Iceland Highlights: Secret Solstice 2016

Secret Solstice has been hailed as the only music festival on which the sun never sets. Although this is a exaggeration--the sun dips below the horizon for a couple of hours at midnight in Reykjavik, even during summer solstice--we couldn't resist the temptation of epic parties or an excuse to finally get our asses to the land of Fire & Ice. By which I mean that my wild imagination was captured almost instantly, so I bought festival passes/plane tickets/hostel beds and informed Toor that we were going to Iceland.

Yes, I'm a panda.

Secret Solstice 2016 boasted a solid line-up favoring hip-hop and electronic performers--over a hundred from Iceland, the UK, US, France, South Africa, and the Netherlands. Headline acts included Radiohead, Deftones, Of Mice And Men, Die Antwoord, and Sisters Sledge ("We Are Family"), the secret headliner on the 16th.

Secret Solstice 2016 festival map

Friday night we walked up to a line for the festival/Radiohead show that snaked out from the drive up to the festival entrance towards the campgrounds. According to the Secret Solstice app, 8,000 people had checked in for Radiohead. Lucky for us, the VIP access festival passes I bought on a hunch were good for a separate entrance to the festival--with no line--and a separate entrance to the Radiohead venue (Jotunheimar). Honestly, we just wandered up to a door, asked security about a VIP entrance, and were ushered inside. It was a baller experience. Given that our dorm mates described the festival as an experience of waiting in lines, VIP passes were totally worth it. 

Then we were even bigger ballers for blowing off Radiohead to catch Action Bronson on the outdoor stage, Valhalla.

Action Bronson with Mayhem Lauren

It was a sick set of hits, including Baby Blue, Easy Rider, Strictly 4 My Jeeps, and Actin Crazy ("Ma, you know I'm still your little baby!"). Every new beat was a reason to celebrate; Mayhem Lauren even joined Action on the stage for Falconry.  Trip spoiler: we did not get a chance to sample smoked puffin in Iceland, so I'm still holding my breath Action and Mayhem did so for a new episode of F*ck, That's Delicious. By the end of the set, I'd stripped off my scarf, two layers and plush panda hat bouncing around gleefully in the energetic but polite crowd.

We're all juicy in the brisk evening air.

Saturday, we didn't actually make it. By the time Iceland tied Hungary to advance to the Euro cup semi-finals, we'd already consumed a water bottle of vodka and several Viking beers at the public viewing in downtown Reykjavik--a good start for a night of celebratory abandon.

Sunday was my most-anticipated day, with Die Antwoord and Of Monsters and Men both scheduled to play Valhalla. It was also the day after I bombed by guts with uncounted beers and liquor, causing it to explode in fiery diarrhea. Suffice to say it wasn't an early day, and we didn't even realize that we'd given our new friend Matt a fake CAMPING pass instead of a festival pass. But they rescheduled Die Antwoord later in the evening in Hel, and Of Monsters and Men were ethereally beautiful singing to their home mountains. ("This is a song for dancing," Nanna summed up for the English speakers in the crowd.)

Of Monsters and Men charmed us like elves.

OMAM's whimsical melodies were the perfect ode to the magical earth of Iceland. Die Antwoord, on the other hand, I've been wanting to see them live since this. I want to be part of their filthy, furry, pop-art orgy. What can I say? I find their unexpected artistic choices mesmerizing. 

Also, dicks.

Die Antwoord's set was super-high energy, with an imposing tension in the dead air between songs. In addition to Evil Boy, the set included Enter the Ninja, Baby's On Fire, I Fink U Freeky, Ugly Boy, and Rich Bitch. Ninja made us call him Daddy ("I love you my children!"), but became cross with us when he couldn't get silence to talk about serious fucking feelings. He professed his love for Bjork ("I love Yo-landi and I love Bjork and that's it!") as proof of his connection to Iceland--and wouldn't we shut up for Bjork? 

All eyes on Yo-landi.

Eh... I don't know, Daddy. I blame the internationals in the audience. I saw at least one American there.

And an unexpected treat: Lady Leshurr brought out the sunshine on Friday night with her infectiously dance-able PSA for Chapstick (and dental hygiene).

Photos and video courtesy of DT Explorer. All rights reserved.