G! Festival – Trap The Faroe Islands

Festival guests enjoy themselves in hot tubs at G! Festival at Syðrugøta in July 2018. In the background is the schooner Norðlýsið, which is a regular visitor to the festival.
MARINE GASTINEAU/RITZAU SCANPIX

In the 1990s, an unusually large number of musicians in Gøta wanted to take their music a little further than they had done so far. In 1998, they instigated the association Tónleikasamtakið GRÓT, whose purpose was to improve the conditions of musicians. Since its foundation, the association has had a great impact on the entire Faroese music scene, and several of the big names have their origins in this community. These include Eivør Pálsdóttir, Høgni Lisberg, Marius Ziska, Clickhaze, Boys in a Band and Orka.

During a concert tour in the Nordic countries in 2002, the rock group Clickhaze decided to try to organise a music festival in the Faroe Islands. It was to take place on the sandy beach in Syðrugøta and to be called G! Festival – and already on July 19th of the same year, the festival became a reality. The initially small festival was a success, and the following year they played for high stakes with several foreign names. The festival gradually got bigger every year, and in 2005 a peak was reached when, in addition to the 6,000 paying visitors, 2,000‑4,000 people listened to names like Europe, Nephew and Afenginn from the outfield or boats on the fjord.

Interest in holding music festivals spread to other parts of the country, but the G! Festival has maintained its special position. In terms of the size of the festival, the village in which it is held is quite small. The inhabitants put a lot of effort into welcoming the many visitors and thus contribute to the unique spirit repeatedly noted by the international press.

G! Festival has had its musical and economic ups and downs and has also been challenged by the weather. In 2010, a foundation was created to be in charge of operation, and in 2015, the founder and manager, Jón Tyril, decided to step down. But the festival continues.

Further reading