Nashville took on a Nordic twist from June 26–28, 2025, as the Taste of Iceland festival brought its one-of-a-kind cultural celebration to the city for the first time. Hosted at local venues like Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, Adventure Science Center, and Cannery Hall, the multi-day event offered Music City a chance to immerse itself in the flavors, sounds, and spirit of Iceland — no passport required.
While the full festival schedule featured everything from planetarium shows to Icelandic comedy, our focus was on the Thursday night concert at Cannery Hall — a free event curated by the team behind Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavík’s internationally recognized music festival.
The Music: Iceland’s Rising Stars Hit Cannery Hall
Presented as part of Taste of Iceland and curated by the team behind Iceland Airwaves, the showcase delivered a rare chance to hear part of Iceland’s next wave of talent. The lineup featured a mix of soul-baring folk, high-energy indie rock, and a DJ spinning a live playlist of true Icelandic music.
Arny Margret: Folk Music from The Land of Fire and Ice
First to the stage was Arny Margret, the indie folk singer-songwriter whose quiet presence holds surprising weight.
Early in her set, Margret gave us “I Miss You, I Do,” the title track from her 2025 album. The song was delivered with a quiet intensity that drew the room in…literally. Margret invited the Nashville crowd to move closer — and surprisingly, they did. It was a small but telling moment that captured the sense of community in the room.
Later, she introduced a song sung entirely in Icelandic, which sparked cheers from the crowd regardless of whether the lyrics were understood — a reminder that connection doesn’t always require translation.
While Nashville and Iceland may be 3,342 miles apart, it’s clear that we share similar contemplative ground. Hailing from a small town in the remote Westfjords of Iceland, Margret mentioned her hometown just before performing a cover of John Hartford’s “In Tall Buildings.” The song was fitting both literally and metaphorically, as Margret, like many Nashville residents traded small towns for a big city, as well as the universal fear of losing our youth to the song’s “tall building” life. While a cover, her voice delivered the verses with an honesty that made the lyrics feel like they were coming from her own soul.
Near the end of her performance, “Took the Train ’til the End” served as a vocal highlight. Her guitar work had a bigger, darker sound yet her vocals remained intentionally understated and emotionally precise. Everything about Arny Margret’s set reminded us why Nordicana is always in our top genres when Spotify Wrapped is released each year.
Connect with Arny Margret:
Amazon Music / Apple Music / Facebook / Instagram / Spotify / TikTok / YouTube.
superserious: Hooks, Heat, and a Cowboy Hat
In sharp contrast to the night’s more hushed opening, superserious brought a blast of indie rock energy to Cannery Hall. Their set included the radio hit “Let’s Consume” and “Duckface,” delivered with tight rhythms, casual swagger, and an onstage chemistry that made the performance feel spontaneous but never sloppy. Even a broken guitar string couldn’t derail them — the band pushed forward without missing a beat, somehow seeming louder and bolder than before.
Frontman Daniel wore a cowboy hat for the occasion, a nod to Nashville style and a safeguard against repeat heat exhaustion — a lesson learned the hard way during the band’s previous run at SXSW. It was emblematic of a group that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet is super serious about letting their personality shine through on the stage.
The performance struck a careful balance: tightly executed but charged with raw, escalating energy. By the end, it felt like they were just getting warmed up — and it’s easy to imagine their sets getting even wilder when they’re not carrying the mantle of cultural ambassadors.
Connect with supersious:
Youtube / Instagram / Spotify / Apple Music
DJ Hermigervill: Creating the Night’s Icelandic Playlist
Before the show began and between sets, DJ Hermigervill kept the momentum going with a curated selection of Icelandic tracks that set the tone and kept the evening rooted in the culture it celebrated. Although his role for this showcase was to keep the party going between bands, Hermigervill is far from simply a supporting figure in the electronic music scene. As a producer, multi-instrumentalist, and longtime collaborator with acts like FM Belfast and Retro Stefson, he’s known for digging deep into Iceland’s musical history and turning those finds into genre-blurring live sets. We’re hoping next time we’ll get to see him in his element — behind the decks at a full concert or festival where he can truly bend Icelandic sounds to his will.
Iceland Airwaves: Reykjavík’s Biggest Music Weekend
Held each November, Iceland Airwaves transforms Reykjavík into a walkable, city-wide music experience. From November 6–8, 2025, the festival will once again take over cafés, art houses, bars, and concert venues across the capital, bringing together acts from around the world.
Known for its curated mix of emerging artists and international headliners, Iceland Airwaves blends discovery with intimacy. Genres stretch from indie and electronic to folk, hip-hop, and experimental — a reflection of the country’s creative spirit and its growing global reach. For anyone who caught the Cannery Hall showcase, it was just a taste of the deeper adventure waiting in Reykjavík this fall. You can get more information about Icelandic Airwaves on their website here.
The Wheel of Prizes
Icelandair added a little extra excitement to the night with its Wheel of Prizes activation. Set up alongside the Row One stage, the spinning wheel gave randomly selected attendees the chance to win Icelandic-themed swag — and in three lucky cases, a full trip to Iceland including roundtrip airfare from Nashville to Reykjavík. (We’re so jealous of happy for the winners!)
East Of 8th’s Own Icelandic Adventure Earlier This Year
Beyond the music, Iceland has been on our minds in 2025. In April we had the chance to visit Iceland ourselves and, while there was still a chill in the air and some plenty of wind, we found miles of natural wonders that needed exploring.
One day was spent exploring the classic Golden Circle route, an evening chasing the Northern Lights, and an entire day immersed in the dramatic beauty of the South Coast — a landscape that feels almost otherworldly. In between, we uncovered some incredible craft beer at the ÆGIR 101 Taproom, Einstök Bar, Skúli Craft bar, and Íslenski Barinn as well as amazing cocktails at Jungle Cocktail Bar, Daisy Cocktail Bar, and Tipsý Bar & Lounge in Reykjavík.
It’s a place that surprises you at every turn — and one we can’t wait to return to, whether it’s for Iceland Airwaves or just to experience a land that is like no other.
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