The Reykjavík Folk Festival is a three-day festival celebrating folk music. You can expect concerts from some of the best Icelandic folk bands, both newcomers and veterans.
The festival will be held from the 1st till the 3rd of March at the comfy Kex Hostel. Concerts start at 20:00 each night and end at 23:00. Tickets are available at tix.is and at the door.
Join the festival for a couple of days filled with good music and cosy vibes at a friendly venue! Most concerts will be acoustic, creating intimate performances. Don’t miss it!
Thursday, March 1st
Stuntbird
Stuntbird is the musical project of young musician Svavar Níelsson. His music can be described as a mix between indie and folk music. His songs are collected under “The Demo Tapes”, a beautiful combination of tranquil guitar music and warm indie tunes.
Mads Mouritz
Mads Mouritz is a Danish musician living in Iceland, known for playing Danish folk songs using all kinds of instruments like the Indian flute, valiha, banjo, violin, electric guitar and percussions. He has been around for 12 years and has played at big festivals like Roskilde.
Myrra Rós
Myrra Rós is a singer-songwriter based in Reykjavík. She makes dreamy pop and harmonic folk. Her gentle voice is combined with haunting drums, string instruments and beautiful piano scores.
Lára Rúnars
Lára Rúnars released her first album in 2003 and is a well-known artist in the Icelandic music scene. In the past she worked together with Damien Rice, and she has released singer-songwriter songs as well as indie-pop music. Her latest album Moment, inspired by artists like PJ Harvey, breathes an eighties synth-pop style, and is overall darker than her earlier work.
Friday, March 2nd
Syntagma Rembetiko
Syntagma Rembetiko, named after a square in Athens, started in 2017. Rembetiko style is a music genre that combines elements of European music, Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical chant and Ottoman-Turkish music.
Kólga
Kólga is a four-piece band playing folk and roots music. They play Celtic folk, Scandinavian folk, Ukrainian folk as well as their own original compositions. Combine these styles with Icelandic lyrics and vocal harmonies and you have all the necessary ingredients for this exciting band.
Halli Reynis
Halli Reynis has been active in the Icelandic folk scene for many years, and has released eight albums, with another album to be released this summer. He plays well-composed folk and blues songs, marked by a powerful use of instruments and strong lyrics.
Pétur Ben
Pétur Ben is a Reykjavík-born indie-rock musician and composer who has been active in the Icelandic underground scene for many years, before becoming known by the wider public by playing with and writing for Icelandic singer-songwriter Mugison. He wrote scores for movies and has composed music for several theatre productions.
Saturday, March 3rd
Árni Vil
Árni Vil is an exciting new three-piece indie band playing poppy guitar folk. Árni used to be part of electro-pop band FM Belfast, but is now taking his first steps in the folk scene, with songs like The Hitchhiker’s Ride to the Pharmacy.
Soffía Björg
Soffía Björg is a talented singer-songwriter from Reykjavík who plays folk music and alternative rock. She started in the Americana band Brother Grass. Her music is jazzy, soulful and catchy. Forceful compositions are topped with her strong and unique voice.
Teitur Magnússon
You might know Teitur Magnússon from the reggae band Ojba Rasta, but he also performs solo under his own name. He plays a mix of spacey pop, indie-folk and rock. In the past, he collaborated with Icelandic indie favourite dj. flugvél og geimskip.
Bjartmar Guðlaugsson
Bjartmar Guðlaugsson is a well-established Icelandic musician, poet and artist who has been active for more than 30 years. He has released a large number of albums and songs that hit the top of the charts, including Týndu kynslóðina, Hippann, 15 ára á föstu, Járnkallinn, Súrmjólk í hádeginu and Með vottorð í leikfimi.
For more information visit the website of Reykjavík Folk Festival 2018.
