Björk has announced that she will be playing actual live gigs this August, as Iceland lifts its COVID-19 restrictions.
The offbeat pop princess will be performing and live-streaming three different instrumental arrangements off her back catalogue at the Harpa Hall in Reykjavík on August 9, 15 and 23. The events will raise funds for an Icelandic woman’s shelter amidst the ongoing Black Lives Matter Movement.
Björk will perform three charity gigs to real crowds in August as Iceland begins easing-up lockdown restrictions, with the events set to be live-streamed.
This is not the first time the singer has put her talents towards supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier this month, Björk made her entire discography available on Bandcamp with all sale proceeds going towards Black Lives Matter UK. This time, the singer is looking to support the Icelandic women’s shelter Kvennaathvarfið, which organiser Iceland Airwaves describes as “a charity that supports women and immigrants of different origin (sic) within Iceland” from violence at home.
The gig will see the often wild and vibrant Björk more stripped back. The concerts will be “unplugged” and acoustic, performed “without beats and electronics” and see the singer accompanied by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and over other 100 Icelandic artists that Björk has worked with to create her sound.
Björk said the concerts are in honour of “folks who got hardest hit in the coronavirus, and the Black Lives Matter movement, and to honour how many Icelandic musicians I have worked with through the years.”
She continued: “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.”
For our Icelandic readers, tickets will be available to pre-order July 2 and general sale will begin July 3. For the rest of us, deets for the live-stream will be posted on the Iceland Airwaves’ website.
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