The annual music festival Aldrei fór ég suður, which has been held in Ísafjörður over Easter for nearly two decades, will not be cancelled due to the gathering ban and COVID-19. Instead, the music festival will be televised and streamed live on Saturday, April 11th.
“We heard in a news release that Aldrei fór ég suður would be cancelled, which is understandable given the gathering ban as there have usually been thousands of guests,” Kristján Freyr Halldórsson, organiser of the event, told RÚV. “We felt that it should be a last resort to cancel the event. So this was our solution.”
Kristján emphasised how important this festival is to the Westfjörds. More often than not, the bands playing there have been local. “There are many bands this year from the local area, such as Helgi Björns, Mugison, Between Mountains and the band Æfing from Flateyri,” he said.
He also relayed the difficulties artists are currently facing from the gathering ban with many shows being cancelled. “It’s especially sad for musicians who so often respond to the call and play for free when something is wrong, and support good causes. Nowadays, however, musical acts are more or less cancelled, but we did not want to do that. Hopefully that sets an example in these unprecedented times.”
Kristján said that it is wonderful that everyone has been willing to hold the festival in this unusual format, although he is sad that people are unable to come visit the Westfjörds. “But with the rising sun, we hope people will travel west this summer and give people high fives, even though it wasn’t possible at Easter, and maybe buy some plokkfiskur and shrimp.”
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