Iceland 2025 — Day Ten

A daytime moon was shining over Vesturbæjarlaug this morning.

Notice the woman/fish statue to the left of the doors.

Had some lively conversations in the pool’s biggest hotpot with some fellow Iceland Airwaves attendees: Troy from Texas who had known Tina and Barry (see yesterday’s post) for years. A German and a Finnish woman were very sociable as well. After a while Troy left (to do laps) and the talk turned from music to horses, so I made my exit as well. After an afternoon nap I attended another play in Tjarnarbíó (in English this time) Dead Air by Álfrún Rose:

Since Alfie’s dad died, he’s visited everyone’s dreams but hers. Rude. Desperate to talk to him, she uses AiR, an AI chatbot for the dead. A heartfelt, funny, and glitchy deep dive into grief, ghosts, and digital obsession.~ from the Airwaves guide

A good premise, somewhat defeated by an unintelligible voice-shifting device that Álfrún used when she was ‘streaming’ her dead father. The hour+ performance became a litany of dysfunctional family tropes, even more disturbing because I suspect they were all true. Because the show started late and ran over, I missed getting in to see Pussy Riot at Smekkleysa.

No worries, more music tonight!


Ms Obama — Heavy bass and dub step, my standing next to the sub woofers in Iðno to get a shot might have affected the sharpness of the pictures!

Hania Derej — A young pianist/composer from Poland:

She was completely enveloped in her music, scarcely raising her head from the keys. After her fantastic performance she was overcome with emotion from the enthusiastic response of the Fríkirkjan crowd.

JFDR

Of all the Icelandic performers I’ve followed over the years, Jofriður Ákadóttir is, simply, my favorite. From a plucky schoolgirl to a mature performer, following her development in music and lyrics has been an education for me in genres I probably would have never explored.

Dozens of FITK posts have been written over the years about her (and her twin sister Ásthildur), Pascal Pinon, Samaris, Gangly, and, of course, JFDR. She had a new ‘band’ tonight composed of friends and previous collaborators as well as her husband Josh.

They performed some new songs, one of which had intricate harmonies and was simply breath-taking. The packed church was spellbound. Jofriður also did My Work, Spectator and The Orchid, each with a new arrangement. She was in a great mood and this was a perfect setting for her performing style:

The group received a well-deserved ovation, one of the most memorable of the numerous Iceland Airwaves shows I’ve seen over the last 20 years:

I would have gone out again to see some more acts but it would have been a letdown after this.

My 2025 Iceland Airwaves is over.

More Icelandic trip coverage will be posted in the coming weeks after I’ve returned home.