at the Iceland Music Awards — including best female artist, music video of the year, best pop song, and best pop album.
Her jazz-influenced songs are soulful, her voice hypnotic, and her lyrics emotional, creating that iconic blend for which Icelandic music is so known.
GDRN will play on Saturday the 14th of November at 10:30 PM.
Hatari
Fans of the Eurovision song contest will surely remember Iceland’s entry at last year’s competition.
The techno-punk band Hatari rocked not only the stage but also the whole competition as well when they pulled out a Palestinian flag during the score announcement — much to the chagrin of the host country, Israel.
This stunt led to a small fine for Iceland but massive attention to the band. Since the contest, Hatari has continued to fight for their message of anti-capitalism through their techno-dystopian performance art and are sure to be a memorable part of Reykjavik Live.
Hatari is set to perform November the 14th at 9:10 PM.
Hjaltalín
The band Hjaltalín, started when its members were still in high school. Now, almost fifteen years and four albums later, they’ve become one of this country’s best-loved bands.
Along with the usual guitarist, bass player, keyboard player and drummer, the band features a bassoonist, a clarinettist and a violinist, which all work in harmony to create a multi-part chamber-pop.
Catch Hjaltalín’s performance at Reykjavik Live on Friday the 13th of November at 7:30 PM.
Júníus Meyvant
Born and raised in the Westman Islands, Júníus Meyvant (the stage name of musician Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson) has been performing his melodic take on freaky folk pop for years.
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His soulful, sultry voice paired with sizzling guitars and pummeling beats — sprinkled with a douse of horns and synths — create a fusion of rich seventies funk and lush folk melodies.
Júníus Meyvant’s concert is on Saturday, November 14th at 8:25 PM.
Kælan Mikla
The darkwave/Post-punk band Kælan Mikle burst onto the Icelandic music scene in 2013, although initially for a poetry competition hosted by the Reykjavik Library.
After winning the competition, the band continued making music and by 2014, the trio was performing at various venues across the country.
Kælan mikla has now released three albums, one of which, ‘Nótt eftir Nótt’ made it to no. 14 on Revolver Magazine’s list of best albums of 2018. They have toured Europe and were even hand-picked by Rober Smith of The Cure to perform at the Meltdown Festival he was curating.
Kælan Mikla will perform on Friday, the 13th of November 10:05 PM.
Mammút
Mammút is a Reykjavík-based indie rock band which has earned great popularity here in Iceland but have remained relatively unknown to the outside world, despite having released five great albums in the last fifteen years.
Their dense, atmospheric sound is paired with breathy, faceted vocals from the lead singer, Katrína Mogensen. Their lyrics are ambiguous, providing more mysticism to this underappreciated band.
Catch Mammút’s concert on Friday, the 13th of November 11:05 PM.
Mugison
Mugison is the man behind one of Iceland’s most popular music festivals, Aldrei fór ég suður (I never went South), held every year in the town of Ísafjörður.
He is also responsible for some of this country’s best music.
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Mugison has released albums which can be described as “computer troubadour-y”, “pure rock and roll”, and “baroque folk/rock”. This means pinpointing a musical style for this Westfjord’s native can be a little hard.
But whatever his style of music is, he is always entertaining, so make sure to check him out at Reykjavik Live on Friday the 13th of November at 8:15 PM.
Ólafur Arnalds
Given the moody, atmospheric tones that Icelandic instrumentalist, Ólafur Arnalds, achieves with perfect blend of piano loops, beats and strings, it is somewhat hard to believe that his musical origins lie in the hardcore metal bands like Fighting Shit and Celestine.
Ólafur is a highly experimental artist, eclectic in his sources, inspirations and tastes, which often leaves his most dedicated fans in the dark regarding upcoming projects.
Alongside countless albums and EPs, he has also composed the scores for BBC’s Broadchurch and the American indie film, Gimme Shelter.
Ólafur Arnarlds will play Reykjavik Live on Friday the 13th of November 11:25 PM.
Of Monsters and Men
Heralding from Iceland’s cool capital, Reykjavik, the indie-folk outfit Of Monster and Men first formed in 2010 after lead singer, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, began gathering members to aid her solo project.
The band won that year’s Músíktilraunir—Iceland’s Battle of the Bands competition—before releasing their critically acclaimed debut album My Head Is an Animal in 2011.
Of Monsters and Men have continued to be active in the years since, releasing the albums Beneath the Skin in 2015 and the pop-fuelled Fever Dream in 2019.
See Of Monsters and Men at Reykjavik Live on Saturday, the 14th at 10:45 PM.
Vök
With two highly-reviewed albums now under their belt—Figure (2017) and In the Dark (2019)—the Icelandic three-piece Vök have quickly established themselves as among the country’s most appealing musical ambassadors.
Their songs are peppered with dream-pop vibes and electronic rhythms, building upon the multi-layered style that helped them achieve victory at 2013’s Músíktilraunir.
In the years since, Vök has appeared numerous times at Iceland’s biggest festivals, as well as toured internationally.
Catch Vök on Saturday, the 14th of November at 7:45 PM.
Off Venue Highlights
No Iceland Airwaves festival can be complete without an off-venue performance. And although the festival is online this year, you can still catch a short concert by some of Iceland’s favourite musicians.
This year’s Off Venue includes the bands BSÍ, Sykur, and Moses Hightower, as well as musicians gugusar and JóiPé x Króli.
Catch Off Venue Highlights at 7:30 PM on Saturday, the 14th of November.
