Iceland Airwaves – Reykjavík; November 6th – 10th, 2025
This year’s festival was the eighth time I went zto Iceland Airwaves and the first year that Árstiðir did not play. Not only that, I didn’t even see either of them at the concerts. It felt weird, but I enjoyed the festival nonetheless. As always, I saw some familiar favorites and discovered some great new bands as well. They had some new venues this time around, which was nice. As for the schedules, they mostly kept with pairing very different bands together so it was easier to get into venues for the shows I wanted to see. Everything went smoothly and everyone had a good time. Very fitting for their 25th anniversary.
Day 0 – November 6th
Venue: Bird
The festival started slowly for me this year. It was raining and I was tired, so I did not really feelike going anywhere. I still made my way to Bird, a new partner venue and got there just after Ladie Lex was done. Ran into a few familiar people, found a seat and waited. It was surprisingly empty.
The first artist I saw was Silja Rós and I really enjoyed her somewhat jazzy vibes. Her songs were mostly piano based and while she usually has a band, sge only brought her partner this time to play bass (?) and later one if thise drums you sit on. One of gercsongs was written about Los Angeles and I wished for that sunny weather. She bantered about living in Denmark and told us she used to write songs about heartbreak. Now, happy in a relationship, she writes about her friends’ heartbreaks and one of those songs was ‘Curtain Call’. It was a great set overall.
Bear the Ant were up next and all of a sudden the stage was pretty crowded. When Jóse announced them he joked about looking for volunteers, because they needed more people on stage. Apart from your usual instruments, they had a horn section and backing vocals – it was great. They offered a good mix of different music and I enjoyed the singing. My favorite was ‘Back on the Road’, a country song. After that, I was tired and called it a night, bt it had been a good start.
Day One: November 7th, 2024
Venue: Grund
As always, the proper festival started at Grund, bright and early on Thursday morning. I’m always looking forward to it and the festival does not feel real until it’s over. It was still quite empty when I arrived and I got a seat fr once, watching as elderly people and young kids filed in among the regular Airwaves crows. Soon it was ten and the festival organizer said a few words. Since the president as ill, Iceland’s Minister ofCulture opened the festival this year and welcomed us to “this nice Icelandic weather” which got a lot of laughs, because it had been dreadful so far. She pointed out that said weather made them strong and resilient, then wished us all a great time.
This year’s first artist was the wonderful Elín Hall. I had seen her at Fríkirkjan last year and was happy to see her again. She told us it was too early for he to even be awake, but wed see how it went. She was fantastic, only being supported by her brilliant guitarist. Since a lot of her songs were in Icelandic, she explained what some of the lyrics meant. One of the songs was about an accidental homicide, but she ensured us it was a love song. It sounded really nice and the kids at the front were swaying with the music.
She told us she had been writing a few songs in English lately, because she got tired of having to explain her lyrics or dealing with horrible Chat-GPT translations. Both of the English songs were great, even though it felt a bit werd to have a song about America in there on the day after Trump became president for the second time. I loved all of her music and was sad when it was over. Isn’t she fantastic?, the festival organizer asked and everyone agreed.
After a short break, Hjalmar were on stage. There were so many people in the band that I didn’t even see the piano player until he stated singing a few songs in. They were interesting just to look at with their fun mix of instruments, including a clarinet, a tuba, a melodica and two drummers (on the same drum kit). It was feel good music, all in Icelandic with reggae-ish undertones. I really enjoyed it and was moving along to it. They had two singers too and I loved both of their voices. The combination of these two artists was the perfect way to kick off Airwaves 2024.
Venue: Tonarbíó
After some relax time at the pool and lunch I went to Tonarbío in the afternoon for Teitur Magnússon. Ive seen him a few times before, yet I keep forgetting how much fun he is. He had a great band, celebrated that his first album had just turned 10 and played a mixture of old and new songs. The one that translated to “the fjords in the distance” was my favorite, but I loved all te others two. He started off solo, then the band joined, I especially liked the upright bass and the trumpet. In the end, for the song that translated to “Friend of a friend”, we even got a nice sing-along going – in Icelandic. For the first time ever I was glad I was not in front row, because he held the mic up for peopleto sing. 😉 That was fun.
Venue: Jörgensen Kitchen & Bar
My next stop was Jörgensen, where I caught the soundcheck of Morjane Ténéré – they sounded good, but I did not manage to see them in the end. I was there for Róshildur and she was great. With two mics and a loopstation she created a cool and interesting sound. Her songs were in Icelandic, so she explained a bit for each of them. One was about telling tome to stop moving and one instructed us to listen to something other than the words – that’s easy when you don’t understand the language, For one new song she had samples sounds of a ship and one was about Kria, the birds that attack you, when you enter their nesting region and how relatable they can be. I would have liked to see her again, but that did not fit into my schedule.
Venue: Art Museum
After a dinner break the evening started at the Art Museum with GDRN. I’m not sure if I’d seen her at Airwaves before, but if I did, I could not remember. Thus is was really surprised at how good she was. Immediately I had a big smile on my face and moved with the music as I watched her. There as a lot of dancing going on in the hall and everyone looked eally happy. I loved her music, I loved the singalongs und enjoyed all of her music. It left me wondering why I had not checked her out earlier.
Venue: Iðno
Over at Iðno I caught the last few songs of Oyama‘s set and loved them too. what a great sound. I really had not expected them to be so good and was very happy I got to see them. Once they were done the venue emptied and I managed to get to the front – perfect.
Chatted with the woman next to me and then we enjoyed Superserious together. They were also a lot of fun and I even danced. It was impossible to stand still and just listen. Good songs and good vibes all around. I wondered if their new drummer wa sthe same as gróa’s, but never found out. Apart from good music, the yjoked aroudn a lot and the singer entertained us by first taking off his jacket and then his tie, explaining how he had dressd for Icelandic weather and even showing us that he was wearing longjohns. 😉 They played a new song for us too.
I stayed for The Joy and acapella group from South Africa. They sang some lovely harmonies and danced so in-sync that it made me think of Boybands. despite not having any instruments other than their voics, there was some nice variety. Whentehy started a song with calling out “Hello”, the audience echoed the word and I could learly see on their faces that that had not been the plan. 😀 It was nice, but after about half their set I decidd I’d had enough and left.
Venue: Kolaport
My next sttop was Kolaport for Uche Vara. she had not been on my list of artists to see, but someone else mentioned her so I decided to check her out. It was so worth it. She was really amazing, brought great energy to the stage and once again I just had fun watchn and listening. Her music was great, the band played well and they moved across stage so much it was a joy to watch. The audience had a wonderful time and everyone participated in teh sing along. It was some sort of party song and fit the mood perfectly. She was my favorite surprise of the day.
Venue: Gaukurinn
Onwards to Gaukurinn, where I wanted to check out Monobloc. They were a rock band from New York and nice enough, but it really felt like nothing special. They had a good time and their music reminded me of something – The Killer maybe. However, to me all sogs sounded very similar. It was alright, but I don’t need to see them again.
Vévaki were the final band for me that night. They had been recommended to me and despite their sogs on the Airwaves playlist not really clicking for me, I decided to check them out. Big mistake. I was already tired and their line check seemed to take forever. Soon after they started I realized that this was not for me, but I was all the way at the front and honestly too embarrassed to leave. What I whitnessed can be best decribed as three very tattooed people in black clothing, chanting what feels like very long songs, while playing old instruments. I cold recognize how they made objectively good music, but it really wasn’t for me at all. The instruments and the chants were sort of interesting in a scientific way, but did not to speak to me. Oh well, I tried.
Day Two: November 8th, 2024
As always, I started my day at the pool, then spent some time relaxing at my hotel. Sadly the weather wasn’t great, so I stayed mostly inside, unil it was time to see the first show.
Venue: Tower on Lækjartorg
I had read on Instagram that the Reykjavik Grapevine organized off venue shows inside the tower on Lækjartorg and forgot all about it until I heard the music from my guesthouse. Therefore I went to check it out and arrived in time for Tófa. The small tower was just big enough to fit the band and their equipment, while the audience gathered outside. It was a pretty cool idea and teh singer sure had fun leaning out the door and singing to us. They played punk, they were loud and really fun to listen to. what a great way to start the concert day.
Venue: Sky Bar
After standing in the cold I was happy to move on to Sky Bar. It was nice and warm and the view was great too. Soon, Lúpína arrived, set up and played. Her sound was etheral and sweet. She used a lot of effects ad a loop station, which only made the music more interesting. I enjoyed it a lot and when I read she had won the airwaves Plus prize I thought it was well deserved. Very cool stuff. Sometimes it really pays off to follow recommendations. 🙂
Venue: Gaukurinn
My evening started at Gaukurinn and Virgin Orchestra. They had been on my “maybe” list, so I stayed off to the sice I case I decided to leave. It turned out to be a good decidsion. The sound was so shitty that I didn’t even last for the first song.
Venue: Art Museum
Luckily, more music waited for me across the road and I got to see Elín Hall for the second time. surprisingly few people came to see her. They did not know what tehy were missing. It was great once again and his time she had brought a much bigger band. They were really good and brought her songs to life even more than just a guitar and her voice. She played the same set as she had at Grund with some additional English songs. I liked it, but realized that I prefer her Icelandic stuff. Can’t say why, but it sounds mre intersting to me. Maybe it’s the mystery of not understanding anything. Either way, I had a good time.
Venue: Kolaport
Hurried over to Kolaport and got there just after FLOTT had started. I had seen them one or two Airwaves ago and remembered them fondly. Now I was slightly disappointed, because my memory was better than what I heard and saw now. It was still nice music and very danceable, but I didn’t stay longer than a few songs.
Venue: Fríkirkjan
Over at Fríkirkjan, it took forever to ge in, because the church had been packed for Arnor Dan. He was on my list as well, but it’s never possible to see everyone. Eventually, I got inside and took a seat upstairs, looking down at he piano. Sofie Paez was another recommendation and a great one. Coming from Costa Rica she was far from and spoke a little bit about it. She played dreamy peino melodies that moved me a lot more than I had expected. Most of her songs were instrumental, but there was one she sang as well. I loved her voice just as much as I loved her playing. My heart felt happy and full while I listened, head resting on my arms so I could watch her through the bannister. It was wonderful.
Venue: Iðno
Over at Iðno my timing was perfect to get to the front and I got comfortable while waiting for Marius Ziska. Last time I had seen him at G!Festival, but I also remembered seing him at my very first Airwaves, playing alone in a bar. He spoke about that being ten years ago, but didn’t mention that he had not brought a band then. While he was in full Singer/songwriter mode that time, this was a completely different story. He rocked! The music was brilliant and I had so much fun. He started a sing-along too, but that fell flat as too few people participated. That did not spoil the concert though, I still had a great time.
Venue: Nasa
Wasn’t really sure where to go next and decided to check out Nasa, a venue I had never been to. It was a nice one and the band, Modem, was surprisingly fun. The singer was really energetic and didn’t stand still for a moment, moving across stage and singing directly to members of the audience. How cool is taht? It took me a while to realize tehy were singing in Finnish. eve cooler. Lots of dancing was going on in front of the stage and I liked these electro sounds very much. More than teh music, I enjoyed the wild performance. It was grat just watching them.
Afterwards, many peple left and I moved to teh front where I ran into A., whom I had et the previous day. She told me how much fun she was having and we talked for a while about the bands we had seen that night. Pétur Ben was next and I knew I was going to like it, having seen him several times before. He brought a band with Soffia Björk on keys (and backing vocals) and the bassist looked familiar too. It was a great set, despite some loud people around me. we had some good audience participation and I enjoyed all the songs. He played a mixture of older and newer stuff, including one brand new song. That one really made me think of ‘500 Miles’ – works for me. This was a good concert to end the night on and instead of going back to te Art Museum for The Vaccines, I dragged my tired body to bed.
Day Three: November 9th, 2024
Venue: Tower on Lækjartorg
Before I knew it, the last dy of Airwaves had arrived and once more I went and checked out what was going on at the Lækjartorg tower. This time I saw Amor Vincit Omnia,a due playing pop-ish tunes with electro vibes. It wasn’t fully my thing, but it was nice and I enjoyed listening to them. This remained my only afternoon gig and I took a break until the evening.
Venue: Fríkirkjan
It was time to go to church to see Lúpína oce again. as I walked in, I immediately love the stage decorations and also noticed that she had more keyboards/synths/computers set up than at Sky bar. She was absolutely brilliant. Everything seemed really different from the first gig I saw, even better and it really moved me, making me happy that I had decided to see her again. In the end, she got standing ovations from about half the people in the church. 🙂
Venue: Gaukurinn
When I arrived at Gaukurinn, Prewn was still playing and I was happy I got to see her. Caught the last three songs of her set and loved them. It was just her and her guitar and it was amazing. I especially liked the lyrics. That would have been a great show to see as well. Ran into A. again, but she left after this gig, so we only got to chat briefly.
Jasmine Netsena was the artist I had come for and she was lovely. A Singer/ Songwriter from Yukon, who presented some wonderful. Her set kept my attention and felt like it was going by really fast. Just the music I had hoped for.
Bria Rose and Thorn followed and they were cool, yet left me somehow a tad disappointed. I liked the music alright, but something was missing for me, I did not feel a spark. For a while, I listened, but after three songs I felt it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Luckily the pouring rain outside was just dying down.
Venue: Iðno
One band had just finished at Iðno so I easily made it to the front and waited for Izaro. They were one of the biggest suprises at the festival for me, singing in Basque and Spanish and radiating so much joy. There were a bunch of fans in the audience, which were singing along and bringing god vibes. The songs were beautiful and I could not help but move along while the singer danced all across the stage. She told us how she felt like she was born to live in the north and she had a song about that too. Another one was about the people we have lost and how she feels they are still with us as long as we remember them. That was a beautiful acoustic piece, while everything else incorporated the whole band. I had such a good time and we even got to clap along. What a highlight.
Venue: Gaukurinn
Afterwards I wasn’t sure where to go and headed back to Gaukurinn to check out Jónfri. The only surprise about seeing Pétur Ben in the band was that it made me realize how few people I had seen in different bands this year. Their music was a weird mix of Rock and Disco and I really didn’t know what to make of it, but enjoyed it enough to stay. They changed singers along the way and even had a 10 (!) string uke on stage, but I never saw it get played. I had a cider and treated their set mostly as background music.
Venue: Nasa
Wanted to go back to Iðno, but decided the line was to long, so I stopped by Nasa were Opus Kink were playing.They immediately reminded me of something I cold not put my finger on. I knew it was a style I would usually like, but that night I was not in the mood, so that concluded this year’s Airwaves for me.
I had a good time overall and enjoyed the bands I had chosen. However, for the first time in years, I did not buy an early bird ticket for the next year’s edition. I may change my mind and still go, but for now I think I want to give it a rest. Tank you, Iceland Airwaves, it has been fun.