The Faroese Islands

At the same time local celebrities toasted their victories at the Icelandic Music Awards, Faroese musicians invaded Organ with a set much more energetic than any awards-party could ever be. Eivör Pálsdóttir, the blonde queen from the small village of Gøta, was first to take to the stage. Looking like she was pulled straight from a fairy tale, she shone with her huge voice. Eivör is an incredible singer and backed only by her acoustic guitar her performance was more dynamic than a five-piece sporting crazy drum action and heroic guitar solos. Although her lyrics are a bit cheesy, her singing is so effortless and her stage presence so sincere that she is pure joy to watch.

At the time Eivör finished her set, the place was packed with Faroese friends and local fans. The extremely wild Boys in a Band brought the crowd to a state of total madness with their powerful head-banging rock n’ roll and the sweaty front row screamed their lungs out when the fivesome climaxed in ‘Beyond Communication’. Their Hammond-organ player, with his long beard, twitchy moves and fun choice of clothes, reminded me of Captain Jack Sparrow, which only made me love them even more. If Boys in a Band are any indication of the Faroese music scene, the future looks pretty damn good.

The crowd diminished when the electro-dance-pop group Bloodgroup jumped on stage but the downswing can be explained partly by the fact that it was almost 1am on a Tuesday night. The three siblings from the East fjords of Iceland, the Faroese maniac Janus on the octapad and their scratching DJ B-Ruff were far from tired and proved once again that they are a great live band, any day of the week.