Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen debuted “Because the Night”, December 30, 1977, CBGB Theater, NYC, just one of the magical Patti Smith moments I’ve caught over the past 50 years. Patti Smith’s Horses is one of those albums that I wouldn’t...

Historically speaking, Reykjavík has not been a city particularly interested in easing gently into the evening. The Icelandic night traditionally arrived rather abruptly: dinner at home, a few drinks before heading downtown very late, and then the n...

Municipal elections took place on Saturday, May 16. In Reykjavík, there was a swing to the right. The Centre Party gained three seats, and the Independence Party went from six to nine seats. The latter now faces the task of forming a new ruling majo...

It appears that the ferris wheel will return to Miðbakki at Reykjavík Harbour for a third summer in a row. Reykjavík City Council has approved a proposal to enter talks with Taylor’s Tivoli Iceland ehf. about extending the company’s agreem...

The Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn), Liberal Reform Party (Viðreisn), and Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) have reached an agreement to form a new majority coalition in Reykjavík, reports RÚV. The new majority was officially...

At 23:00 on May 16, I was standing outside Tónlabíó, preparing to cover five more election parties. Jón Trausti was there with me. For the night, he was my cameraman (an iPhone), editor (same iPhone), and producer (insane optimism). Fuelled by It...

There are 20 words for sheep in Icelandic, the majestic livestock having that great a role in the building of this nation. Behold the majesty of the nation’s great livestock: the noble sheep. Now, tell us the name of this specific sheep. Email us a...

When I arrive five minutes early to the World Class gym, I’m one of only two guests. Most of the models have already started working out, scattered around the room. They stretch, lift weights, cycle and pose, with emotionless expressions. “Welcom...

Fans of Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi can expect something a little unusual this June. On June 5, Fischersund, the Reykjavík-based art and fragrance collective founded by Jónsi and his siblings, will present what they describe as Iceland’s first “...

My birding life began the way most things do at 13: reluctantly. I joined my mom and little brother on a Saturday experiment, tagging along with a tight-knit group of khaki-wearing pensioners who had clearly been at this together for years. Around my...

A man in his forties has been remanded in custody until Friday in connection with a shooting incident in Kópavogur that left another man injured, reports RÚV. The incident occurred on Sunday, May 24, in the Kársnes district, where a man in his six...

A total of 295 primary school-aged children in the capital area require long-term special education placements, but 119 of them are not admitted despite meeting the required criteria, reports RÚV. The data comes from a new report, prepared by the HL...

After years of making masks in hotel rooms and crafting visual worlds for Björk, James Merry is ready to show his work “I’m finishing a new mask right now,” says British-born, Iceland-based artist and mask-maker James Merry, best known for his...

Welcome to The Haul, where we give you a peek into our shopping bag (or the shopping bag of someone far more interesting than us) and an idea of what’s worth browsing and buying in Reykjavík these days. This issue, we handed the list to designer B...

As a follow-up to our current issue feature on whaling, Micah Garen interviewed Canadian activist Paul Watson. Famous for his work with activist group Sea Shepherd, Paul is credited with sinking two whaling boats in Iceland in 1986, though he has so ...

There is a moment in the 2009 cult classic Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre when a tourist, swimming away from a scene of carnage, is harpooned by an angry  whaler. It seems Iceland is about to relive that moment en masse.  After two years without...

It’s 10:00 on a Sunday morning in Reykjavík and 20:00 in Sydney when director Baltasar Kormákur joins my video call. Last time we spoke, almost two years ago, Baltasar told me he received a book as a gift that had absolutely captivated him and he...

There’s something urgent about the short-lived Icelandic summer. The moment rare sun rays kiss your skin, you feel compelled to squeeze as much out of it as possible — racing to have fun, trying to feel alive. When the temperature hits a balmy 10...

Of course, the sun was out and Reykjavík felt alive and amazing all week — but just as we’ve printed our new issue (out on the streets now) and are ready to exhale into the weekend, hoping to sit in Klambratún or have a drink outside like every...

The Reykjavík Grapevine has been published in downtown Reykjavík for more than 20 years. For most of that time, its offices have been next door to the “World Famous Hot Dog Stand.” Every day, people drop-in to our office for various reasons...

  Iceland’s Municipality ElectionsElections were held in Iceland’s municipalities last Saturday. These elections take place every four years and unlike parliamentary elections have a wider voting base, since people who don’t have an Icelandic ...

It’s 8:55 AM the Monday after municipal elections destroyed the left in Reykjavík, and I’m standing outside Háskólabíó holding an oily paper bag with two kleinur waiting for one of Iceland’s most celebrated living writers, Einar Már Guðm...

“New Milestone in Icelandic film premieres at Prague,” was what started my four-month pursuit of the VR film Fallax. Before I could ever actually personally encounter the film, filmmakers Owen Hindley and Nanna Gunnars, working under the company ...

Magnús Jóhann is a very serious composer, and, as very serious composers do, he recently wrote Very Serious Music, his new concerto for Ondes Martenot, piano and orchestra, to premiere at Harpa on the 22nd of May. I met up with Magnús to talk abou...

Björgvin Halldórsson died last month, a week before his 75th birthday. He is the sound of Icelandic Christmas: synth ballads, dramatic key changes, songs that warm the darkest months. Many of them are Italian pop songs he heard on holiday in the 19...

On election night, The Grapevine interviewed candidates from almost all of the parties running in the municipality of Reykjavík. What is relevant in these interviews now, after the ballots have been cast and counted, is what a coalition to rule Reyk...

The Reykjavík Grapevine has been published out of downtown Reykjavík for more than 20 years, with its offices for most of that time next door to the “World Famous Hot Dog Stand.”  In this episode of The Drop-In, Bart Cameron and Jón T...

Two decades ago, the Grapevine ran a stunning advertisement that stated there were now 400,000 tourists in a country of 300,000 people. At that time, we were one of many free newspapers, and we held the singular advantage of presenting information in...

As has been well documented, we have no money here. We do, however, have shoes. On May 16 and 17, we walked eight miles, attended eight election parties, and interviewed as many authorities as possible to determine what the future might hold for Reyk...

“I think everybody has a great relationship with Snæfellsnes, because, when it’s a sunny day in Reykjavík, you see the glacier! It’s associated with something very positive,” Birgit Guðjónsdóttir remarked over a video call this Ma...

Whether you live in Reykjavík or are just visiting, you’ve got to do something on a weekend night — and luckily, we’ve selected a few things you might want to check out. Tonight, Friday, May 15, Kjartan Hugi plays a mostly improvised set on wo...

On May 10, Stjörnugrís pig farm at Kjalarnes was burglarised. Offices were vandalised and pigs were freed from their pens, resulting in the death of at least 10 piglets.  In conversation with Vísir, Stjörnugrís CEO Geir Gunnar Geirsson claimed ...

An AI video posted on the People’s Party’s first chair Guðmundir Ingi Þóroddsson’s TikTok profile was quickly taken down harsh criticism. Among other things, the video featured Guðmundur fistfighting Social Democrat first chair Pétur Marte...

Iceland has resigned from the international Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which facilitates cross-border energy industry co-operation. Enviromental, Energy, and Climate Minister and Social Democrat MP Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson claimed the treaty to be...

Close readers of the Reykjavik Grapevine may notice that while our online summary of the 2026 municipal campaign includes a response from the Pirate Party, our print issue does not, (due to a combination of response timing and tight publication sched...

The Reykjavík Grapevine’s Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with an (un?)healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Grapevine editor-in-chief Bart Cameron, and Grapevine frien...

In the haze of electoral information, here are the things that stand out Icelandic municipal politics are primarily based on the national party landscape, with most of the major parties campaigning in every municipality. Reykjavík is no exception, a...

Halldór Áskell Stefánsson walked 57 kilometres home from work on May 8, travelling from Reykjavík to Selfoss, reports Vísir. He walked for more than 13 hours. This is the third time Halldór has either walked, cycled, or run between his home an...

Romanian hacker exploited a flaw in the Arion Bank’s system to transfer approximately 160 million ISK to himself, reports Vísir. Arion Bank has since recovered most of the funds. Police in Bucharest arrested a 33-year-old Romanian man on May 6 on ...

The upcoming May 16th elections bring a new Reykjavík council So, you’ve been out of the loop and don’t know who to vote for in the upcoming municipal elections. Can you even vote? What’s this Borgarlína? Is it really a tram? Who is Ari Edwal...

Daði Freyr closed Salurinn’s 2026 Söngvaskáld season One of the capital area’s best-kept secrets in terms of music venues, Salurinn is a part of the Hamraborg cultural complex. Located within a stone’s throw of one another, these facilities ...

“It’s completely clear that everything would be put on the line to keep Iceland from going into the EU. If we did, then everything would be put on the line to get it back out again. I’m not a violent man and I will speak against violenc...

Former first lady of Iceland, Dorrit Moussaieff, shared a picture of herself embracing UK Reform leader Nigel Farage on May 8. The British political party won a en electoral victory in the recent UK council elections, held May 7. In an Instagram post...

Yrsa Roca Fannberg’s The Ground Beneath Our Feet brings an unflinching portrayal of life in its last chapter Outside an old house in Vesturbær, two silver-haired women sit on a bench, bathing in what may be the last of September sun. Inside, dozen...

    “When you enter, like in front of the entrance door, there’s this big phallic sculpture of bodies all placed on top of each other,” Yuki Mik tells me. The musician, artist, Grapevine contributor and now model is describing Wor...

What a week! The new Grapevine is fresh off the press, Sir David Attenborough turns 100, half the town seems to be in Venice for the Biennale opening of the incomparable Ásta Fanney at the Icelandic Pavilion, and DesignMarch has landed with enough e...

Debut LP Samferða weaves lost connections, diary entries, and theatre Anna Róshildur Benediktsdóttir Bøving — Róshildur for short — pulls up to 12 Tónar on a vintage turquoise Bianchi road bike. “I got this off Facebook Marketplace in a...

Studio Brynjar & Veronika takes on Icelandic poplar in a new furniture collection “Nature is somehow gradually ​​moving further away from us. We tend to experience it as something we step into and out of,” says Brynjar Sigurðarson, speak...

Reykjavík stalwart combs life experience with his 10th album, conditioned by experience Without Ægir Sindri Bjarnason, the Reykjavík music scene would be worse for wear. An enduring musician and organiser, Ægir’s efforts have made indelible mar...

For the April issue of the Grapevine, we held a photo shoot with Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir. The shoot itself was a scramble, as we wanted a chance to show the mayor in the elements of Reykjavik, and we had limited time and budget. We scrapped...