G! Festival – Syðrugøta, Faroe Islands; July 13th – 15th, 2023
I figured G! Festival would be interesting and maybe a little different from other festivals, but I had no idea how amazing it was going to be. With wonderful music, crazy weather and friendly people everywhere, nothing could go wrong. It was worth every cent I spent and I’m sure this was not the last time.
I decided to go to G! Festival, like i decide to go to most places these days: because one of my favorite bands was playing there. The moment Ragnar told me, Árstíðir where going to play, I checked the schedule, saw some more familiar names and bought a ticket. Ever since going to the Faroe Islands in February 2018, I had hoped to come back there in summer and this was my chance.
Flying in via Copenhagen on the day before the festival I made it there OK. My suitcase? Not so much. After the German heatwave, around 13 degrees and rain was welcome and as I took the bus to my bed & breakfast, I already felt at home – the landscape is so much like Iceland and I had been missing the Icelandic summer. My hosts were lovely and recommended a place to eat in the area, before I just dropped into bed. Already I’d learned that they had two more guests attending the festival.
DAY ONE
The next morning, I met V. and S. at breakfast. Since they had a car, we went on a trip to Klaksvik and then further north, enjoying some museums, a church and good food, before heading to the festival. They had tried to find out about the shuttle bus that was supposed to go to Leirvik, where we stayed, from the festival, but nobody knew anything. When I picked up my wristband, it as much the same. That bus didn’t seem to exist. Good thing we’d come by car.
We got to the stage by the playground in time for Dania O.Tausen. she made very nice and listenable pop music. I can’t remember much about it, but I enjoyed it and it was a good start.
O we went to the main stage by the beach for Lucky Lo, but there was time to spare so we sat at a table overlooking the stage, got drinks and chatted until she started.I immediately loved her energy. She was standing on the stage barefoot, asking people if they were cold and said she was not, because she had her new G! festival sweater on. Her set was fun, with band tracks and one song se did solo that was really beautiful. She got people going and everyone sang along after she taught us the words. For her final song she brought Elinborg and some other artist on stage and they served as a choir. Wonderful!
Halfway through the set I met Marta, Raggi and Guillaume and said hello. They left to go to the bathtubs before it as over. Yes, bathtubs. The festival had installed hot tubs on the beach and a sauna too that people could go to all day.When Lucky Lo’s set was over we went back to the playground stage. I needed a bathroom break first so sadly I spent much of Tamara’s set in line. Found the others, listened to a song or two, but can’t really say much about it.
Queen Eivør was due to play on the main stage next, which as why there had been a rush to the bathtubs. I saw the whole band there on the way down to the beach. Not the greatest view perhaps, but for sure the coolest. 😉 Te other tow wanted to stay at the back, but I went all the way to the front and was surrounded by fans, mostly local, but some from Canada as well. The roar, when she stepped on stage was deafening and she kicked off the show with a song where she played the handheld drums. I have no idea what any of her songs are called, but they all sounded great. She sang in Faroese and English with the people around me singing along to every word of every song. She is truly a local hero, born right in the town where the festival took place as she told us. Her band was excellent too and they brought so much good energy. People were dancing, clapping, screaming and having the best of times. Eivør herself played the drum and guitar, was mostly supported by her band, but did one beautiful solo song as well. In he end, they even got an encore and rightfully so. What a great set.
After that we drifted around a bit, because we didn’t have any plans until Saint Levant. Went and checked on Sturle Dagsland at the stage we came to call “the Bunker”, but it was way too loud and the place smelled strange. All I could detect was screaming, so I left after half a song. Went and saw Jazzygold instead. They were awesome, I even felt a bit of Lizzo vibes there. she was definitely cool and had some great backing vocals as well. Really loved what I saw. Stayed until rapper Marius DC started, but he was not for me, so I left and found the others again in some seats by he main stage, relaxing for a while. It had gotten cold and I wished I’d brought more layers. So far, there had only been a bit of rain and it stayed dry so that was a win. We tried the bunker again for Supervisjón and he was really good. He played electro beats, telling a story with his music. Cool stuff.
For Saint Levant I went towards the front of the stage again. People around me were going nuts, jumping and screaming as soon as they started, so I retreated further back and enjoyed their set from there. The band was excellent.The lead singer held the audience in the palm of his hand and despite telling us he wanted to be Elvis growing up, he seemed more like he was channeling Freddy Mercury. The sang songs in three languages: French, English and Arabic, but the language of music transcended it all and everyone was singing along to the words they taught us. With every song they told us what they were about – one for his girlfriend/wif, one for his mother and all great. When the singer spotted a Palestinian flag in the crowd he was overjoyed and asked the people to come to the front. They handed the flag to him and he kept it for one song. Four of five band members were from Arabic countries and told us how they did not always feel welcome, but this festival had shown them nothing but love. It as a beautiful celebration of music and life. I found myself dancing and did not want their set to end. What a great discovery!
After that, we all decided it was a good finale and went home. Perfect first night was perfect. It as around midnight and still quite bright outside when we left.
DAY TWO
The second festival day greeted us with gorgeous weather, much too good to stay inside. V. and S. were planning to go to Tórshavn, but I wanted to be at the festival early so I stayed behind. Spent the first half of the day hiking across a mountain from Leirvik to Gøta in the sunshine. The view was beautiful on either side and despite the rather steep downhill climb, I enjoyed it very much. Took the bus back and had some time left to relax before heading out again.
Arrived around 16:30 and headed straight for the bathtubs where I spent some time relaxing before heading to the playground stage to see Elinborg. She played beautiful pop tunes and had some amazing choir singers with her. I loved her set and loved how expressive she was. That was a good start.
Back to the main stage for Marius Ziska. This time I stayed above the beach with a great view. I remembered seeing him ait Iceland Airwaves years ago, but boy has he changed. I recalled a somewhat shy Singer/Songwriter, alone with his guitar and now he was playing with a full band and truly rocking it. Once again, all the locals were singing along to his songs and it was all pretty awesome.
I left early to get a good spot for Árstíðir. I would not have had to, but I could not know that. When I arrived they were just doing the final soundcheck, so I got to listen for a bit. Stood with Marta, enjoying the sunshine and the music. Sadly, not so many people showed up before thy started playing, but it got more crowded when they did.
We cheered as they stepped on stage. They started with ‘Himinhvel’ and the sound was slightly off at first, but got considerably better during the song. I really had missed hearing them live. It was beautiful. I was walking back and forth at the front to get all of them in my pictures since either Guillaume or Jean-Samuel were blocked depending on where I stood.
The sun was behind the stage at that point, giving some nice backlight. ‘Things you said’ was next and I was smiling, so happy to see them play and hearing them sound so good. everyone agreed, cheering loudly after each song. They looked at each other, not sure who should talk and then it fell on Raggi, who said how cool it was to playing at G! after haring so much about it. He claimed all the legends were true. 😀
The beautiful ‘Hvenar kemur sól’ followed. I especially loved the strings and enjoyed, how they went back and forth between Icelandic and English. It as a great gig already. With ‘While this Way’ I was back to my usual sing-along mode. <3 Gunni told us what the song was called, in Icelandic, than English and announced ‘Þar sem enginn fer’, explaining it means “where nobody goes”. It was amazing, the strings especially – they really were on fire!
Raggi told us they were going to play an oldies-goldie, which of course was ‘Ljóð í sand’ – still beautiful after all these years. Afterwards he asked us if we knew Sakaris and said he was their fifth Beatle, producing their albums and making their sound “Icelandic-Faroese”. This lead up to a great rendition of ‘Lover’.
‘Mute’ was really great too and then came the biggest surprise for me “Let’s play Sanity!” Gunni called out. Raggi told us about the upcoming Blik album and then they played a killer version of ‘Sanity’ – great sound, amazing vocals. Absolutely loved it! <3
The alway great ‘Friðþægingin’ followed, keeping the set in high gear. Gunni told us he could die a happy man now that they had played G! and asked us all to meet them at Sakaris’ gig later, where they’d be “dancing our asses off”. They finished with ‘Shades’. What a perfect setlist that was! I told them as much after. Best possible introduction to their music and a great treat for the fans as well. <3
Setlist
Himinhvel
Things You Said
Hvenar kemur sól
While This Way
Þar sem enginn fer
Ljóð í sand
Lover
Mute
Sanity
Friðþægingin
Shades
After a hug from Raggi and saying goodbye to him and Marta I went back to the beach stage for Sons of the East. Went to the front first, but somehow the stage seemed higher than before and it wasn’t good for taking pictures so I moved further back. The band was from Australia and they were giving Mumford & Sons all the way. Great sound, very listenable songs, great vibes, great fun. The guys seemed really nice, played multiple instruments and got me singing and dancing. There were plenty of opportunities to sing along and they seemed rally happy playing there, despite having to travel for 27 hours. Definitely a band worth checking out.
Met up with S., who had come alone and together we headed back to the playground for Irene. I had checked out her songs before and knew I’d like it, but had not expected what I got. she was breathtakingly brilliant, singing powerful, angry songs about abuse and bodily autonomy (among others). I was immediately transfixed. What a voice, literally and figuratively. I was moved, had goosebumps and could not take my eyes off of her. All of Árstíðir were there to support her, as they were neighbors at their festival accommodation and had gotten to know her during the last few days. She was the biggest surprise of the day for me and I am certainly going to check out more of her music. Just wow! After that, I decided to leave at a high point and hitchhiked home. It could not get any better than this.
DAY THREE
On Saturday I slept late and woke up to rain. It didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon so I stayed in, relaxed and read until it was time to take the bus to the festival.
Luckily the third day started with concerts at the local church. First up was Gabriel Gold, but before he started playing, the priest did a short prayer. Then, Gabriel sat down at the piano and invited us to close our eyes and travel with him. the music was lovely and to my surprise he chanted more than he sang. It was all very meditative so I was actually afraid to close my eyes, because I thought I might fall asleep. I enjoyed his set very much.
Meanwhile V. and S. had arrived, so I grabbed a tea with cookies (free!) and spoke to them for a bit. Then it was time for Klingra. I had read nothing about them before and I don’t really know how to describe what they did, but I thought it was amazing. It was hard to tell if they played only one piece or several, but it didn’t matter either way. I wasn’t sure about the language either, but again, it did not matter. Their music spoke volumes to me. I really enjoyed it. They got to play an encore and when they were done I was unsure whether I should leave for a bit or just stay.
Walked outside for some air and ran into Daníel, so I told him how much I’d liked the previous day’s concert. Back inside I found Guillaume and decided to stay. It was a wise choice, the church filled up quickly and they even got out more chairs to seat everyone.
Yann Tiersen was a real treat. Absolutely brilliant music, some just played by him on the piano, other songs with one or more singers and in different languags. It was a beautiful, moving work of art that brought tears to my eyes. I knew his compositions from different movies, but seeing him perform live was something else. He seemed very into it and moved as well. The band he had and the singers were excellent. Just wow! I was so happy I had decided to see him. <3
Then it was time to brave the rain and walk over to the main festival area. It was pouring down and the ocean was wild so I decided to head to the hot tubs. shared it with a Danish guy, M., who talked me into going for a dip in the Atlantic – the Faroese way, i.e. three times and everything but the head under water. It was cold, but ah the tub was so nice and warm after. some of his friends joined us and we had a lovely time. I think I stayed there for almost an hour, then went for another dip in the ocean and headed to the sauna. Unfortunately that was cut sort by someone telling us “There’s water in the tents!” The tents were for changing, so everyone rushed there to save their clothes. Luckily, mine were in a dry corner.
I got myself another drink and hung out near the main stage, waiting for Soolking. It was raining so hard, they started late and I missed the point where I needed to get out my plastic rain cover because my jacket was soaked. Oh well….
Once the band started it was a lot of fun with dancing and somersaults and all sort of shenanigans on stage. By then, the beach was partly flooded and people gathered in the dry spots. Some brave souls just danced in the puddles with no care in the world. It was crazy fun and the music was rather enjoyable.
The last artist I wanted to see was Brimheim and I waited under a roof for a long as I could before heading to the playground. I had loved her at Airwaves, so I was sure it was gonna be great. Unfortunately the sound wasn’t good at the front, so I moved further back. She was great, with her and her band all dressed in red, playing their hearts out. The whole place was crowded and everyone watched in awe while they were rocking out. Some people in front of me, lit their drinks from the bottom with their phone lights and it actually looked super nice. It was an amazing gig to end the festival with and I went home wet but very happy.
Holy hell, G!, you really know how to party! I loved every minute of every day and only wished I had had the stamina to stay even later. Everything and everyone I only saw in pictures and videos looked just as good as the artists I saw. What a great and often surprising selection. Well done. I am sure I will be back!