credit. Julie Van Den Bergh
It’s difficult not to think of Iceland as anything but otherworldly when visiting, as Schön! experienced earlier this fall after meeting Icelandic artist and actress Elín Hall. Despite the chill beginning to tighten its grip on the Nordic landscape, there isn’t a friendlier — or cozier — festival than Iceland Airwaves. For four days, Reykjavik becomes a living, breathing entity, with music flowing through its veins. It’s been 25 years since its start and its ethos still rings true: a celebration of music, culture, and community, particularly making space for Icelandic artists to shine.
What really sets Iceland Airwaves Festival, which is sponsored by IcelandAir, apart from others is the extent they use every venue — and makeshift venue — to give a home to artists. From the intimate, cozy settings of local bars to the grandeur of the city’s larger venues, every corner of Reykjavik echoes with the sounds of Airwaves. The artists, too, are running amok just like the festival attendees — while sitting at Mokka, a conversation was started by someone who I would later find out is part of rock band spacestation who I’d later see play later that night to a completely packed room at an off-venue event at Smekkleys.
One of the standout aspects of Iceland Airwaves is its ability to cater to a wide range of musical tastes. This year was no exception, with genres spanning from indie rock and electronic to hip-hop and folk. The bookers bring in larger names — The Vaccines, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Magdalena Bay — but it’s the lesser-known acts that find most exciting. Throughout the four days, it was easy to go through the schedule for the day and handpick a group of acts that will be as different as the next. Catching atmospheric black metal band Vampíra — now called Skurðgoð — who won the city’s Battle of the Bands this year, was a fluke but ended up being a top act to see over the entire festival, simply because: where else are you going to see an Icelandic black metal band if not in Iceland?
credit. Joana Fontinha
credit. Joana Fontinha
My most anticipated band to see was Virgin Orchestra, an avant-garde post-punk band from Reykjavík, which genre-blends everything from electronic music to dream pop against their gritty sonics. The band was formed by Starri, Stefanía, and Rún while on a school trip and during Iceland Airwaves they played at their favourite venue, Gaukurinn. Their set is dynamic and compelling, keeping the packed room’s attention with ease.
When slinking off between venues, there’s a thrill of potentially discovering something brilliant by pure chance whether it’s at one of the six official venues or the off-gigs around the city. One of those unofficial parties was an impromptu ‘sleepover‘ at the Bíóparadis cinema on the outskirts of the city with duo Amor Vincit Omnia, a gritty electro-pop pair we only caught by chance the night before at Lemmy. Like with most things in Iceland during Airwaves, their set was by word-of-mouth or social media. The entire cinema has been rented out for this sleepover with girls and boys alike dressed in silky sleepwear with pillow feathers covering every surface imaginable.
The band I saw the most over the four days was Supersport!, simply because everywhere you turned, they were there supporting their friends — whether that was at Silvurdrongur’s set, which was larger-than-life, to say the least, or outside of a venue chatting with attendees. My first impression of the quartet was earlier this autumn when they performed at a slightly janky yet incredible party in a dimly lit basement of a home in the city. The second impression was in the Icelandic countryside when they treated a group of us to a stripped-back extempore performance of a handful of their songs. Seeing them go from small, intimate rooms of 10 or so people to a large crowd in the city’s Kolaportið was jarring in the best way, clearly speaking to the progress their “DIT” — do it together — initiative has occurred throughout the city, weaving that passion and determination into Iceland’s DNA.
When Schön! spoke with Elín Hall in the fall, she spoke about learning to write in English, stating: There are so few things that haven’t already been said in English. In Icelandic, you can say many basic things, and nobody has said them before because the language is spoken by so few people. That’s an advantage. But now, I’m trying to find my own narrative voice in English. I wanted more people to be able to understand and connect with my music. That’s the aim of translating and trying a different language.” And at Iceland Airwaves, what she spoke about came to fruition after performing a handful of songs in English during her set, like the atmospheric “Wolf Boy” and her moving finale, “America.”
credit. Julie Van Den Bergh
With all of the great work and progress Iceland and the music scene have done to empower homegrown talent, there’s still a glass ceiling to break. Venues are closing often, forcing new talent to find alternative ways to establish and market themselves. Like the movement Supersport! is trying to initiate by taking the reins, the bands & artists I speak to are doing what they can to keep their music dreams alive — whether that means playing at a sleepover party or learning how to sing in English to become more of an international act.
Still, not many cities or countries have a festival as special as Iceland Airwaves. As a Canadian who sees many of the domestic talents there flee the country the minute they get a record deal, it’s gratifying to see both artists and those in power do what they can to work together to support arts & culture in the city. As the final notes of the festival faded and the crowds began to disperse, there really was a palpable sense of satisfaction and anticipation for what is to come in future iterations. Even if the sun doesn’t rise until 9am and it’s brisk at times, Iceland is the most otherworldly place — likely thanks to the people, culture, and music that shapes it.
credit. Joana Fontinha
The 2025 edition of Iceland Airwaves will take place from November 6-8th in downtown Reykjavík, tickets and travel packages are available now in partnership with Icelandair.
