HEIMA hátíðin litar hjarta Hafnarfjarðar í kvöld

“Everything belongs at Heima,” says Ólafur Páll Gunnarsson, radio host and one of the organizers of the music festival HEIMA, which is being held for the 11th time this evening in the town center of Hafnarfjörður, Wednesday, 22 April – the last day of winter. The other organizer is Henný María Frímannsdóttir, who lives in Hafnarfjörður. Yes, this beautiful music festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of summer in the town.

“Sold out and fantastic,” says Óli Palli, describing how the festival has sold out for the past two to three years, but never as quickly as this year. “It’s new for us to sell out in three days already a month ago. That means the festival has truly established itself.”

Óli Palli looks back to the beginning. Together with Kristinn Sæmundsson, who ran the record shop Hljómalind on Laugavegur and helped foster the so‑called ‘krútt generation’ – and others – he started the festival just over a decade ago after a conversation with the Faroese musician Jón Tyril at Harpa Concert Hall.

“We met at Iceland Airwaves 2013 and he told us about a new festival in the Faroe Islands.” Jón had played in a band with the singer Eivør Pálsdóttir, whose sister Elinborg is, in fact, performing at Heima this evening.

“Jón described how he wanted a music festival without all the hassle. No hassle with toilets and fences, just music and people.” He told them about his home festival, and Óli Palli and Kiddi thought: wow – and seized the idea.

“So we got started. We brought in good musicians. At the first festival there were Fjallabræður, Bjartmar, Ylja, Vök, Bjössi Thor, and others, but people weren’t buying it. They weren’t convinced about going into the homes of people they didn’t know to listen to music,” he says.

“It was tough, and it took several years before people understood and embraced the concept. Now people have long since figured it out and see the brilliance we saw from the beginning.” Óli Palli says the same people come again and again, people of all ages, though the largest group is aged 45–55, and new people keep joining.

Yes, it will be fun this year. The festival is a unique cultural event where closeness between performers and guests takes center stage. Residents of Hafnarfjörður open their homes and turn living rooms into concert venues where artists perform in small, personal spaces throughout the town center.

Fourteen artists are taking part in the festival this year, performing at various locations around town. In addition to private homes, there will be music at Fríkirkjan and at Bæjarbíó, as well as at Fjörukráin and at ÆGI 220 for the first time. Among those performing are Mugison, Pétur Ben, Elinborg, and Oyama.

Wristband distribution takes place at Ægir from 14.00. The first HEIMA concerts begin at 19.30 in Fríkirkjan following the formal opening, and the final concerts conclude around 23.00.

“We spend the whole year thinking about what we’re going to offer. Everything is carefully curated. We think of it this way: it’s diverse music, and everything belongs at Heima. Pop, rock, folk, jazz, and sometimes classical,” says Óli Palli.

And what does he personally recommend? “Elinborg Pálsdóttir at Mjósund 8, and then Fjörukráin. Fjörukráin is a new partner, and it will be great fun there: Sváfnir, Elinborg, Páll Óskar, and Benni Hemm Hemm,” he says.

“We also like to offer things people may not know well but that we know are excellent, such as Úkulellur. Everything is good at Heima, so wherever you go, it will be enjoyable.”

Yes, let’s enjoy it together and celebrate a beautiful cultural experience.