Editorial: Iceland Airwaves – Still Going Strong!

Iceland Airwaves finished last weekend with a folksy bang and an artistic flair. Those who wanted to see the folk band Mumford & Sons had to dive into the first storm of the winter in Iceland, just to listen to those friendly guitar riffs. Those who wanted something else got the idealistic storm of Hatari shot straight into their souls, forcing them to ask themselves the ultimate question: Why did you sell yourself so cheap?

The music festival is still going strong after 18 years. And it is surprisingly fresh in this postmodern age where the true superstars of our times are some nerds on Youtube we have never heard about.

As an Icelander, I’m proud to live in a country that showcases all of the incredible Icelandic talent in live performances at the festival. I am convinced that Hatari will make some international ripples with its dark-wave nihilistic punk. And there is more talent yet to be discovered. This means that a festival like Iceland Airwaves is still relevant and incredibly important for Icelandic culture.

The most successful aspect of the festival was, surprisingly, its planning. The app for the festival made it easy to look at the schedule ahead of time and figure out how to catch all the bands that you most wanted to see. It even warned users about any lines they might encounter at venues, so everybody could plan accordingly. This revealed that this festival was in good hands, and from us at Reykjavík Grapevine, we salute you all, and say thank you for a crazy fun time.