Iceland Airwaves, the country’s longest running festival reveals the second wave of acts for 2019 – all set to play throughout downtown Reykjavík venues between Wednesday 6th and Saturday 9th November.
The world’s northernmost music showcase will host a first look at 2020’s most important acts from around the world, including Norwegian bedroom pop girl in red, shimmering Brighton-based indie four-piece Penelope Isles, Pottery of Canada and the UK and Ukraine’s 90s house and free jazz-inspired Ivan Dorn.
Alongside this, the best local talent will be celebrated by Icelanders and discovered by curious visitors alike, and this year looks forward to the recently reformed experimental folk septet Seabear making their post-hiatus live debut at Iceland Airwaves, whilst distinctive singer and classically trained multi-instrumentalist Ólöf Arnalds also makes a welcome return alongside longstanding hometown force Mammút, who are currently working on their 5th LP and JFDR, arguably Iceland’s most prolific and collaborative genre-spanning artist of the past few years whose work with Samaris, Gangly and Pascal Pinon led to high praise from Björk.
Following the initial Iceland Airwaves announcement featuring Mac DeMarco, Georgia, Whitney, Shame, Anna of the North, Boy Azooga, GDRN, Hatari, Une Misére, Vök and more, Iceland Airwaves also announces Scottish Album of the Year nominees Free Love, Niklas Paschburg of Germany who released “one of the most beautiful records of 2018” (Bob Boilen, NPR Music) and 19 year-old classical pianist Gabriel Ólafs. 28-year-old kindergarten teacher and viral Ukrainian trap sensation Alyona Alyona also joins multi-instrumentalists Hugar, rising Dutch stars Pip Blom and many more (full list is below).
As Iceland Airwaves moves into its third decade and celebrates its 21st consecutive year, the festival continues to be regarded for bringing together the world’s most forward thinking acts with the best Icelandic talent all the while attracting over 6,000 visitors from over 60 countries each year. It is well established as being the not-to-miss event in the Reykjavík calendar and an unparalleled space for collaborative local creatives to present new projects.
Will Larnach-Jones, Head of Marketing and Operations at Iceland Airwaves comments, “For 2019, Iceland Airwaves returns to the ‘heart’ of the festival: shining light on Iceland’s stars and the world’s best emerging talent – all within the friendly atmosphere of downtown Reykjavik. Whether you’re a festival newcomer or a seasoned industry professional, Iceland Airwaves is the best long weekend for music lovers there is. Last year, we welcomed visitors from over 60 countries, we expect even more again this year.”
Launched in 1999 as a one-off event in an airplane hangar, Iceland Airwaves has since become an integral part of Reykjavík’s yearly cultural calendar, taking over the historic downtown area for four days and nights, with performances hosted in various art galleries, churches, and concert halls. Its influence has turned Reykjavík into a global music city. For two decades, Airwaves has shone a spotlight on new talent, with early appearances from the likes of Florence and the Machine, James Blake, and Sufjan Stevens, additionally hosting established acts like Björk, The Flaming Lips, The Knife, and Kraftwerk. Following last year’s 50% female lineup, the first of its kind, Iceland Airwaves aims to continuously host a diverse, gender-balanced line-up.
Super early-bird tickets have sold out. Iceland Airwaves Music Festival early-bird tickets are on sale now for 14.900 ISK (around £95.50) for a four-day pass. Travel packages from UK, Europe, USA and Canada are available from Icelandair.
Buy tickets here: https://tix.is/en/event/7113/iceland-airwaves-2019/
You can check out music from the first announcement over at the Iceland Airwaves Spotify playlist and watch the announcement video on YouTube.