A new queer music festival, The Rainbow Festival, will be held at Havarí, the farm at Karlsstaðir in the eastern part of Iceland from July the 12-14th, starting tomorrow night.
The festival is a collaboration between LGBTIQI+ travel agency Pink Iceland and Havarí where husband and wife Svavar and Berglind run a café, food production, guesthouse and a art shed. It’s a queer festival for the whole family and the slogan says it all: Come be a unicorn with us.
The lineup for the festival is quite impressive and features artists like Lay Low, Anya Shaddock and the band Eva. Sigríður Eir Zophoníasdóttir, who is a member of Eva, is packing her bags when GayIceland calls her to ask about the festival and says she is really excited about it all.
“It’s such a magical place,” she gushes. “We in Eva recorded our first album in Svavar’s studio there so we have a really tight connection to the site and are delighted to be able to take part in this event. Also I’m told that the weather there in the east will be really nice for the next days so I’m packing shorts for the whole family.”
“The surroundings are unbelievably beautiful, you think you have arrived in heaven when you sit at the café and watch the sun mirrored in the fjord.”
Sigríður says that the aforementioned slogan “be a unicorn” is really descriptive of the mood the organisers of the festival are trying to create. “Unicorns are associated with the rainbow and being unique and we in Eva are very happy to take part in distributing the rainbow all over the place,” she says with a laugh. “I would urge everyone who is able to come east and be a part of this with us. It’s gonna be a family festival, so please feel free to bring your kids. We are all going to act as unicorns and be happy together for three days. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun and happiness. I’m really looking forward to seeing you all!”
Sigríður has been to Havarí many times and she is unstoppable in her praise of the place. “The surroundings are unbelievably beautiful, you think you have arrived in heaven when you sit at the café and watch the sun mirrored in the fjord. The energy of the place is incredible and the accommodations Svavar and Berglind have created are first class. You should really come and check it out.”
The popular singer songwriter Lay Low agrees with Sigríður wholeheartedly. “Me, my family and my friends are going,” she says. “We’re going follow the sun and the nice atmosphere.”
Lay Low played at Havarí last summer and she didn´t hesitate when she was asked to perform at the Rainbow Festival. “Last year I had such enormous fun that I said yes immediatly when I was asked to do it again,” she says and smiles from ear to ear.
Asked if she has any tips for potential guests at the Rainbow Festival Lay Low smiles again. “From what I know of Havarí and it’s people we are speaking of extremely easy wibes mixed with a lot of joy.”
Will you be playing any new material? “I’m just taking songs from all over the place so it will be a very mixed program,” she answers. “Anya Shaddock will play on the same evening as me and I’m really looking forward to hearing and seeing her perform,” she says and adds that the weather forecast is favourable and the line up at the festival is good, so she just recommends that people take a trip to the east.
“From what I know of Havarí and it’s people we are speaking of extremely easy wibes mixed with a lot of joy.”
The festival starts Thursday night with a concert of the punk group Austurvígstöðvarnar, and then there will be a musical program both Friday and Saturday plus an art exhibition. Guests can either bring their own tents or order room in the guesthouse through the website www.havari.is
Tickets for the festival are available at tix.is where you can also check out the program of the festival.