Set to commence this evening and go on through the weekend, the Melodica Acoustic Festival is a brilliant display of community spirit and brotherly love between musicians of all disciplines, shapes and sizes. Which is why we think it is pretty damn awesome.

Taking place over the weekend at select places in 101 Reykjavík, the festival showcases some of the excellent musicians that are currently making the rounds in Iceland’s music scene, as well as guest players from the UK and Germany. According to their statement (which can be read in full below), the festival is a traveling spectacle and has taken place in Melbourne, Sidney, Hamburg and Reykjavík.

Here is the festival’s full schedule for the weekend:

Friday:

Rósenberg

19.00 - 19.30 Svavar Knútur

19.30 - 20.00 Bob Justman

20.00 - 20.30 The Friday Night Idols

20.30 - 21.00 Jara

21.00 - 21.30 Skúli Þórðar

21.30 - 22.00 Beggi Mood

22.00 - 22.30 Kettir

Hraun plays on through the night.

Saturday:

Rósenberg

19.00 - 19.30 Þóra Björk

19.30 - 20.00 Myrra Rós

20.00 - 20.30 Ragnar Sólberg

20.30 - 21.00 Árstíðir

21.00 - 21.30 Hjörtur

21.30 - 22.00 SHISHA PM (UK)

22.00 - 22.30 Helgi Valur

Hraun plays on through the night.

Hemmi & Valdi

16.00 - 16.30 Fríða Dís

16.30 - 17.00 The Friday Night Idols

17.00 - 17.30 Binni P

17.30 - 18.00 Kid Decker (UK/GER)

18.00 - 18.30 Svavar Knútur

18.30 - 19.00 Pause -dinner

19.00 - 19.30 Bangsi Bestaskinn

19.30 - 20.00 Sebastian

Hljómalind

16.00 - 16.30 Heiða Dóra

16.30 - 17.00 Daníel Jónsson

17.00 - 17.30 Stefán Örn

17.30 - 18.00 Leynigestur

18.00 - 18.30 Pause - dinner

18.30 - 19.00 Hlynur Valsson

19.00 - 19.30 Seiðlæti

19.30 - 20.00 Mysterious Marta

Sunday:

Rósenberg

19.00 - 19.30 Haraldur Davíðsson

19.30 - 20.00 Elín Ey

20.00 - 20.30 Mysterious Marta

20.30 - 21.00 Pikk Nikk

21.00 - 21.30 Elíza

21.30 - 22.00 Heiða Dóra

22.00 - 22.30 KID DECKER (UK/GER)

22.30 - 23.00 Úlfur

Followed by a jam-session

Hemmi & Valdi

16.00 - 16.30 Geir Harðar

16.30 - 17.00 Shisha PM (UK)

17.00 - 17.30 Myrra Rós

17.30 - 18.00 Hjalti

18.00 - 18.30 Valur Gunnarsson

18.30 - 19.00 Pause - dinner

19.00 - 19.30 Leifur Jónsson

19.30 - 20.00 Hlynur Ben

Hljómalind

16.00 - 16.30 Árstíðir

16.30 - 17.00 Helgi Valur

17.00 - 17.30 Markús (of Skátar)

17.30 - 18.00 Marlon Pollock

18.00 - 18.30 Pása - matur

18.30 - 19.00 Sverrir Norland

19.00 - 19.30 Kristín Bergsdóttir

19.30 - 20.00 Böðvar Reynis & Co



And here’s the statement from “Undercover Music Lovers”

About UML

Kind of like the Couchsurfing of musicians, Undercover Music Lovers is a collective of musicians and music supporters pooling resources to facilitate events, connections and collaborations, formed when two friends from Melbourne and Sydney realised what was possible just within their own network and decided to push it further. So far, there are Undercover Music Lovers 'hubs' in Sydney, Melbourne, Hamburg and Reykjavik, with Brighton, UK the next city to try it out. UML's sister organisation, The International Troubadour Conspiracy was formed by Icelandic Troubadour Svavar Knútur, Australian artist Peter Uhlenbruch and German Troubadour Torben Stock with the agenda of furthering artist relations around the world through working, playing and touring together. The ITC's version of Melodica is The Troubadour Olympics, a cooperative tour of troubadours from different countries providing in depth working relationships and building bridges between different nations and cultures.

If you are interested in becoming involved, email undercovermusiclovers@gmail.com or umliceland@gmail.com to find out more. Alternatively, you can contact the ITC at introcon@gmail.com.

About Melodica:

Designed to celebrate the local music scene while providing an invaluable platform for emerging artists to network and develop new creative relationships, the festival currently operates in Melbourne (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Hamburg (Germany) and Reykjavik (Iceland).

Melodica was born in December 2007 by Pete Uhlenbruch (then known as la terra festival), a forward thinking Melbourne musician who wanted to create a genuinely attentive space for other artists to perform and interact in, and foster a sense of community in an increasingly challenging industry.

The debut festival was an intimate affair in a local cafe, resonant of the German coffee houses of the 60s. 18 acts played over two days, and the overwhelming response from those artists was how refreshing it was to play in a space where the appreciation of the music was paramount. Artists from all events have since commented on the profound creative inspiration from engaging and networking with other kindred performers, while on the audience's part, the calibre of the acts and the ambience of the event were what set the event apart.

Supported by their local music scenes, Melodica is quickly developing into one of the premier acoustic performances in cities around the world.

It all seems a far cry from such humble beginnings in Collingwood just 12 months ago, but doesn't surprise Uhlenbruch, who believes that positivity, community and exploration of mutual interest are more powerful than many musicians realise. "The point of the festival was to empower artists, to get them interacting and supporting each other, to create a sense of community, and that's exactly what has happened,' says Uhlenbruch. "What I didn't expect was that it would happen so quickly, and on a global scale!"

Melodica has now been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Hamburg and Reykjavík.

Check 'em out: www.myspace.com/melodicaiceland