The 2024 Iceland Airwaves festival, running November 7-9 across venues in downtown Reykjavík, will feature more than 35 Icelandic artists, and dozens more from the U.S., UK, and Europe.
This year, the three-day festival welcomes newcomers the New York post-punk band cumgirl8, along with The Vaccines, indie rock quartet English Teacher, which just released their debut This Could Be Texas, punks Benefits, and Lambrini Girls from the UK, Dutch indie rockers Personal Trainer, and more along with Bar Italia, Overmono, and Miami, Florida-based alt-pop duo Magdalena Bay.
The lineup was completed with the addition of six more artists, including Icelandic indie band Superserious, who won Best New Act at the 2022 Iceland Airwaves Awards, psych-rock band Oyama, and electro-pop artist Sykur, both also from Iceland, along with the band Rosettes, synth-pop duo Modem, and musician Jaakko Eino Kalevi from Finland.
Faroese artists Marius Ziska, Dania O. Tausen, and Silvurdrongur are also part of the lineup, along with other Nordic acts, including Stockholm group Dina Ögon, who were co-signed by rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator.
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Official venues for the 2024 festival include the Reykjavík Art Museum Hafnarhús, Nasa, Kolaport, Gaukurinn, Idno (Iðnó) culture house, and Fríkirkjan church.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Iceland Airwaves. The festival began more modestly as a one-off event at an airplane hangar at Reykjavík Airport on October 19, 1999, with headliners Sigur Rós, who had just released their second album Ágaetis byrjun (“A Good Beginning”) and GusGus from the UK.
By 2000, the festival expanded to a three-day festival, featuring the Flaming Lips, Suede, and Thievery Corporation. In 2014, the festival shifted from October to November and has since expanded to performances at venues throughout Reykjavík, spanning record shops, churches, museums, clubs, and larger-scale venues.
Throughout the past 25 years, Yoko Ono, Björk, Kraftwerk, The Flaming Lips, The Knife, Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, John Grant, Florence and the Machine, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, and more have passed through the fest along with Icelandic artists Aurora, Kaleo, Of Monsters and Men, Ásgeir, sóley, and more.
To kick off the 25th Iceland Airwaves, new Iceland president Halla Tómasdóttir will open the festival during a morning ceremony on Thursday, November 7, joined by Icelandic artists Elín Hall and Hjálmar.
“We are incredibly proud to be celebrating not only 25 years of Iceland Airwaves but 25 years of playing a key part in the careers of some of the world’s most talented artists,” said Ísleifur Þórhallsson, Iceland Airwaves festival manager in a statement.
“Over the years, we have seen many of our Airwaves alumni grow from strength to strength, often developing into some of the industry’s most acclaimed artists,” added Þórhallsson. “It is an honor to continue to bring new talent to Reykjavík and share our beloved Icelandic community with the world.”
Photo: Iceland Airwaves 2023 by Cat Gundry Beck
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