It's gray and slightly rainy in Reykjavik, but eager music lovers from all over the world are bundled up against the bluster and fortifying themselves with Iceland's good, strong coffee (or maybe skipping straight to the schnapps). Official Iceland Airwaves concerts don't start until 7:00 tonight, but the streets are full of guitar cases and other music equipment to be set up. Signs are up all over town for off venue shows in record stores, coffee shops, retail spaces, and every conceivable place you can cram in a PA. But the cream of the crop of these off venue shows is right here at Kex Hostel, where locals know they can come for some of the very best shows of the festival, for free.
Today we make history. KEXP has been coming to Airwaves for the past five years. But, for the first time ever we are bringing you a live front row seat to five amazing sets each day through Saturday to watch in your very own home. Through the magic of radio and high speed internet, you can either tune in to 90.3 FM in Seattle, stream live audio at KEXP.ORG, or watch live streaming video. Kevin Cole is taking over the Morning Show at 6AM, and Cheryl Waters will be on for the Midday Show as usual, bringing you the sights and sounds of Iceland's vibrant music scene from downtown Reykjavik.
This festival is a special one. Iceland Airwaves has grown and evolved since it started in an airport hangar in 1999. Now, it's more about discovering amazing bands before they've become internationally huge. This year, 219 bands are playing in venues of all sizes throughout the city, plus hundreds more of those off venue shows. We've got a great cross section of this island nation's best and brightest on tap for today, playing in the hip and quirky bar/restaurant/lounge of Kex. Here's a peek at the schedule. Stay tuned for bios and show reviews for each and every one of these bands on the KEXP Blog.
Wednesday, November 5th06:00AM PST/ 09:00AM EST – Kiasmos08:00AM PST/ 11:00AM EST – Sóley10:00AM PST/ 01:00PM EST – Uni Stefson11:30AM PST/ 02:30PM EST – Oyama01:30PM PST/ 04:30PM EST – Mugison
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we’re presenting songs …
It's 37 degrees in Reykjavik, and KEXP is setting up at Kex Hostel for four days of incredible live music. Iceland Airwaves festival is just getting warmed up (it officially kicks off tomorrow), but things are already hot here at the hippest hostel in Iceland. We've brought along all the necessary …
