Last week and weekend, I attended my first Iceland Airwaves festival ever and it was such a blast! I’m completely baffled why I’ve not been before. Where have I been? Well, I kind of know. I’m an awkward introvert so I’ve probably been at home during most of these festivals, writing words, music or code. Anyway, this year I figured, as I’m way behind, I’ll attend everything. So I went to the festival, the conference and the Bransaveisla held by Iceland Music and Reykjavík Music City the week leading up to the festival. Here are my takeaways.
The festival was amazing, I discovered so many great artists and enjoyed so many great concerts. Of course, I saw a lot of stuff that was not my thing at all but it was still fun to get a glimpse into other worlds that I’m normally far away from. My highlight was probably Davidsson at Fríkirkjan on Saturday and I’ve been mesmerized by his new album, Lifelines, these past few days. Such a profound emotional landscape that really tells a beautiful story. Another highlight was Eyþór Arnalds, also in Fríkirkjan on Saturday. Full of delicious moments, the 14-piece orchestra took me on a beautiful spiritual journey.
Actually, Fríkirkjan had most of my favorite moments from the festival, including great concerts from Loverman from Belgium, Sofi Paez from Costa Rica and Icelandic artists, Sóley, Klemens Hannigan and Arnór Dan. The Joy from South Africa were amazing at Iðnó spreading their powerful joyful voices and a couple young artists caught my attention at Gaukurinn, K.óla and Juno Paul. I didn’t catch many off-venues but one blew me away, the choir Kliður in Aðventistakirkjan. They only perform pieces written by their own choir members and that secret concert was such a treat. Made me want to join the choir!
The conference was really great too, with some great panels on important matters. I was deeply moved by speakers Ai Jing, Ragnar Kjartansson and Diana Burkot talking about the freedom of artistic expression, and the panels talking about mental health in the music industry and the influence of music education on the industry.
The Bransaveisla was a series of events meant for the Icelandic music community to connect with international professionals from the music industry and that was really useful for me. Gaining insights into the world of music management, creative production, music journalism and the mental health of touring acts. Iceland Music and Reykjavík Music City really did a great job organizing all this to cater to Icelandic musicians, especially those taking their first steps in their careers.
Although I’m still recovering from being exposed to way more social situations than recommended for an awkward introvert, it was all sooo worth it! So next year, music lovers, come and enjoy Iceland Airwaves! And artists and musicians, come to the conference and the Bransaveisla! Such a valuable experience and you might even make some friends too!
Photo by Helgi Pétur Lárusson at Chili Studio.