I & I - 2011, Síða 11

11I&I
If you like music you can visit Iceland virtually every month
and find some sort of music festival. Jazz, blues, classic, heavy
metal. You name it and you will probably find it. Some of the
festivals are in Reykjavík, like the ever popular Iceland airwaves
in October, while many are in towns and villages further afield.
east is east
The tiny community of Borgarfjördur eystri is one of Iceland’s
most popular music venues during the summer. The July Brae-
dslan festival has had many popular performers in the past, in-
cluding Emilíana Torrini, damien Rice, Belle & Sebastian, Magni,
Fanfarlo, Lay Low, Thursaflokkurinn, Megas and Senuthjófarnir,
Páll Óskar and Monika, Eivör Pálsdóttir, KK and Ellen, the Irish
Oscar winner Glen Hansard, and Hjálmar.
The Braedslan festival is steadily becoming one of the most
popular music events in summer. The festival is called Braed-
slan, or The Smelter, because the music venue is an old herring
smelter tank. Adding to the charm of the festival is its location in
a small, isolated village in eastern Iceland, about an hour’s drive
from Egilstadir airport. Every year about one thousand people
come to Borgarfjördur eystri (not to be confused with the Bor-
garfjördur in western Iceland), thereby increasing the number of
inhabitants tenfold.
West is west
Some things are best done on a small scale, like putting together
Aldrei fór ég sudur (‘I never went south’), a little music festival
that has been happening over the Easter weekend in Ísafjördur
since 2004.
The concept behind the festival is simple, as one of its main
founders, musician Mugison, describes it: “We thought, how fun-
ny would it be to have a festival where there was no sound check,
where every band had to just plug in and play—whether you were
múm or some old guy on an accordion—where everybody was
equal in a way.”
Just getting to Ísafjördur around Easter may be an adventure in
itself. From Reykjavík, you can book a 45-minute flight or you can
drive some 450 kilometers. The drive takes you through some
of the most varied landscape that Icelandic roads have to offer
in one day: lava fields, rolling hills, the dreaded highland of Ste-
ingrímsfjardarheidi, and finally the long, winding, sparsely popu-
lated fjords.
The festival itself is a two-day affair, beginning on Good Friday
and lasting well into Saturday night. Initially, the festival took place
in an old fish-freezing plant in the harbor, but has since moved to
a slightly bigger warehouse just outside the city center.
music ALL Around us
Music festivals are becoming more popular
every year in all corners of Iceland.
The five mountains with the best
view in Iceland.
 sveinstindur, not far from Lake Langisjór, easy walk, fantastic view.
 esjA, next door to the capital, easy and rewarding.
 kverkFjöLL, at the northern part of Vatnajökull glacier, from the top you
can see the whole North East Iceland.
 kALdbAkur in Eyjafjördur bay, north of Akureyri.
 kALdbAkur, yes the same name, but this one is in dýrafjördur in the West Fjords.

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