Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Queens of the Stone Age, Girl in Red and more illuminated the Oslo mega celebration, which had a lot of voices raised for Palestine
Considering that its launching in 1999, Oslo’s Øya Festival has actually progressively grown in credibility, and 2025 may simply have actually marked its most significant edition.
The lineup consisted of pop stars like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, plus Norway’s own huge export Girl in Red and one for the rock crowd, Queens of the Stone Age (who were possibly making great on their guarantee to play the celebration after leaving in 2015 due to a health problem besieging frontman Josh Homme).
If you can endure the sometimes definitely sharp winds that cut through Toyen Park on the routine, Øya was a high-energy summertime celebration for all intents and functions. Happening from Aug. 6 to 9, 2025, some residents stated it was one last huge celebration before completion of summer season (read: when the sun sets at 9:30 pm and dawn is around 5:30 am) and fortunately for us, there was practically an hour of heavy rain throughout these 4 days, when the majority of people took haven under the camping tent of the Sirkus phase before American guitar ace Mk.gee stepped up on day 4. He asked if everybody was remaining dry, however likewise dealt with a couple of sound problems, which he credited to the weather condition. “The rain is doing some cool things to our equipment today, however we’ll survive it,” he stated.
The headliners intend high
Music celebrations all around the world have actually ended up being the platform for artists to speak up about death, hunger, and dispute in Palestine over the last number of years. At Øya Festival– amidst guests sporting flags and keffiyehs, using T-shirts condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, and even food stalls offering Palestinian soda pop and contributing earnings to those working actively to help Palestinians– the messages felt more increased than ever.
Without a doubt, the similarity Chappell Roan and Charli XCX provided power-packed, clout-worthy efficiencies on the first day and 2, respectively. On the first day, fuzzy pink stetson, white face paint, and a lot of Chappell Roan merch were are plentiful amongst fans in the approximately 20,000 in participation. Roan played her brand-new single “The Subway” for the very first time considering that launching the tune, while likewise offering the crowd a fantastical dosage of her world with hits like “Pink Pony Club” and” Good Luck, Babe!” plus a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda.” It was Roan in rockstar mode with her band, even as she provided a castle-like phase design and Disney-like animated visuals along with pyrotechnics. Cheered on by audiences, even cuts like “The Giver” were stressed with humor that included Roan reading out crowdsourced grievances about partners. It was the Midwest Princess’ world, and we were simply residing in it (with her mommy in the crowd!) for a strong 90 minutes.
On day 2, the U.K.’s Charli XCX kept her Brat summertime in complete swing, providing the celebration’s most high-energy set completely solo. As a headliner, she made time fly, declaring area and partying down in a manner that feels mad and releasing at the very same time. Her setlist moved from” Von Dutch” and” 360″ to “Sympathy Is a Knife” and “Party 4 U,” with remixed handles” Guess,”” Girl, So Confusing, “and” 365 “( together with its initial), all while sporting her signature black tones. She sprayed in easy going minutes too– identifying a fan dancing to “Apple,” sharing small talk about her current wedding event before” Everything Is Romantic, “and accelerating the energy on “Speed Drive” with nods to quick cars and trucks.
If the first day came from Chappell Roan’s cosplay army, day 2 of Øya Festival was soaked in Brat green– flags, banners, T-shirts, nail art, lug bags, even knitted mementos– completed with lots of Y2K sunglasses. “I enjoy coming here,” Charli informed the Oslo crowd. “You have fantastic faucet water, coffee, interior decoration, and phone makers, if you understand what I suggest. Simply a normally excellent ambiance.”
Day 3’s headliners, Queens of the Stone Age, drew a clear shift in the audience– from the Gen Z and Gen Alpha festival-goers of earlier days to a somewhat older, rock-loving crowd excited to view Josh Homme and team tear it up. At times noticeably used, Homme’s energy never ever failed. He informed Oslo they existed simply to have a good time and even advised security to let fans crowd browse and perch on each other’s shoulders. Opening with the curveball of” No One Knows” right out of eviction, the band kept the momentum opting for heavy-hitters like “I Sat By the Ocean,” “Misfit Love,” and “Smooth Sailing.”
For “The Vampyre of Time and Memory,” Homme lit a cigarette, and as lighters flickered throughout the field, he grew a little psychological, taking in the uncommon sight of a clear night sky. The crowd lapped it up, burglarizing a merged sing-along for “Make It Wit Chu.” Real to form, QOTSA leaned into their rockstar blowing– Homme and guitar player Troy Van Leeuwen trading lively pushes as drummer Jon Theodore powered through a solo– before closing with a thunderous ending of “Go With the Flow” and “A Song for the Dead.”
The message is loud and clear
Woman in Red, headlining the last day of Øya Festival, was the only headliner artist on the Amfiet phase to communicate a message to totally free Palestine towards completion of her set, throughout” I Wan na Be Your Girlfriend.” It revealed simply how undaunted Marie Ulven Ringheim was to make her homecoming compare to Norway’s stand on the continuous humanitarian catastrophe.
Lady in Red’s high-energy, soul-baring, charming set was as excellent a marker as any for maybe what Øya Festival was everything about– having a good time however making certain the world’s crucial subjects aren’t disregarded.” Doing It Again Baby” brought a surprise cameo from Norwegian veteran artist Odd Norstoga playing the banjo, punk band Honningbarna all signed up with Girl in Red’s band for a blowout on “Bad Idea,” fireworks shot out throughout “Serotonin,” and the artist crowdsurfed and even entered into a lively wall-of-death moshpit to end her set.
Among the most talked-about acts at Øya Festival was Irish group Kneecap, who have actually remained in the headings since dealing with terrorism charges– winning both critics and fans following their Glastonbury look in the U.K. They opened their set with a strong LED message calling out the Norwegian federal government for complicity in Israel’s military actions in Palestine, likewise indicating the celebration’s financiers KKR( through their business Superstruct Entertainment) for having ties to Israel. Still, Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí revealed appreciation that Øya kept them on the expense, unlike Hungary’s Sziget celebration, where federal government pressure got them dropped.
Releasing into their high-octane, mosh-friendly efficiency, Mo Chara kicked things off with, “For f ***’s sake, I’m up for terrorism charges, provide me a little bit of energy,” even insinuating a contrast to surrounding Sweden. The crowd got a mix of politically charged rap anthems and party-ready bangers, with tracks like “Your Sniffer Dogs are Shite,” “It’s Been Ages,” “Guilty Conscience,” “Rhino Ket,” and “The Recap,” all stressed by chants of “Free Palestine.”
On day 3, fellow Irish acts The Mary Wallopers along with rock band Fontaines D.C. remained in leading type, utilizing their phase time to highlight treasured fan hits however likewise highlight the predicament of Palestine. From” Jackie Down the Line” to” Roman Holiday” to “Favourite”( committed to Kneecap )and” In The Modern World,” Fontaines D.C. remained in great kind at the Sirkus phase, carrying out with an inflatable silver color heart phase prop awaiting the back, describing their Love
Much prior, on the first day, The Bomb with Norwegian artist Emilie Nicolas took the Sirkus phase on what was the 80th anniversary of the U.S. dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Author Eric Schlosser– behind the book that motivated the electronic-meets-string-ensemble audio-visual efficiency– spoke briefly about the serious threats of nuclear weaponry and the world’s stockpiling of arms. From video footage of military parades (consisting of India), there was an hour-long set that was the most thought-provoking and severe thing you would ever experience on a summertime music celebration phase.
Later on that day, Swedish punk/hardcore heroes Refused were scathing and furious in their set at Sirkus also, with Palestinian flags and a banner that stated” Øya needs to be apartheid-free.” Calling out sponsors, consisting of banks and drink brand names, singer Dennis Lyxzén decried the machinations of industrialism that allowed the genocide in Palestine.
Norway’s veteran artist Ane Brun, too, had her own method of deciding, her expressive trip-hop-leaning rich set including quotes from author Gabor Maté about how it’s” not questionable” to provide one’s voice for the world’s oppressions. In other places, Norwegian act Pom Poko’s crazy efficiency likewise saw the drummer using a T-shirt that required” Oya without Genocide” in Norwegian.
The Norwegian stars of tomorrow
Music Norway provided welcomed delegates a within track on a few of the artists they were concentrating on for a worldwide push on the lineup at Øya Festival 2025. Artists like Hillari with her smooth R&B, folk-jazz act Bare Folk, and singer-songwriter Rabo all carried out intimate sets before handling the huge phases at the celebration. While Bare Folk have more of a regional appeal due to their pastoral, typically philosophizing lyrics in Norwegian, Rabo (who just recently launched her tune “Tiptoes”) and Hillari (with the strongly memorable “Loyal”) are more poised for international success, and they had arena-ready efficiencies to show it.
Anna of the North, who’s currently delighting in praise internationally in addition to listenership, provided among the very best sets of the celebration at the Vindfruen phase on day 4. With tunes like” The Dreamer “and” Moving On” sounding enormous, everybody was simply having a good time on phase– she even got everybody to sing along to “Hollywood Hills,” her current single.
Other standout increasing acts at Øya Festival 2025 consisted of psych-rock act Kanaan and Ævestaden, who opened the celebration and bundled folk instruments with spiraling rock, and Flammer Dance Band for their dynamic, groovy tunes. Bands like Scoreboard brought shoegaze to the front, King Husky (begun by guitar player Vidar Landa from metal act Kvelertak) included confessional indie colors, Makosir brought huge band plans and dynamic pop, and Pumpegris worked out beyond their folk-inspired rock to have an upset tune of resistance.
Keeping it heavy
If there’s one method Øya still kept things agent of Norway’s musical leanings, it was by having punk, hardcore and metal on the lineup. From regional imitate Feral Nature setting in motion moshpits with their metal-edged hardcore to Japanese post-rock/hardcore band Envy providing among the celebration’s most poignant and vast sets at the Hagen phase to Belgian post-metal band Amenra treking through a climatic, anguished and dreadful (in a great way) set at the Sirkus phase, there was plenty to feast on. Norway’s own Honningbarna brought madcap energy and a remarkable noise and light program to their closing set. On day 4, Aktiv Dodsjhelp (which equates to Active Euthanasia) brought stoner hard rock, sing-alongs, and got a lot of love in return, being the regional act.
All the stars
International curation stood top-class at Øya Festival. From Baltimore native Bartees Strange’s varied mix of hip-hop, rock and pop at Hagen to Khruangbin taking control of the Amfiet phase with their groovy, collaborated relocations with tunes like” White Gloves,”” Time (You and I) “and” Maria Tambien, “the crowds appeared for these can’t- stop working acts. Electronic duo Bicep liquidated the celebration with their Chroma set, a stunning audio-visual banquet for the senses that everybody hurried towards after Girl in Red finished up.
Australia’s The Chats were rampaging in real punk design at the Vindfruen phase with tunes like “6L GTR” and “Smoko” and their brand-new tune “Half Arsed” (while likewise talking about how fellow Oz band AC/DC had actually carried out the previous day).
U.K. act Wet Leg were offering it their all on phase on day 2, carrying out from their brand-new album Moisturizer, consisting of “Catch These Fists.” Getting the crowd to leap and move along, the formerly rainy skies had actually cleared a bit for the crowd to shriek along to tunes like “Davina McCall” and “Pillow Talk.” The quick, enjoyable and furious set likewise consisted of brand-new favorites like “U and Me At Home” and staples like “CPR,” “Wet Dream,” and “Chaise Longue.”
Heartworms resembled an act had on phase, total with post-punk and commercial rock energy, while Portishead’s Beth Gibbons surprised with a solo set that likewise included the trip-hop act’s most well-known tunes like “Roads and “Glorybox.”
British act Cymande brought jam band energy, and singing and songwriting powerhouse Lola Young was a substantial draw too for tunes like” Don’t Hate Me, “”You Noticed,””Conceited,””Not Like That Anymore,” and obviously,”Messy”and “Big Brown Eyes.”
American rocker MJ Lenderman introduced sad-boy hours with his set, while Sweden’s Yung Lean and manufacturer Bladee remained in leading kind, including melodic and melancholic hip-hop to the Øya lineup. Hermanos Gutierrez were pensive and effective, however possibly set a little too early in the day. Perhaps the celebration might have moved them to the Klubben phase, which does not sound befitting in name, however was more than comfortable for intimate efficiencies by the similarity Indo-American Tamil artist Ganavya.
With a harp and a cello, it’s safe to state there was some determining to do before Ganavya started her set in earnest however she got a client, analytical audience at the Klubben phase. Carrying out from her brand-new album Nilam (“Land,”” Nine Jeweled Prayer “), possibly Norwegians valued the pastoral nature of the discussion. Ganavya likewise consisted of the A.R. Rahman-composed “Oh Raaya” from the film Raayan. With a bit of humor (and periodically freestyling lyrics), it wasn’t all mournful throughout Ganavya’s set, however there was a peaceful strength to it, and here’s hoping Øya Festival highlights much more Indian voices and their stories.
Future dealing with
Despite the fact that there were demonstrations at the entryway on day 3 of the celebration to boycott Øya, offered their financing by KKR and other sponsors, the celebration appears to be having an open discussion about it. In this method, it’s perhaps pointing the method forward for all music celebrations. You can have the chart toppers, however likewise the well-known brand-new artists on the block, have an extremely healthy gender balance on the lineup, platform voices who wish to discuss subjects that are brushed under the carpet at a “great vibes” celebration (The Bomb was extraordinary programs). And naturally, have a sustainable outlook for the a lot of part, topping ticket sales without getting greedy.
It assists that Norway is among the most liberal nations worldwide, obviously. Where they can emphatically and frequently provide their assistance to causes in Gaza, some of their headliners would not attempt state a word. The 10s of thousands didn’t appear to mind, so there’s area for everybody.