Eydís Evensen Shares North American Tour Dates for October

Following Icelandic pianist and composer, Eydís Evensen's second album ‘The Light’ out now via XXIM Records/Sony, the composer is headed to North America for a run of tour dates this October. The tour includes venues such as National Sawdust in Brooklyn, the Lodge Room in Los Angeles, and a handful of other cities. These dates follow her run of EU live dates this summer. 

Following on from her successful 2021 debut ‘Bylur’, which has amassed over 40 million audio streams to date and her subsequent 2022 EP ‘Frost’, ‘The Light’ further expands on this young artist’s scope for talent and expression, presenting her not only as a pianist, arranger and lyricist but also for the first time as a vocalist.

Evensen cites two underlying themes to the ‘The Light’: it is both a deep reflection on the rough and rugged landscapes of Iceland and how they have shaped her personality, as it is a personal expression of a sense of hope and brighter times following hardship. Both are represented by the theme of light – the inner light that guides us and the natural light, so rare in the dark Icelandic winters.

Written from personal experience at a time of relief and closure in her own life, Evensen is passing on here a message of both personal and collective hope and resilience to her listeners that better must come. Having dealt with personal challenges in the very best way she knows how – at the piano, making music, this cathartic experience of intense composition and performance has culminated in ‘The Light’.

Evensen has spoken of the impact on her work of both the ancient Icelandic choral tradition and also its time-honoured poetry tradition, going back to the famous sagas from the earliest days of settlement on the remote island. For ‘The Light’ she wrote a choral piece - based on one of her own poems - entitled ‘The Light II’, performed here by acclaimed Icelandic choir Schola Cantorum Reykjavicensis.

The first part refers to “a beautiful light that froze” to which the second part returns, heralding “the beautiful light still survives”. Her own singing voice can be heard on her song ‘Dreaming of Light’, for which Evensen also penned the lyrics.

Following recent performances at major tastemaker events throughout Europe, which include Reeperbahn Festival, ARTE Concert Festival, Iceland Airwaves and Eurosonic (ESNS), a tour of the USA and Canada will come later in the year, following shows throughout Europe and the UK in Summer 2023 (tour dates below). Her KEXP ‘Live at Home’ session has been seen by almost 4 million viewers to date.

North American Tour Dates

10/5 - Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust

10/7 - Montréal, CA @ Place des Arts - Cinquième Salle

10/8 - Chicago, IL @ Constellation

10/10 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Parkway Theater

10/12 - Vancouver, CA @ St. James Community Square

10/13 - Seattle, WA @ Triple Door

10/14 - Eugene, OR @ Hult Center for the Performing Arts

10/15 - Portland, OR @ The Old Church Concert Hall

10/17 - San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall

10/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Highland Park

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