The official schedule kicked off on Thursday and we were ready, catching seven artists ranging in styles from pop to punk to techo to chap hop. Yes, chap hop. It’s an actual thing. The performers were from Iceland and England and Wales and Denmark, performing solo and in duos an in five-piece bands. Guitars and electronics and banjolele were all on display. Yes, banjolele. It’s an actual thing too. It was quite a day
Things kicked off at Lucky Records when a dapper chap wearing a suit and a perfectly waxed mustache entered and introduced himself as Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer (below). And this is where both the banjolele and chap hop entered the chat, as Mr. B uses said instrument to play tunes in said genre. I think his Wikipedia page provides the perfect one-sentence description: “Mr.B raps, or ‘rhymes’, about good manners, dressing with style and dignity, sophisticated society, pipe smoking and cricket while playing the banjolele.” He does so in a charming, old-timey style, and at one point broke out into a teacup solo, which is exactly what it sounds like – he uses a teaspoon to play a bone china cup (which, alas, cracked during the performance). He was charming and witty and a lot of fun, and I made sure to grab a couple of his CDs after the show (though I did not avail myself to one of the Mr. B pocket squares).
One of the shows I was most excited about this year was the reunion of the one-and-only Fufanu (below). The challenge, however, is that they were scheduled to play Smekkleysa. The room there is small and it can get very, very packed. But we decided to get there early and see if we could stake out a spot. Fortunately for us a contingent of friends had the same idea, so we posted up with Paul and Emma, Oscar and Sarah, and about 125 of our other newest besties1 and watched the guys crush it. I haven’t played any Fufanu for a long time and frankly I’d forgotten how great they were (are). They closed with my favorite track, “Sports” and hit it out of the park (pun intended).
From there we headed down to the Reykjavik Art Museum to see a pair of artists. First up was Lúpina, a solo performer from the singer-songwriter tradition but with electronic music. Her songs were introspective and thoughtful and she was a big hit with the crowd. Next was the group we’d come to see – Cyber (below). For those of you who follow my year-end “Best Of” lists, you may recall that Cyber’s album SAD :'( was ranked #2 on my Top 5 New Releases list last year. I saw them live at Airwaves ’24 at Lucky Records and was looking forward to experiencing them on the big stage at the Art Museum. And the ladies didn’t disappoint, banging out a sexy and empowering set, heavy beats making heads bob and feet bounce. “Porn Star” was the highlight, but in truth they killed it with every song.
When you’re venue-hopping at Airwaves a pit stop at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur for an Icelandic-style hot dog is an absolute must, and we made our first of what will likely be multiple visits to the dog stand to fortify ourselves for the next three artists at Gaukurinn. Unfortunately the once great rock venue has fallen into turmoil in 2025, an ill-advised transition to “Fever” club nights, a bankruptcy, and a lot of bad blood with the local community tarnishing its reputation. You wouldn’t have known it last night, though (other than the tacky Grand-Theft-Auto-inspired mural at the top of the stairs…), as Gaukurinn was back to what it always did best – rock. We caught the tail end of Máni Orrason‘s earnest set, then watched Knackered (formerly IDK IDA) tear the place down with her brand of glitch techno, the crowd dancing throughout her 40-minute set. That brought us to the band we’d come to Gaukurinn to see, the 5-piece female punk band Panic Shack. And they did not disappoint, playing straight-ahead, full throttle punk rock to a pogoing mass in the center of the room. Their energy and attitude were infectious and they were my favorite band of the night.
Walking back to our hotel I reflected on how much I needed this. One of our friends observed the same thing earlier in the night. He’d had a video call with his partner earlier in the day and she remarked how relaxed he looked after only a few days here, as if all the weight and stress of life had been washed away. I felt very much the same. Connecting with the music is the key – I needed that reminder of what a special set feels like, the energy, the renewed sense of hope for the future. Thank you, Airwaves.
- I made a rough count of the room, and this total included the 20 or so people crammed onto the stairwell. To say it was packed would be an understatement. I’m sure we broke multiple fire codes. ↩︎