Things truly get heated up on this week’s edition of Hot Happenings, as we have an absolutely fire discussion with Icelandic music industry expert Anna Jóna Dungal. A wearer of many hats in the industry with a rich and varied background, she is notably the OK AGENCY consulting firm, manager of erstwhile Eurovision contenders Celebs, and previously on the Sena Live team.
She recently put on a new fancy hat of project manager at Salurinn Concert House in Kópavogur, a beloved music hall that has raised the bar Iceland’s live music world since the early 2000s. Along with discussing their events and programming, Anna Jóna and hosts Jói and Rex deep dive into the state of live music venues in the capital, the ins and outs of playing the music industry game, and the importance of being able to suck on stage.
If you have lots of spicy thoughts about live music in Iceland, this one will be a scorcher for you!
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For more events and happenings, check our picks below and events.grapevine.is. If the weather continues to be like this during the weekend, you might wanna ditch your bedroom and cosy up in Bío Paradís for Draumar, Konur & Brauð instead.
Runs until May 26 — Elliðaárstöð — Free
The Elliðaá river in eastern Reykjavík has a long and coloured history in our fair burg. From the water being harnessed by the now defunct Elliðaárstöð power plant to the urban wildlife reserve of the valley that surrounds it. The exhibition Kindred embraces all of these histories and the area’s many lifeforms to create connections and manifestations with those parts of nature usually unseen and unheard. The exhibition is the MA graduation project of Daria Testoedova. RX
Friday May 24 – Sunday May 25 — 12:00-17:00 — Free
Zines, pamphlets, prints, monographs, and all sorts of art books? The Reykjavík Art Book Fair has it all — from university projects by art students to exclusive one-copy pieces costing 40,000 ISK by established artists. Local and international, Icelandic and immigrant, weird and traditional, the fair offers a whole spectrum of creativity. With the addition of the mobile print studio Brumm Brumm making their screen-printed posters right on the spot, make sure to check it out this weekend. IZ
Saturday May 25 — 11:00 — National Gallery of Iceland — 1.500-15.000 ISK
Why run a marathon when you can dance a marathon? The very word “marathon” brings forth all kinds of assumptions – physical prowess, high endurance, peak performance. At the second annual Dance Marathon, you can fouetté those notions right over the barre cause none of that matters a shake. Held within the cadre of the DansDagar festival, the seven-hour charity event is a space where everybody with any level of physical abilities is welcomed to celebrate the joy of movement. This year’s edition raises funds for SLF, The Benefit Society for Children with Disabilities, because everyone’s moves matter. RX
Saturday May 25 — 19:00 — LEMMY — 7.900 ISK
HAM are considered the godfathers of Icelandic rock music. Every now and then they will invite the younger bands to do a show with them, both to let said youngsters kiss the ring and to hang on to their own relevance. Get thyself to LEMMY for the chance to witness the emergence of Reykjavík’s next fresh and exciting musical pioneers, but also to pay homage to the long lived and experienced on the scene. AJ
Sunday May 26 — 21:00 — Harpa (Norðurljós) — 4.900 ISK
Back in 2016, seven flautists were brought together by the one and only Björk to perform on her Utopia tour. Yada yada yada, they’re now called Viibra and they are releasing their self-titled debut album! (Read more on page 28.) Incorporating movement along with their intricate and beautifully chaotic compositions, the group will perform four pieces from their upcoming release, thus proving why the big B kept these musicians in tow for more than five years and multiple tours. With choreography by Margrét Bjarnadóttir, who did Ragnar Kjartansson’s “No Tomorrow,” we expect this show to truly blow you away. RX
Dr. Mads Gilbert Lecture on Gaza 2024
Monday May 27 – 20:00 – Háskólabíó – Free
Wednesday May 29 – 19:30 – Menningarhúsið Hof (Akureyri) – Free
If, like millions of folks around the world, you have been gaping in horror and disbelief at your screens for the past seven months wondering “what the actual fuck is going on and why won’t anyone stop this?” then that makes all of us. On your literal doomscroll, you have very likely encountered Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor and prominent activist for Palestine who has seen the horrors first-hand. He is now coming to deliver the lecture “Gaza 2024: A catastrophic man-made disaster. What can we do?” in both Reykjavík and Akureyri. And we really, really need to know what we can do. RX
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