Word On The Street: So, How About That Iceland Airwaves?

The Grapevine asks the tough questions

Sölvi, 52

What are your thoughts on Iceland Airwaves?

I love it. It brings a really good vibe to the city, and through the years it’s uplifting to the Icelandic bands and to get all the up-and-coming bands from all over. And for the stores and cafes and restaurants downtown it has been a very big boost. So, for us, it’s very good.

Are you planning on going this year?

Yeah. And also, you know, we have always had a lot of the participants in Iceland Airwaves, they come here for breakfast, and also the foreign media come and sit here, sometimes all day on the same table. It’s quite good.

So you saw Airwaves when it was first starting?

Yeah, yeah. I was at the first Airwaves, in the airport area.

And how do you feel about how it has evolved?

It has had its ups and downs, it was very hard a few years ago, some strange directions, but I think it’s coming back to basics now. To be a little bit more in the smaller places, I think that’s the right way. But I think it’s very important to bring the foreign bands as well, and the foreign media, otherwise it’s just some Icelandic festival.

Daniela, 32

What do you think about the Airwaves festival?

Yeah, I think it is a necessary part of Icelandic culture.

Do you plan on going?

Yeah, of course absolutely, but I didn’t check the schedule yet so I don’t really know what’s on the plan.

Have you been before?

Yeah, usually the off-venues though. They’re free.

Anything else you think about it?

Yeah, I knew about this [festival] even before I lived in Iceland, because there are a lot of YouTube videos from the concerts, so I knew some Icelandic musicians before I moved here. So yeah, I really love any cultural events.

Freyr, 38

What are your thoughts on Iceland Airwaves?

Well, I haven’t been to Airwaves in like, 10 years, because it’s way too crowded, and the lines are, also like the lines are way too long, so last year, I got a VIP ticket to see one concert, at the Reykjavík Art Museum, and the queue was all the way to like Bæjarins Beztu, like these people are not getting in. Terrible.

What did you go see?

Um, I don’t even remember, I was just there supporting my friends.

Get in the festival spirit or take a stroll down memory lane. Follow along with the Grapevine’s Iceland Airwaves coverage.