FAROE FRIDAY: UP ALL NIGHT

A few weeks ago, I wrote in this space about the long summer days in the Faroes this time of year. From The end of may to about mid July, there is at least twilight (the light, not the movie) in the sly at all times.

Perhaps that's why these people want to stay up so late. While doing an interview for the podcast, an American woman told me about how late into the night the Faroese like to party. She was at an anniversary party and finally left when things appeared to be breaking up around 3 AM. At the time, she thought she had been pretty daring with how late she had stayed out.

But about a week later, the woman who threw the party asked her, "why did you leave to early?" The hostess went on to explain that the band hadn't started yet at 3 AM. Indeed, the party went on until 8 or 10 the next morning.

I have a reputation for being something of a night owl and am no stranger to the rave scene (or at least I wasn't when I was in my 20s), but this is insane. When to these people sleep?

It appears I will be able to find out later this month. As I've already mentioned, I will be traveling to the Faroe Islands in about three weeks. The first thing I'll do is attend the G! Festival, a three day concert on the beach in a town called Gøta (see picture above). I've been researching some of the bands that will play the festival and am quite excited about the lineup.

I spent some time trying to find a schedule of what bands will be playing when, but I couldn't find one. So I looked at some schedules from previous festivals and was a little shocked by what I saw. The headliners each night weren't scheduled to take the stage until about 1:45 AM. And I'm told it's not uncommon for the final band to start playing well after 3.

I guess I'm just used to Coachella, where stiff fines greet any band caught playing after midnight. As a matter of fact, I thought the music might have to stop even earlier at the G! because the venue is so close to all the homes in Gøta. Nope. It looks like the music plays all night.

This could be an adjustment for my 40-year-old body. I'm going to start taking naps right now.