Iceland Airwaves 2026: Dates, Lineup, Tickets and Travel Guide

Iceland Airwaves 2026 runs its official programme from Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 November 2026 at downtown Reykjavik venues, and the festival week stretches from Wednesday 4 to Sunday 8 November because of three special shows ^{1 4}. Shygirl plays City Hall on Wednesday 4 November, Daði Freyr plays with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Eldborg at Harpa on Thursday 5 November, and The Streets play Eldborg on Sunday 8 November ^{1 2}. A festival pass covers only the three official nights.

The festival moved from October to November in 2014 ¹¹. It began in October 1999 as a one-off in an airplane hangar at Reykjavik Airport, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19, and returned in 2022 ¹¹. That history explains the format: a showcase for Icelandic music that grew into an international trade fair for new bands.

Official sets at Iceland Airwaves 2026 begin between about 18:30 and 19:00, and the official venue programmes finish by about 02:00 ^{3 4 6}. The extra events list adds daytime and partner events around the three official nights ⁵.

• Wednesday 4 November: Shygirl at City Hall, 20:00 ⁵

• Thursday 5 November: first official night, plus Daði Freyr at Harpa, 19:00 ⁵

• Friday 6 November: second official night; ANOK at Hallgrímskirkja, 18:00 ⁵

• Saturday 7 November: third official night, with daytime off-venue shows ⁵

• Sunday 8 November: The Streets at Harpa, 20:00 ⁵

The festival's news feed shows how late the picture settles: the third wave of artists, the official venues and the day splits were announced on 3 September 2026, and more speakers were added to the conference programme on 24 September 2026 ¹. Expect small changes right up to the first night, and read the lineup page again in the week you fly ⁸.

Tip: Treat 4 and 8 November as bookends, not part of the festival pass. Arrive on 4 November and leave on 9 November if you want every show.

The 2026 schedule for Iceland Airwaves runs six venues on Thursday and seven on Friday and Saturday, because NASA joins from Friday ⁶. Sets are about an hour each, and slots after midnight appear under the previous evening ⁶. Several slots were still marked to be confirmed when the schedule was read, so confirm the grid before you commit ⁶.

The official list covers Kolaport on Tryggvagata 19, City Hall on Tjarnargata 11, Iðnó on Vonarstræti 3, NASA on Thorvaldsensstræti 2, Fríkirkjan on Fríkirkjuvegur 5, Lemmy on Austurstræti 20 and Rosenberg on Naustin ³. Harpa, home of the Eldborg shows, is at Austurbakki 2 by the harbour ¹⁹. The festival calls every venue walkable, with all of them within 2.5 km of each other and most only a few hundred metres apart ⁴.

Thursday 5 November starts early at Fríkirkjan with Andervel at 18:50 and ends there with Warhaus at 22:50 ⁶. Kolaport features MAMMÚT at 21:30 and Rosenberg opens the evening at 19:00 with Marsibil ⁶. On Friday 6 November City Hall hosts Agent Fresco at 22:10, Fríkirkjan has Dove Ellis at 21:50 followed by Júníus Meyvant at 22:50, and Kolaport closes the night at 01:10 with Emmsjé Gauti ⁶. On Saturday 7 November Mugison plays City Hall at 21:10, Jamie Woon and Ólöf Arnalds take Fríkirkjan at 20:50 and 22:50, and Heartworms play Lemmy at 21:40 ⁶.

The official lineup page lists 101 artists, from Agent Fresco and Júníus Meyvant to newcomers such as Dove Ellis and Heartworms, spread across the three nights ⁸. Iceland Airwaves 2026 also includes the Nordic Current exchange with the festivals by:Larm and SPOT, bringing acts such as Fig Tape and Nom De Guerre from Norway and Farveblind and Alba Akvama from Denmark ¹⁰. Visiting international artists perform only at official venues, with full production, starting around 19:00 ⁴.

Iceland Airwaves off-venue shows are different from the official programme. They host select local acts during the day until about 19:00 and are open to everyone, subject to venue age limits and capacity ⁴. The extra events list includes Off-Venue: Meet the Neighbours at Lucky Records on Saturday 7 November from 12:30 to 19:00 ⁵.

• Official venues: festival ticket needed ⁴

• Off-venues: open to everyone until about 19:00 ⁴

• Partner events: separate rules, some with priority for ticket holders ⁴

Tip: Plan one anchor set per night and treat everything else as a bonus; the grid has no walking time built in.

The 3-day Festival Pass for Iceland Airwaves 2026 is listed at 17,400 ISK, and the Festival Day Pass at 11,900 ISK, on the organiser's ticket page ². A banner on the page warned of a price rise at 23:59 GMT, so buying early matters, and the ticket seller's own page urges buyers to get tickets before prices go up ^{2 9}. The official FAQ names Tix as the ticket provider and says all sales are final, including discounted passes ⁴.

A wristband is required to enter official venues ³. You collect it by showing your ticket and a valid photo ID, and the name on the ticket must match the ID ⁴. Nobody can collect a wristband for someone else, so every group member must come in person ⁴. Check the wristband location and opening hours on the official FAQ before you travel, because the collection point and hours are announced for each edition.

Tickets can change hands: the FAQ allows you to give or sell a ticket as long as you make no profit, and the name must be changed through the ticket seller so it matches the new holder's photo ID ⁴. Prices abroad depend on the exchange rate, and the organisers point to gengi.is for estimates ⁴. Travel packages bundle a flight, a 3-day festival pass and an optional hotel and airport transfer, and are priced by departure country, for example from $627 in the US and from £344 in the UK ².

Special shows are separate. Shygirl at City Hall costs 9,990 ISK, Daði Freyr with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra starts at 9,990 ISK, and The Streets start at 11,990 ISK ². Festival Pass holders get a discount on all three ⁹.

Entry is never guaranteed: shows are limited by venue capacity, and Airwaves Plus gives access to an express queue rather than a place in a full room ⁴. A single-show ticket for official programming is not sold; you need a festival or day pass ⁴.

Tip: If queues worry you, add Airwaves Plus and arrive early; the organisers say that is the best advice for avoiding long waits ⁴.

The fastest way from Keflavik Airport to downtown Reykjavik for Iceland Airwaves 2026 is the Flybus coach, which reaches the BSÍ Bus Terminal in about 45 minutes over roughly 50 km ¹². An adult single is listed at 3,999 ISK, and hotel drop-off by minibus adds 1,300 ISK ¹². About 15 departures run daily, the first as early as 03:30, and drivers wait for late flights ¹². If you land at night, tickets for the next day are accepted ¹². Travel packages sold with the festival can include the airport transfer, so check what your package already covers before you buy a separate ticket ².

The airport itself says it takes about 40 minutes to drive between central Reykjavik and the airport, and lists the car, coach, city bus and rental car as options ¹³. Festival partners also advertise a car rental discount, though terms vary by partner ⁷.

For longer hops inside the city, Strætó buses cost 690 ISK per ride on the 2026 price list, paid by contactless card, and the plastic Klapp card costs 1,000 ISK ¹⁴. The Reykjavik City Card includes free unlimited bus travel within the capital area ¹⁷.

• Luggage lockers: BSÍ terminal, several car parks and Keflavik Airport ¹⁷

• Mobility: most venues are fully accessible; Lemmy asks you to use the side entrance ³

Tip: Ask for hotel drop-off on the Flybus when you book if you arrive with a heavy bag; the walk from BSÍ with luggage in November sleet is not worth the saving.

The organisers do not publish queue times for Iceland Airwaves, but they warn that queues can be long and that a full venue stays full, and Airwaves Plus gives access to an express queue ⁴. Official venues are indoors, so the weather matters mostly while you wait outside a church or city hall when a headliner draws a crowd ^{3 4}.

Reykjavik in November is cold, wet and windy, with an average of about 1 to 8 °C according to one Iceland guide ¹⁶. Rain, sleet and hail are typical, and the city usually gets about 8.7 centimetres of snow in the month ¹⁶. Early in the month daylight lasts about eight hours, shrinking to about five hours by 30 November, so you walk between venues in the dark ¹⁶.

Dress the way locals do: layers, a waterproof shell, a warm hat, gloves and shoes with grip on slush, as the Iceland guide recommends thermals, a warm jacket and a waterproof layer ¹⁶. Cloud cover is high in November, so do not plan around views ¹⁶. A dry change of socks helps if you have a long Saturday.

• Base layer: thermals under a light jumper

• Outer layer: waterproof, windproof shell

• Feet: waterproof boots with grip

• Extras: hat, gloves, small daypack

The festival bans large bags, suitcases and bulky items at its venues, plus DSLR cameras without a photo pass and selfie sticks ⁴. Pack a small cross-body bag.

Tip: Leave your suitcase at your hotel or a BSÍ locker before the evening; lockers are listed at the BSÍ terminal and other sites ¹⁷.

A room in the City Centre, postcode 101, is worth it for Iceland Airwaves 2026 because the official venues sit within walking distance of each other and you can walk home after a 02:00 finish instead of waiting for a bus ^{3 17}. Visit Reykjavik lists 14 city areas across six municipalities, including the City Centre, Laugardalur, Kópavogur and Hafnarfjörður ¹⁷.

The festival has an official hotel partner offering city-centre stays; you reach it from the festival's accommodation page ⁷. The plan page lists no hotel prices, so compare partner rates with general listings ⁷. Rooms near the venues fill first, and flight and ticket packages sold with the festival include an optional hotel and airport transfer ^{2 7}.

Laugardalur, to the east of the centre, is the second option for visitors who want swimming pools: Laugardalslaug is the largest pool, with two 50-metre pools and seven hot tubs ¹⁷. Sundhöllin in the city centre is the oldest pool ¹⁷. Bathers must shower naked before entering ¹⁷.

• City Centre (101): shortest walks to every venue

• Laugardalur: quieter, pools, needs a bus ride

• Kópavogur and Hafnarfjörður: further out, so you rely on buses or taxis home

Food is easy to solve from the same base. Downtown Reykjavik packs cafés, bakeries, bars and hot-dog stands into the streets between the venues, and tap water is safe to drink, with about 95% coming from ground springs ¹⁷. Eat early, because official sets begin between about 18:30 and 19:00 ^{4 6}. A bowl of lamb soup or a plate of plokkfiskur, the mashed fish stew, is a sensible warm-up before a long night standing in a queue.

Tip: Book a room within a short walk of Tjörnin, the pond that links City Hall, Iðnó and Fríkirkjan, so you can reach three venues in minutes.

Iceland Airwaves posts schedule changes on its website, because the festival has no native app, and updates also reach fans through the festival's WhatsApp channel and a Spotify playlist ^{1 4}. Lineups can change until the festival ends, and the organisers do not refund a ticket when an artist cancels ⁴. Reading the schedule page the morning of each night is the habit that matters.

Inside stone and concrete rooms such as Fríkirkjan or Kolaport, a good mobile signal is not guaranteed, so download the schedule, your ticket and offline maps before leaving your hotel. Hotel and café Wi-Fi helps, and Visit Reykjavik mentions a Wi-Fi hotspot with 4G/5G access, but it is not a plan for a three-night festival ¹⁷. Visitors who prefer not to rely on roaming can install an Iceland eSIM before the flight.

• Screenshot your wristband barcode and the day's schedule

• Download an offline map of downtown Reykjavik

• Save the 112 emergency number and the 112 app ¹⁸

• Share a location pin with your group before the first set starts

The 112 service can be reached by phone, text message, web chat and the 112 app, and is on call 24 hours a day ¹⁸. Telecommunicators answer there all year, so the number is worth saving before you leave the hotel. Carry a small power bank, because batteries drain faster outdoors in November sleet. Keep your wristband, photo ID and a payment card in one inside pocket, because the bag rules leave little room for anything else ⁴.

Tip: Check the schedule page before you leave your room each evening, so a moved set does not cost you a walk across the Tjörnin.