Iceland Airwaves returns to Reykjavík Wednesday, November 6 through Saturday, November 9, bringing together more than 130 bands from 20 countries. As proud Keychange partners, Iceland Airwaves has achieved equal gender balance for the second year running, with a 50/50 split on the line up. Today, Iceland Airwaves reveals its final wave of performers.
This next announcement focuses strongly on progressive female and self-produced artists, including LA based musician and activist Madame Gandhi, Australian DJ, producer and founder of NLV Records Nina Las Vegas, Norwegian producer Otha, Rebecca Taylor’s (ex-Slow Club) new pop project Self Esteem, and more (full list follows below).
After a five year absence, local heroes Hjaltalín return to the festival, along with much-loved Frankfurt house outfit BookaShade. Additionally, Indonesia and Palestine are represented for the first time at this year’s Iceland Airwaves with indie duo Stars & Rabbit and activist, performer and Hatari collaborator Bushar Murad, respectively. This follows the recently-announced John Grant, CautiousClay, OrvillePeck, and more.
“Anna Ásthildur Thorsteinsson, Will Larnarch-Jones and their team are a brilliant Keychange success story as they prove that when you approach programming with an awareness of equality, it is possible to achieve parity,” says Joe Frankland, PRS Foundation CEO. “It is particularly encouraging to see progressive international collaboration including International Showcase Fund supported Siobhan Wilson and ReBalance grantees Æ Mak performing alongside Icelandic talent including Keychange participant Hildur. Iceland Airwaves is a hugely successful festival that has an important focus on quality and opportunity, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on Phase Two of Keychange.”
Many talented women feature heavily at the Airwaves Pro industry conference running alongside the main festival November 7-8. Alison Donald (Kobalt / AWAL), Nelly Ben Hayoun Ph.D (University of the Underground) and composer Tina Tallon join Stephen O’Reilly (ie:music / ie:ventures) as the first announced speakers. For more information on Airwaves Pro visit https://icelandairwaves.is/pro/.
Launched in 1999 as a one-off event in an airplane hangar, Iceland Airwaves is now integral to Reykjavík’s cultural calendar, taking over the historic downtown area and turning it into a global music city, with over 6,000 visitors from 60 countries in attendance each year. Airwaves has long shed light on new talent, including Florence and the Machine, James Blake, and Sufjan Stevens, additionally hosting established acts like Björk, The Flaming Lips, The Knife, and Kraftwerk. The festival consistently hosts a diverse, gender-balanced line-up.
Super early-bird, and early bird tickets have all have sold out. Tickets are on sale now for 19.900 ISK (around $142) for a four-day pass.
Travel packages from USA, Canada, UK and Europe are available from Icelandair.
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE: