Festival Friday: Lineups, newbies & cancellations
It has been a week of ups and downs in the world of festivals, with new events announced, alongside further cancellations and lineup confirmations.
In the US, Connecticut’s biggest music festival Sound On Sound has been rechristened as Soundside Music Festival under C3 Presents. Noah Kahan and Foo Fighters will headline the event – known for its unique rotating single-stage set up – at Seaside Park in Bridgeport from 28-29 September.
Queens of the Stone Age, Goo Goo Dolls, Teddy Swims, Fleet Foxes, Norah Jones, Boyz II Men, Gregory Alan Isakov, Grace Potter, The Kills, Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories will also appear.
“In past years, this festival has drawn in over 50,000 visitors,” says Bridgeport, CT mayor Joe Ganim. “I am sure this year it will again draw tens of thousands who will get to experience all that Bridgeport has to offer. This is another example of how Bridgeport is ‘on the move’ as we strengthen our legacy of being the music and entertainment capital of Connecticut.”
Nine-stage, two weekend music celebration Austin City Limits will welcome headliners Dua Lipa, Tyler, The Creator, Chris Stapleton, Blink-182, Sturgill Simpson and Pretty Lights to Zilker Park over the weekends of 4-6 & 13-15 October. The lineup will also feature performances from Khruangbin, Leon Bridges, Carin León, Norah Jones, Reneé Rapp, Foster The People, Kehlani, Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, CAAMP, Dominic Fike, The Marías, Jungle, Dom Dolla, Chappell Roan, Porter Robinson, Fletcher, Something Corporate and David Shaw.
More than 30 Texas artists will grace this year’s ACL Fest stages, including Khruangbin, Leon Bridges, Norah Jones, Kevin Abstract, That Mexican OT, Mickey Guyton, Penny & Sparrow, Chance Peña, Dexter And The Moonrocks, Bob Schneider, Asleep At The Wheel, whookilledkenny, Kalu & The Electric Joint, The Droptines, Jon Muq, Daiistar, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Late Night Drive Home, Theo Lawrence, Chief Cleopatra, West 22nd and Chaparelle.
C3 Presents’ Sudden Little Thrills festival, due to be headlined by SZA and The Killers, has been cancelled less than a month after being announced
However, C3’s Sudden Little Thrills festival, which was slated to debut at Hazelwood Green, Pittsburgh, between 7-8 September with headliners SZA and The Killers, has been abruptly cancelled less than a month after being announced. In a short statement, organisers say it will no longer take place “due to circumstances beyond our control”.
The Killers will top the bill at Mexico’s Festival Pulso GNP, which will be held at Autódromo de Querétaro on 12 October, with a supporting cast including Belanova, Franz Ferdinand, Los Auténticos Decadentes, Sabino and Simple Plan.
The full lineup has now been released for the ninth edition of Paradise City, which is set for 28-30 June at Ribaucourt Castle, Perk, Belgium. Newly announced artists include David August, Rival Consoles, Rex The Dog, Sally C and OCB, plus homegrown talent such as Bjeor, Catalina, Eline Anne & r.omy, Odymel and RIET.
They join the likes of Bonobo, Maribou State, Marlon Hoffstadt, Job Jobse, Daria Kolosova, Skin on Skin and DJ Gigola. The festival will also feature a seventh stage, dedicated entirely to chill-out, downtempo and ambient performances.
Nelly Furtado will headline free, open-air festival Isle of MTV Malta 2024 on 16 July, when other acts will include DJ Snake and Raye. It will be followed by Isle of MTV Malta Music Week, a series of club nights and parties across various venues on the island with various artists including Benni Benassi, Icona Pop and more from 16-21 July.
Iceland Airwaves has unveiled the second wave of artists joining its 25th anniversary edition, taking place in Downtown Reykjavik this 7-9 November. Highlights include Overmono, The Vaccines, English Teacher, Villano Antillano, Personal Trainer, MRCY, Lynks, GDRN, Monobloc, Gabríel Ólafs, Alice Longyu Gao and cumgirl8, with previously announced artists including Shygirl, Bar Italia, Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul, Joy (Anonymous) and Saya Gray.
And the 10th anniversary Ultra Europe Music Festival will bring Afrojack, Alison Wonderland, Subtronics, DJ Snake, W&W, KSHMR, SLANDER, Vini Vici, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Deborah De Luca and CamelPhat to Park Mladeži in Split, Croatia, from 12-14 July. It will also star Adam Beyer, Boris Brejcha and Martin Garrix.
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Iceland Airwaves boss: ‘Our strategy is working’
Iceland Airwaves festival director Isleifur Thorhallsson has told IQ the decision to return the event to its roots has been vindicated by last year’s sellout comeback.
Its first event proper since the pandemic, the November 2022 edition featured 80 acts from more than 15 countries including Amyl & The Sniffers, Metronomy, Arlo Parks and a DJ set by Röyksopp, but its emphasis on emerging domestic talent – implemented following its acquisition by promoter Sena Live in 2018 – continued.
“Since we took over the festival five years ago, we have been working on a specific strategy that is mostly about taking the festival back to the roots, back to downtown Reykjavik, back to being about music discovery, and stopping chasing big bands,” says Sena Live MD Thorhallsson. “I look at last year’s edition as proof that the strategy is working.
“We could see other shows selling poorly after coming out of Covid, so we were understandably worried as the festival approached. But it was amazing to see the sales blow up in the week and it was pretty incredible to end up sold out for the first time in years. It shows that ticket buyers are making decisions closer to the event, probably because they have been disappointed by consistent cancellations and postponements.”
Iceland Airwaves, which held streaming event Live from Reykjavïk in 2020 and 2021 in lieu of the flagship festival, downsized from four days to three for its return and won Best Indoor Festival at last month’s European Festival Awards.
“We decided to simplify the festival, going down to three days and fewer bands and venues”
“We decided to simplify the festival, going down to three days and fewer bands and venues,” explains Thorhallsson. “However, it’s still an incredible amount of the best upcoming bands from around the world combined with the best Icelandic talent.
“We made a bet that no one would complain or that the guests would even enjoy the experience of more intimate festival, and that turned out to be correct. By making it more manageable for ourselves, it also became more accessible to the public, so we ended up selling more tickets than before, not less.”
Organisers will shortly unveil the line-up for Iceland Airwaves 2023, which is scheduled for 2-4 November.
“We want to build on the successes of the 2022 edition and all the goodwill and great feedback we are getting from guests, artists, agents and basically the entire industry,” says Thorhallsson. “So many exciting things are happening in the music scene locally and internationally, and we’re always looking to shine a light on new talent. We’re also talking with some breakout stars for headline slots, and are already working towards our first line-up announcement in the middle of February.
“We are excited that the festival is now in good shape. It seems that we now have a working formula for this complex project, so our time and effort can go into fine-tuning and making the festival even better. Our big lessons have not least been to learn what not to do, and to say no.”
“People need to realise the hardships the live industry has faced in the past few years are nowhere near over”
While the festival appears in rude health, Thorhallsson admits to harbouring concerns about the live music sector at large.
“People need to realise the hardships the live industry has faced in the past few years are nowhere near over,” he warns. “Despite small wins, we’re still rebuilding an industry that was left as a smoking ruin, and ticket buyers’ behaviour has changed a lot. It takes more effort to convince someone to go out there and see a show, costing more money. Live music is not a given, especially not for smaller festivals and artists.
“The more prominent players in the game will have an easier time returning to something similar to a pre-Covid situation. Still, smaller festivals and artists will need more time and more support. We’ve seen disastrous mental health effects and exhaustion across our industry. We need to support each other and not take live music and the ability to go to shows as a given.”
Where Iceland Airwaves is concerned, however, it is business as usual.
“We will keep going in the same direction, booking the best upcoming bands from Iceland and all over the world, playing in the same diverse venues in downtown Reykjavik,” he adds. “There is nothing like the Icelandic music scene, there is no downtown like Reykjavik, and when you are on top of that – in a position to pick all the most exciting new bands from around the world – it comes together and creates a very unique experience.”
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LGBTIQ+ List 2021: Remembering this year’s queer pioneers
This year, IQ Magazine launched the LGBTIQ+ List 2021 – the first annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business.
The landmark list was the jewel in the crown of IQ’s first-ever Pride edition, which was published on Monday (28 June) and followed our Loud and Proud agency-curated playlist.
The 20 individuals comprising the LGBTIQ+ List 2021, as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee, are individuals that have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for an industry that we can all be proud of.
The inaugural cohort comprised agents, promoters, COOs, CEOs, event producers, wellness specialists, tour managers and more, all of whom identify as LGBTIQ+ and, in the face of adversity, have made enormous contributions to their respective sectors.
“IQ received an unbelievable amount of heartwarming testimonials”
In no particular order, the LGBTIQ+ List 2021 is:
Steven Braines, co-founder, He.She.They (UK). Full profile here.
Sean Hill, director of tour marketing, UTA (UK). Full profile here.
Zoe Williamson, agent, UTA (US). Full profile here.
Will Larnach-Jones, managing director/head of bookings, Iceland Airwaves (IE). Full profile here.
Raven Twigg, promoter assistant, Metropolis Music/founder, Women Connect (UK). Full profile here.
Nadu Placca, global event & experience architect, The Zoo XYZ (UK). Full profile here.
Maxie Gedge, Keychange project manager, PRS Foundation (UK). Full profile here.
Mark Fletcher, CEO, Manchester Pride (UK). Full profile here.
Maddie Arnold, associate promoter, Live Nation (UK). Full profile here.
Lauren Kirkpatrick, promoter assistant, DF Concerts (UK). Full profile here.
Laura Nagtegaal, guitar technician and tour manager, MsGyver (NL). Full profile here.
Joanne Croxford, wellness + diversity specialist/ live touring/ tour assistant (UK)
James Murphy, chief operating officer North America, See Tickets (US). Full profile here.
Guy Howes, music partnerships executive, CAA (UK). Full profile here.
Doug Smith, SVP field operations UK & Ireland, Ticketmaster (UK). Full profile here.
Chris Ibbs, agent, CAA (UK). Full profile here.
Leigh Millhauser, coordinator, Wasserman Music (US). Full profile here.
Austin Sarich, director of touring, Live Nation (US). Full profile here.
Daniel Brown, event producer/programmer, Birmingham Pride (UK). Full profile here.
Rauha Kyyrö, head promoter, Fullsteam Agency (FI). Full profile here.
“I never imagined I’d be so thrilled to see my inbox soar into triple digits – that is until we opened nominations for the LGBTIQ+ List 2021,” says IQ staff writer Lisa Henderson, who guest-edited the Pride issue. “We received an unbelievable amount of heartwarming testimonials from across the business but, thanks to the help of our revered steering committee, we’ve ended up with 20 exemplary individuals who continually prove that diversity is the industry’s greatest strength.”
Subscribers can read the entire Pride edition (issue 101) of IQ Magazine now.
Click here to subscribe to IQ for just £5.99 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
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Iceland Airwaves returns with Live from Reykjavik
The team behind Iceland Airwaves has announced the return of streaming event Live from Reykjavïk in lieu of the brand’s flagship festival.
The festival was expected to take place in Iceland’s capital this November but was called off for a second consecutive year due to the pandemic.
Instead, organisers have announced the second edition of Live from Reykjavik which, this year, will be reduced from two days to one and will take place as a hybrid event.
Sixteen international and domestic acts including John Grant, Ásgeir, Laufey, GDRN and Daughters of Reykjavík will perform across four iconic Reykjavïk venues on Saturday 6 November.
Due to the current gathering and safety restrictions, fans can only purchase tickets to one venue
The venues – Iðnó, Gamla Bío, Gaukurinn and Frikirkjan – will host small live audiences but due to the current gathering and safety restrictions, fans can only purchase tickets to one location.
The global live stream, provided by NovaTV, will open at 20:00 GMT on the same day and remain open for 24 hours.
Tickets are available worldwide from Wednesday 20 October.
Iceland Airwaves will return to the capital from 2-5 November 2022.
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Iceland Airwaves 2021 cancelled due to new restrictions
Iceland Airwaves has been cancelled for a second consecutive year due to “new and ongoing Covid-19 measures imposed by the government”.
The festival was expected to return to Reykjavík in November this year after being cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic but organisers say the current restrictions “render a multi-venue, multi-capacity, standing event, such as Iceland Airwaves impossible to produce”.
The new measures, just delivered by the local authorities, will see venues capped at 500 people per section, all of whom must be assigned a seat as guests are not allowed to face each other.
The government is also introducing mandatory rapid tests, which must be taken within 48 hours of the event, for everyone attending an event.
Events that do not require attendees to be seated or to take a test cannot have more than 200 people in each section.
The news comes months after the Icelandic government abolished all temporary regulations relating to the coronavirus, as the country was reaching a vaccination rate of 90% in adults.
“It seems these new measures are here for the indefinite future”
“Despite Iceland approaching a vaccination rate of over 90%, the Icelandic government has, to date, not laid out any plan to get large-scale music events started again,” reads a statement from the organisers.
It continues: “It seems these new measures are here for the indefinite future and everything regarding the execution of, and access to the obligatory rapid tests is still unclear. This means that for the time being, planning any all large-scale events in Iceland is not possible.
“Even though it is our belief that events like Iceland Airwaves can now be executed in a safe and responsible manner, using all available safety measures, the authorities apparently disagree. It goes without saying, the team at Airwaves is devastated to have to move the festival for yet another year.”
According to the Reuters Covid-19 tracker, infections are actually decreasing in Iceland, with 73 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 62% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on August 5.
Arlo Parks, Sad Night Dynamite, Eydís Evensen, Bartees Strange, Daði Freyr, Daughters of Reykjavík, Metronomy, Mammút, Squid, Dry Cleaning, Porridge Radio, Black Pumas and more were due to perform at Iceland Airwaves 2021.
The festival will return to Reykjavïk from 2-5 November 2022. Visit icelandairwaves.is for more information.
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The LGBTIQ+ List 2021: Will Larnach-Jones, Iceland Airwaves
The LGBTIQ+ List 2021 – IQ’s first annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – was published in the inaugural Pride edition (issue 101) this month.
The 20 individuals comprising the LGBTIQ+ List 2021, as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee, have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for an industry that we can all be proud of.
To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, IQ asked each individual to share their challenges, triumphs, advice and more. Each day this month, we’ll publish a new interview with an individual on the LGBTIQ+ List 2021. Catch up on the previous interview with Laura Nagtegaal, guitar technician and tour manager at MsGyver, here.
Will Larnach-Jones
him/he/his
Managing director and head of bookings, Iceland Airwaves
London, UK/Reykjavík, Iceland
[email protected]
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career.
I felt quite fearless with The Presets and the campaign around their 2008 album Apocalypso. It was a zeitgeist moment for the band in Australia, and some other markets. I was galvanised in my belief in the band’s music and its potential, and my conviction could not be broken.
We cracked commercial radio when no one said we would, and the album entered the charts at #1, hit triple platinum, sold more than 150,000 tickets in Australia across two tours, did all the major festivals around the world, ARIA Album of the Year, J Awards album of the Year, APRA Songwriter of the Year and so on.
I walked over fire and ice with that band. It was luck, timing and amazingly talented guys to work with, and while it was a real rollercoaster, it’s a time I now look back on with real pride.
“Your life journey as a queer person has equipped you with more problem solving, truth-seeking, empathy and lateral thinking”
Tell us about a professional challenge you often come across as a queer person.
I often hear of deals in the straight world being struck on the golf course, or over long boozy lunches. This is a world I’ve never been a part of. You won’t find me out boozing with the lads. At the end of the day, I guess I’d rather let my work and my passion speak for themselves.
What advice could you give for young queer professionals?
Your life journey as a queer person has equipped you with more problem solving, truth-seeking, empathy and lateral thinking than many other people. You see cultural connections and musical threads where others may not. Trust and follow your instincts and passions.
What one thing could the industry do to be more inclusive?
More visibility of queer and under-represented professionals at an executive level. I really struggled to find queer mentors and individuals to look up to as I fumbled my way through my early years in the industry.
“The generation of execs who have led out of fear, favouritism and deplorable morals is coming to the end of the road”
A cause you support.
I’ve invested a lot of energy in working with PRS’s Keychange programme over the past four years, striving for better representation of the gender spectrum in the music industry.
I’m pleased that with the campaign in Iceland, the number of signatories has grown hugely in the last six months. Again, as a festival we like to show, not tell. We are always pushing ourselves to be more representational, and with so much talent out there, it’s not hard.
What does the near future of the industry look like?
Without bullies and dinosaurs. The generation of execs who have led out of fear, favouritism and deplorable morals is coming to the end of the road.
I remember sitting in meetings with phones thrown against walls, promoters calling me to tell me “you are nothing,” having strips torn off me about an artist’s physical appearance. I won’t tolerate any of this shit anymore, and I think the rest of the industry is finally seeing that you can be good at your job and still be a kind person.
How would you like to see the industry build back better, post-pandemic?
It’s been humanising for all of us, in a good way. The highs and lows of the last twelve months have given us insight into each other’s lives like never before – Zoom calls with people’s bookshelves, dogs, sweaty post workouts, kids etc. It’s forced us all to prioritise better, and I hope we don’t forget this as we head back to ‘normalcy’.
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90%-vaccinated Iceland lifts all restrictions
The government of Iceland has abolished all temporary regulations relating to the coronavirus, including restrictions on mass gatherings and the requirement to wear masks and socially distance, as the pandemic effectively comes to an end in the Scandinavian country.
In contrast to the likes of Denmark and Sweden, which are crawling towards a return to normal activity, Icelanders no longer have any restrictions on their freedom as of midnight on Friday 25/Saturday 26 June. Some 87% of adults in the country, which has a tiny population of less than 400,000, have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 60% are fully vaccinated (having received both jabs).
With all adults now having been offered the vaccine, “government plans for the vaccination programme and the lifting of restrictions on gatherings have therefore been completed”, according to the Icelandic government.
“We are regaining the kind of society which we feel normal living in, and we have longed for ever since [emergency legislation] was activated because of the pandemic more than a year ago, on 16 March 2020,” says health minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir, who adds that decision to lift all restrictions is in line with recommendations of Iceland’s chief epidemiologist.
At press time, Iceland had only 23 active cases of Covid-19, with just one person in a serious or critical condition.
“We are confident our contact-tracing capabilities will prove sufficient to handle any new outbreaks”
Víðir Reynisson, Iceland’s head of civil protection, says that while “small clusters of infection may [re]appear in future], he is “confident that our contact-tracing capabilities, with the public’s willingness to abide by both quarantine and isolation requirements, will prove sufficient to handle any new outbreaks.”
As of Friday, there were 12 people in isolation due to testing positive for Covid-19. Currently, the dominant domestic strain of the disease, which has just killed just one person this year, is the Alpha (‘Kent’/‘British’) variant.
“The contact tracing and quarantine efforts here in Iceland seem to have contained its transmission to a similar level as the original variant, with slightly more than 5% of quarantined individuals turning out to have been infected, regardless of which sub-type of the virus we have been dealing with,” comments chief epidemiologist Thorolfur Gudnason.
From 1 July, new rules on border screening come into force, exempting travellers from testing if they can produce a certificate of full vaccination.
This means it’s full steam ahead for Iceland’s remaining festivals, even those which welcome a large number of international visitors, such as Iceland Airwaves. (Iceland’s other main international festival, Secret Solstice, has already postponed to 2022.)
From 1 July travellers are exempt from border testing if they can produce certificate of full vaccination
Airwaves, taking place 3–6 November, will feature performances by the likes of Arlo Parks, Metronomy, Black Pumas, Sad Night Dynamite, Bartees Strange, Sin Fang, Vök, Daughters of Reykjavik and Mammút, marking a welcome return to a physical festival after last year’s Live from Reykjavik livestreaming event.
The popular festival has also announced a new partnership with Japanese ticketing technology firm Zaiko that sees a digital festival offering, Iceland Airwaves Japan, launch with 15 on-demand live performances available to fans in Japan.
Iceland Airwaves Japan will stream content throughout the year, culminating in giving fans the opportunity to go to the festival in person or online. After the event, they can relive their favourite moments through video content, access exclusive after-parties and check out performances they missed.
Zaiko’s founder and CEO, Malek Nasser, says: “As someone who has enjoyed music festivals for over ten years, not to mention worked for many of Japan’s best festivals, I am excited to come together with Iceland Airwaves to bring the festival format into the digital event world. I believe this collaboration will become a model for the entire industry on how festivals can connect with fans year-round.”
This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.
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Iceland Airwaves releases volcano-watching soundtrack
Iceland Airwaves has put together a Spotify playlist to soundtrack the spectacular eruption of a volcano at Geldingadalur, on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, which started on 19 March and at press time is still ongoing.
Featuring the likes of the B-52s’ ‘Lava’, John Grant’s ‘Magma Arrives’, Carole King’s ‘I Feel the Earth Move’ and Björk’s paean to Iceland, ‘Jóga’, the playlist – billed as ‘some cool tunes to enjoy while Iceland heats up’ – is intended to accompany visuals of the eruption, which is being livestreamed by Iceland’s state broadcaster, RÚV, and can be watched in real time above.
“If you don’t know what soundtrack best suits a volcanic eruption, we have you covered,” says the showcase festival, which returns to Reyjkavik from 3 to 6 November 2021. Four-day festivals passes for Iceland Airwaves 2021 are on sale now, priced from 17,990 kr. (€120).
While the eruption at Geldingadalur could, according to geologists, continue for weeks, months or even years, volcanoes in south-west Iceland do not typically produce much ash, meaning it is not expected to affect air travel – unlike in 2010, when the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption ruined a number of international tours.
Listen to Iceland Airwaves’ volcano-watching playlist below:
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Live from Reykjavik: A Rey of light
After a strict lockdown in March, and a huge effort to contain Covid with track-and-trace measures and widespread testing, it felt like Iceland and its live music scene was gearing up to return to normal for the second half of 2020.
Then the second wave hit, bringing in measures that rendered live shows next to impossible – strict curfews, distancing rules, and significant reductions on gatherings. While Iceland Airwaves, which was scheduled for 4 to 7 November, had been optimistic about going ahead in real life, we were forced to pivot quickly.
Thus, Live from Reykjavik was developed – a two-day virtual Iceland Airwaves. For this edition, the decision was to focus entirely on local talent and to use the moment to showcase Icelandic music to the world.
Given the situation this year, there was an unprecedented number of Icelandic acts “at home”. It was important for us to give this special edition a real Icelandic focus. The idea for the stream event was to combine some better-known names with some newer artists, or artists who had yet to enjoy significant exposure outside of Iceland. We’re spoilt for choice in Iceland; the musical talent in this country and the creative output is oversized in comparison to its population.
Iceland Airwaves has, for many years, worked to balance gender in its programming. Reaching the pledge in 2018 (and having worked to this brief before Keychange’s inception) meant that it felt entirely natural to bring the same approach to the digital space.
When it came to finding gender parity in the stream, it felt like an easy choice for us. The remit for Iceland Airwaves has always been talent first, not meeting quotas. We choose who we believe to be the best talent out there, and we believe as a festival there’s more than enough talent across the gender spectrum for us to make balanced choices.
Nanna from Of Monsters and Men and Emilíana Torrini have been some of Iceland’s biggest success stories. For bands working hard to break through internationally, we had so much strong and diverse talent to choose from: the dark synthwave of all-female trio Kælan Mikla, the jazz-nflected cool soul of GDRN, longtime Airwaves rockers Mammút, the sucker-punch delivery of rapper Cell7, and Bríet, who’s currently Iceland’s most popular radio artist.
The response from viewers to the performances and how they were captured was phenomenal
Many of these artists are award-winning performers at home, and leaders in their respective genres and on top of their game, so it’s no surprise that many of them are part of the Keychange programme.
The four core team members were also split evenly, gender wise. Over 50% of the team leaders from our stakeholders and sponsors were female. While the production and film crew was predominantly male, the chief producer/director on the film side was female.
As with any other year of our festival, gender equality is part of our identity and the Keychange gender pledge is an important marker of success for us. I would encourage all music organisations to get involved and to keep monitoring representation, so we’re all, as an industry, working towards wider progress and sustainability together – whatever your genre, sector or location.
For Live from Reykjavik, it was was important to select performers who had honed their live shows and that were willing to embark on this adventure with us, stepping up to the challenge of performing with no audience and being filmed in such an intimate way.
The artists were filmed in some of the venues and spaces we normally use for Iceland Airwaves, such as Gamla Bío, Iðnó and the Reykjavík Art Museum. We also went further afield with Bæjarbíó in Hafnarfjörður, and to a couple of recording studios. We had around 90,000 viewers, including around 12,000 from outside of Iceland.
As a boutique festival, Iceland Airwaves typically enjoys 4,000–5,000 international visitors per year, so we were very happy with this as a first step into streaming/broadcast. The response from viewers to the performances and how they were captured was phenomenal – we’ve learned so much from the event.
We know that while not everyone can attend Iceland Airwaves each year, many people are keen to stay in touch with the festival and the Icelandic music scene, and giving some people the option to view online creates more opportunities and excitement for all.
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Iceland Airwaves announces streaming festival
The team behind Iceland Airwaves has announced a two-day streaming festival, Live from Reykjavík, taking place on 13–14 November.
The brand’s flagship festival was due to take place in Iceland’s capital this November but was postponed until next year due to the pandemic.
Instead, the festival will assemble some of the country’s most established artists including Of Monsters and Men, Ólafur Arnalds, Ásgeir, Daði Freyr and Júníus Meyvant, for performances in iconic Airwaves venues such as Iðnó, Gamla Bío and Art Museum Reykjavík.
“We wanted to find a way to shine a spotlight on the vast talent of the music scene here in Iceland, as well as support the larger industry and show some innovation,” says festival director Ísleifur Þórhallsson.
“To have all these artists in Iceland at the same time is a ‘lighting strikes once’ moment and we wanted to seize it”
“To have all these artists in Iceland at the same time is a ‘lighting strikes once’ moment, and we wanted to seize it with both hands.”
Performances will be broadcast domestically on TV, radio and online; streamed in the UK and Europe from 19:30 pm GMT, and then across optimised time zones on Nov 13 and 14.
Tickets range from £15 for a standalone show to £30 for a one-day pass and £40 for a two-day pass.
Iceland Airwaves has moved to 3–6 November 2021.
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