Björk is playing three shows in Iceland in August – complete with audiences

Björk has announced three shows in Reykjavík in August – and, with Iceland having nearly eliminated coronavirus from the country, they’ll have actual audiences, too.

Produced in association with Iceland Airwaves, the shows will take place at Reykjavík’s Harpa Hall on August 9, 15, and 23, and will be livestreamed online to raise money for women’s charities.

The matinée performances will celebrate the Icelandic musicians that Björk has worked with over the years. Each concert will see Björk collaborate with over one hundred Icelandic musicians across three groups that have played a part within the creation of her discography.

Each concert will showcase new instrumental arrangements of scores from Björk’s back catalogue. Dubbed ‘Björk Orkestral’, the shows will be entirely unplugged, performed without beats or electronics.

The money from the concerts will go to Kvennaathvarfid, a charity that “supports women and immigrants of different origin within Iceland”.

“I would like to invite you to some concerts to honour folks who got hit hardest in the coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement and to honour how many Icelandic musicians I have worked with through the years,” Björk said in a press release. “We are going to celebrate that we are all healthily exiting quarantine together by playing concerts in Harpa Music Hall for three weekends of August.”

“I feel we are going through extraordinary times horrifying but also an opportunity to truly change it is demanded of us that we finally confront all racism that we learn that lives are more important that profit and look inside us and finecomb out all our hidden prejudices and privileges,” she added.

Tickets will be available to pre-order on July 2 at 10am Icelandic time, with a general sale beginning the same time on July 3. Tickets will be priced in five tiers, starting at 4.990 ISK.

Check out Björk’s full statement below.

A note from Björk:

dear friends

i would like to invite you to some concerts

to honour
folks who got hit hardest in the coronavirus
and the black lives matter movement

and to honour how many icelandic musicians i have worked with through the years

i recorded almost all of my albums with local musicians :

homogenic with an icelandic string octet
medulla with schola cantorum ( an icelandic mixed choir )
volta with 10 brass girls i found all over the island and then later they formed wonderbrass
biophilia with langholt´s church girl choir graduale nobili
vulnicura with a 15 piece string ensemble
utopia with 12 female fluteplayers who later formed the flute septet viibra
cornucopia with hamrahlíð´s choir conducted by þorgerður ingólfsdóttir
all these albums where then performed all around the planet with these musicians

together they are over hundred people !!

and we are going to celebrate that we are all healthily exiting quarantine together by playing concerts in harpa music hall for 3 weekends of august

my input into the feminist fight is to brag about that almost all of those arrangements are by me
unfortunately this is something that is almost always ignored when women are arrangers

the concerts will be in the afternoons and will also be streamed live online, where there will be an option to donate to the icelandic women's shelter - which supports women of all origin in iceland

for those attending in person, after the concert we will be offering food to raise money in support of this charity

the concerts will be "unplugged" or acoustic and performed without beats and electronics
the concerts will be performed with the icelandic symphony orchestra and guests

i feel we are going through extraordinary times
horrifying but also an opportunity to truly change
it is demanded of us that we finally confront all racism
that we learn that lives are more important that profit
and look inside us and finecomb out all our hidden prejudices and privileges

let´s all humbly learn together

transform

humongous love

björk