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While Reykjavik soaks in the Airwaves atmosphere, Bakkus Bar will be again going it alone with their own festival – for the last time…

Iceland Airwaves is a time when music, musicians and, the city’s cultural venues are very much united as one to provide  some decent shows. The off-venue schedule alone has numerous places showing music, from cafes and bars, to bus stations and book shops. Everywhere, it seems, wants to get in on the action.

This has caused some venues to go it alone and create their own events. One such place is the well known 101 bar and venue Bakkus. “Being part of the official Airwaves off-venue thing comes with a price tag and a whole set of rules, one off which was a time limit. This was something that I didn’t like, ” says Jón Palmar Sigurðsson, manager of Bakkus. “So from this, that’s why we created Bakkus B-Waves – a free festival that goes on longer than the other off-venues so there is more for the people that don’t have a ticket to Airwaves.”

Although the consensus is that Bakkus B-Waves started in 2011, it has actually been going for longer, according to Jón. “Actually this has been going on since the beginning of Bakkus so this is the 4th one  since 2009. But it was all much smaller at first so people may have missed it. Last year the event was more defined and advertised, with way more bands, and everything in itself felt pretty much like proper festival.”

As for this year’s B-Waves,  preparations have been good, if a little restricted, since Bakkus moved this year from it’s old location in Tryggvagata (where the German Bar venue now stands), to Laugavegur 22, a much smaller venue. “The preparations last year where on a much grander scale for a much larger venue of course,” say Jón. “But for this year we still have a nice line-up. We’re not going to have a lights guy or something like that, but it will be much more intimate.”

There is also a rather sad finality to this year’s Bakkus B-Waves in that after the final concerts on Sunday, the bar will be shutting it’s doors – for the final time. But Jón is pretty unfazed by the prospect of Bakkus closing it’s doors for good. “I think I will enjoy the whole thing as we close up shop after B-Waves. It will be a grand blast.”

So if you want to experience some of the real 101 party/music experience, we very much recommend that you mark some time in your Airwaves calender to venture to Bakkus B-Waves for a pint and a boogie!

Bakkus B-Waves will be running from Tuesday 30th Oct, to their last call on Sunday 5th November. For more information on the festival and the line-up, check out their event page. 

BAKKUS B-WAVES LINE UP!

TUESDAY 
21:00-01:00 B-Waves warm up with DJ Katla BEST OF BAKKUS

WEDNESDAY
20:00 Nolo
21:00 Muck
22:00 Plastic Gods
Dj Harry Knuckles