{{short description, Annual music festival in Iceland A five days music event is held annually at the Folk Music Center in Siglufjordur, northern Iceland. The festival commences on the first Wednesday of July every year.
The main focus is on

Icelandic folk music Icelandic folk music includes a number of styles that are together a prominent part of the music of Iceland. When speaking of traditional Icelandic vocal music, there are two prominent vocal performance styles, one using the term ''kveða'' and t ...

and Scandinavian folk music as well as world music and folk dances. 15-20 concerts are held in different locations of the town, f.e. the church, locals and

the Herring Era Museum The Herring Era Museum ( is, Síldarminjasafnið á Siglufirði ) is located in Siglufjörður, Iceland. It is Iceland's largest maritime museum and the only Icelandic museum to have won the ''European Museum Award''. The museum officially opene ...

. During the festival, workshops on music and old handcraft, and lectures on both Icelandic and foreign topics are held. The Folk Music Center of Siglufjordur also organizes a Folk Music Academy in conjunction with the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

, to coincide with the Folk Music Festival. The main topics of the Academy are different types of Icelandic traditional and folk music, including rimur, tvisöngur, children’s rhymes and psalms. Icelandic folk dances are also to be introduced, as well as folk music arrangements, vocal improvisation and instrumental tradition. The artistic director of the festival from 2005 to present is Gunnsteinn Olafsson.

History

The first festival was organized in the year 2000 by Reykjavik European Capital of Culture, Siglufjordur town council and a group of people interested in founding a Folk Music Center in Siglufjordur.

Awards

In 2005 the festival was awarded the "Eyrarros" award by the President of Iceland for outstanding cultural achievement in the countryside. In 2012 the Folk Music Center received a special award from

Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir (; born 1 February 1976) is an Icelandic politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Iceland since 2017 and a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency since 2007. A graduate of the Univers ...

the Minister of Education, Science and Culture for its contribution to Icelandic culture on the

Icelandic Language Day Icelandic Language Day ( is, dagur íslenskrar tungu, English: "day of the Icelandic tongue") is a festival celebrated on 16 November each year in Iceland to celebrate the Icelandic language. This date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of the ...

Performances

Among artists that have given concerts at the Folk Music Festival in Siglufjord are

Steindór Andersen Steindór Andersen (born 1954) is an Icelandic musician. Steindór is noted for his Rímur chanting and is most widely known for his collaborations with the band Sigur Rós. Other collaborations include with Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and rapper ...

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

, Bára Grímsdóttir and Chris Foster, Ensemble Unicorn, Astri Skarpengland, Jerry Rockwell,

Susanne Lundeng Susanne Merethe Lundeng (born 18 August 1969 in Bodø, Norway) is a Norwegian traditional folk musician ( fiddle) and composer. Career Lundeng had Arvid Engegård as violin teacher and is a prominent practitioner of north Norwegian folk mus ...

, Tómas R. Einarsson, Björn Thoroddsen, Eddie Walker, Minna Raskinen, Spilmenn Ríkinis, Marit Steinsrud and Stein Villa, Sturm und Drang,

Voces Thules Voces Thules is an Icelandic music ensemble formed in 1992. The ensemble consists of five male singers (Eggert Pálsson, Einar Jóhannesson, Eiríkur Hreinn Helgason, Guðlaugur Viktorsson and Sigurður Halldórsson) who have studied in Reykjavík, ...

, Maria and Olof Misgeld, Tranotra amongst many others.

References

The Library of ReykjavíkReykjavik Art Festival - Eyrarrosin
br /
The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

External links

The Folk Music Festival of Siglufjordur (Official website)

Siglufjord and Olafsfjord
(official website)
The Herring Era Museum

The University of Iceland, Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies
Icelandic culture Music festivals in Iceland Folk festivals in Iceland Summer events in Iceland