Music News: Slayer Vs. Bonnie Tyler, Airwaves Takeover, Icelandic Music Awards

Secret Solstice has unveiled the lineup for the 2018 edition. After initially launching as an electronic and rap-focussed event, the festival has diversified over the years to include a wider range of artists. This year, you can see everything from Slayer to Bonnie Tyler alongside artists like rapper Stormzy, trap star Gucci Mane, dubstep producer Skream, and Canadian rockers Death From Above. As always, the bill also features the cream of the local scene, from alt-crooner Högni to folk torchbearer JFDR, rock ‘n’ roll trio Dream Wife, and twenty different flavours of Icelandic rap. Tickets are on sale now. JR

In other festival news, event management company Sena Live recently acquired the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. Airwaves is a beloved and world-famous event that was founded back in 1999; founding sponsor Icelandair has overseen the festival ever since. While Icelandair will be handing over the management of the festival from 2018, they will continue to work as a supporter and investor, focusing on promoting the event locally and internationally. The Iceland Music agency will remain involved in the festival in an advisory and industry/media relations capacity. What does this mean for the festival? Time will tell. JR

The Icelandic Music Awards have announced their 2018 nominees. The list is out now, and serves as a testament to what a busy and exciting year 2017 was for Icelandic music. Some of the nominees were also winners at our Grapevine Music Awards for 2017, including Högni’s ‘Two Trains’ (our Album of the Year), Joey Christ’s “Joey Cypher” (our Song of the Year) and JFDR (our Artist of the Year). The ceremony will be held at Harpa on March 14th, and streamed live by RÚV. We’ll keep you posted on the winners. PF

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