Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós makes the kind of magical music that's meant to fill majestic locations—or a daylong drive around a coastal Icelandic road. And the Walt Disney Concert Hall, well—we may be biased—but it's one of the most beautiful buildings to listen to music in the city, if not the world. Pair them together and throw in an orchestra, and we're in musical Valhalla.
Sigur Rós will perform three shows with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall next April. It's part of the LA Phil's Reykjavík Festival, a two-week exploration of Iceland's captivatingly eclectic music scene that covers the spectrum from chamber works to pop music.
The band will play over three nights—April 13, 14 and 15 (sorry, Coachella-goers)—each with a different opening program of symphonic and choral music. The headlining Sigur Rós performance will feature existing material backed by the LA Phil, as well as both new and old music sans orchestra. Tickets to the shows are currently only available as part of the "Create Your Own LA Phil series" subscription, but single tickets will go on sale August 28.
The rest of the series, curated by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason and LA Phil Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen, features a slew of other Scandinavian musicians, including a closing-night performance from film composer Jóhann Jóhannsson and record label Bedroom Community's Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon.
Head to the LA Phil's website for the full Reykjavík Festival schedule. If you can't wait until next year, then make sure to catch Sigur Rós at the Hollywood Bowl next month. In the meantime, we'll leave you with this emotional and mesmerizing performance of "Hoppipolla" from the band's concert film Heima.
