Not many festival lineups are as stacked — and sonically diverse — as Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway. Over four days at Tøyen Park in the center of the city, there was truly something for everyone. Goth romantics young and old gathered for the Cure’s two-and-a-half hour headlining set on Wednesday; indie lovers got a double dose with Wilco and Geese back-to-back on Thursday; teenage girls flocked to the fest to see pop sensation Sombr on Friday; and Lily Allen brought her “West End Girl” spectacular to the country for the first time on Saturday.
In between, there was plenty for rap and R&B lovers — a groovy set from Blood Orange, the return of hip-hop duo Clipse, the lo-fi stylings of Dijon and his six-piece band — and many homegrown Norwegian acts to discover, including headliner Dagny and up-and-comers Girl Group. But since we can’t write about every single act that graced the fest’s four stages last week, read on to find out more about the 10 best sets Variety saw at Øya this year (listed in chronological order). When Irish singer-songwriter Dove Ellis stepped onto Øya’s Vindfruen stage, he looked like a kid.
Then he opened his mouth. It took about 30 seconds for his rich, lilting, limitless vocals to convince me that the 23-year-old is Jeff Buckley reincarnate. His band — which based on their skill levels, must be classically trained — consisted of guitar, bass, drums, saxophone and violin, while Ellis himself switched between guitar and piano.
French electro-pop musician Oklou lit up the festival — literally — with a stunning stage set-up that included glowing instruments. Her recorder burned a bright red, while an acoustic guitar during “Blade Bird” cast a blue glare. Combined with an on-stage cameraman delivering a live, up-close feed of her performance and a light that doubled as a swing during “Take Me by the Hand,” Oklou’s was one of the more visually innovative sets of the fest.
Though it was fascinating to watch, there was still plenty of dancing going on — especially during low-key banger “Harvest Sky,” which had the crowd singing along to the chorus’ every beep and boop. The Cure’s headlining set on Wednesday night was so good, it got its own post. But we’ll give you the lowdown here, too: the iconic goth-rock band delivered a two-and-a-half hour epic consisting of their greatest hits, with frontman Robert Smith in top form.
He even got emotional after playing “Just Like Heaven,” wiping away what seemed to be tears of gratitude (and smudging his eyeliner in the process). Singer Phoebe Lunny’s in-your-face crowd work got the huge but polite mass of people to open up the pit, resulting in the friendliest mosh I’ve been a part of. Instead of shoving each other and throwing elbows, festivalgoers mainly darted and jumped around with glee, which was almost comical with a song like “Big Dick Energy” playing in the background.
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