Árstíðir – Castelfest, Lisse; August 6th, 2023

I’ve only see Árstíðir play at Castlefest twice, but both shows were amazing. Somehow the special energy at that festival makes them perform extra good. It was a brilliant show from start to finish. I loved every moment of it.

As I had decided to attend only one day of the festival, it was a long one. I was on the road at 5:30 am, starting with a night bus followed by three trains and the festival shuttle. The fact that it was supposed to rain all day really made me question my decidion. In the end, all went well, despite one train being cancellwd and I was plaesently surprised that the walk from the bus stop to the festival entrance was only 10 minutes.

So there I was, browsing shops, not looking too closely, because I really don’t need more clothes, and just hanging out. Ran into G. and sat with her for a while before we went and stood by the stage while the guys set up. At first they had no sound at all, but as soon as that was resolved they sounded great. Raggi came down to check and was happy with it. He hugged everyone he knew on the way back and there was time for some chatting before the show.

Soon, a Castlefest official came on stage and announced the band. As usual, his pronunciation was off. It has become somewhat of a running gag for me to hear how the band name gets mispronounced almost every time. It’s not like I can do it right, but I still find it funny. 😀

Anyway, the guys took their spots and told us how they loved the positive energy of this festival and would try to give some of it back to us, starting with ‘Ljóð í sand’. It sounded amazing and I was singing along to the best of my ability with Raggi watching me. 😉 ‘Heiðin’ was up next – I really enjoy the song being back in the set and already liked how they kind of eased us into it, not starting with the newest songs.

The previous day had been rainy and so far it was dry but cloudy, so Ragnar told us they would try to cast a spell with the next song, asking the question “When does the sun come out?” To everyone’s delight the spell of ‘Hvenar kemur sól’ worked and the sun did come out when it ended. <3 I hadn’t know the guys where weather gods, but apparently so.

A great version of ‘Mute’ followed where I felt the heartbeat of the song going through me. It hadn’t been that long since G!, but I had missed the band already and was so happy to see them on stage again. ‘Þar sem eiginn fer’ was awesome as always – I just love those strings!

Ragnar asked who spoke Icelandic and then remarked he saw only one hand, then told us to talk to S. if we wanted to know anything about the lyrics. 😀 That lead to the brilliant ‘Endatafl’, which really moved me. It was such a good setlist so far, where they took great care to include songs from each album.

*Someone who cares’ always makes me happy and so does ‘Himinhvel’. The latter is always a test of the sound engineer’s abilities. This time the test was passed with flying colors. 🙂 With so many Icelandic songs I could not sing along all that much, but tried it anyway. I love the language mix, it is one of the things that drew me to Árstíðir initially.

‘Things you said’ was another opportunity for Guillaume and Jean-Samuel to shine and they got a special mention in the end. I may have a love/hate relationship with a song, but it truly showcases their talents and thus should be played at every show. To my surprise ‘Nú gleymist ég’ was next. Always one of my favorites! I watched Gunnar closely for the part where he quiets down to a whisper and then increases volume again. It suits the song so very well and made me sigh happily. He did it once, he can never not do it now. 😉

Gunnar introduced Jean-Sam and Guillaume again telling us even though they were not Icelandic they would sing an old Icelandic song with them now. It was ‘Ísland farsældafrón’ and sounded wonderful. Ragnar talked about “the train station song” and how they’d go back to said train station the next day. Instead of that song though they would now sing “a song for ourselves and about ourselves” – ‘Passion’. It was so good, the whole show was. There was nothing more I could have asked for.

‘While this way’ was absolutely wonderful and ‘Lover’ was amazing too. At one point during the concert Ragnar told us to pay attention to the string players and proceeded to film Jean-Samuel, then had us all cheer for him. 🙂 We had reached the part of the show, where they were going to try a new song ‘Kirin’ off of their upcoming album BLIK. They told us that not only all the albums were sold at the merch but they’d also give out free hugs. The song was great. This might have been the moment I looked around and saw people dancing to the music. 😀

With ‘The Feel’, the danceable songs continued and I was swaying along with the music. The song always makes me happy. Daníel commented on the sun and how that brought back the feel. Next Ragnar told us they would no longer buy us beer if we pronounced ‘Friðþægingin’ correctly, but give us a hug and a high five. 😀 It sure kept the show in high gear, it’s such a great tune.

They gave us another new one with ‘Sanity’ and Ragnar joked that the title may not be the correct one, it being an oxymoron. Gunnar screwed up the start, but then it went perfectly. I love the power of the song and the way it is shouted out – could not be done any differently. It was stunning. The finale was of course ‘Shades’ – Daníel motioned with his hands as if he was playing the small drum which they had not brought this time. 😀 There is still no better song to finish a show with. <3

we cheered loudly, but there was no encore. As soon as they left the stage it started raining. even the skies were sad it was over. For the entire set time had stood still and at the same time moved incredibly quick. I loved every second of it. <3

Setlist

Ljóð í sand
Heiðin
Hvenar kemur sól
Mute
Þar sem enginn fer
Endatafl
Someone who cares
Himinhvel
Things you said
Nú gleymist ég
Ísland farsældafrón
Passion
While this way
Lover
Kirin
The Feel
Friðþægingin
Sanity
Shades

After the gig I said hello to P. And A. who had brought their kids. One of them was really excited, while the other slept through half of it. Good music to sleep to I supposed. We went and told the band how nice the show was. Then. I greeted Linda, Lena and Marta. The rain got heavier so we stood under some trees, watching the next band set up. They were singing in German.

At 15:45 they hit the stage. Their name is Reliquiae and they were really good. Many interesting instruments and some rather cool lyrics. One song even was in old German (I think) and Ragnar pointed out that there is an Icelandic song with the same melody. That’s why ih sounded familiar.

They delivered a fantastic show, really got the audience going and even got to play an encore. My favorite tracks were ‘???’ and a track called Pandora. They even had everyone singing along in German. I fully believed the singer when he told us they’d been waiting to play Castlefest for 12 years and it was everything they had hoped for. That gig was so much fun!

Once they were done I said goodbye and left. It was a long road home, but totally worth it.