Since its debut in 1999, Oslo’s Øya Festival has steadily grown in reputation, and 2025 might just have marked its biggest edition yet.
The lineup included pop stars like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, plus Norway’s own big export Girl in Red and one for the rock crowd, Queens of the Stone Age (who were perhaps making good on their promise to play the festival after dropping out last year due to an illness besetting frontman Josh Homme).
If you can withstand the occasionally distinctly sharp winds that cut through Toyen Park on the regular, Øya was a high-energy summer festival for all intents and purposes. Taking place from Aug. 6 to 9, 2025, some locals said it was one last big festival before the end of summer (read: when the sun sets at 9:30 pm and sunrise is around 5:30 am) and luckily for us, there was just about an hour of heavy rain during these four days, when most people took refuge under the tent of the Sirkus stage before American guitar ace Mk.gee stepped up on day four. He asked if everyone was staying dry, but also faced a few sound issues, which he attributed to the weather. “The rain is doing some funky stuff to our gear right now, but we’ll get through it,” he said.
The headliners aim high
Music festivals all around the world have become the platform for artists to speak out about death, starvation, and conflict in Palestine over the last couple of years. At Øya Festival—amid attendees sporting flags and keffiyehs, wearing T-shirts condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, and even food stalls selling Palestinian cola and donating proceeds to those working actively to aid Palestinians—the messages felt more heightened than ever.
Without a doubt, the likes of Chappell Roan and Charli XCX delivered power-packed, clout-worthy performances on day one and two, respectively. On day one, fuzzy pink cowboy hats, white face paint, and plenty of Chappell Roan merch were abound among fans in the roughly 20,000 in attendance. Roan played her new single “The Subway” for the first time since releasing the song, while also giving the crowd a fantastical dose 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 presented a castle-like stage décor and Disney-like animated visuals alongside pyrotechnics. Cheered on by audiences, even cuts like “The Giver” were punctuated with humor that involved Roan reading out crowdsourced complaints about partners. It was the Midwest Princess’ world, and we were just living in it (with her mom in the crowd!) for a solid 90 minutes.
On day two, the U.K.’s Charli XCX kept her Brat summer in full swing, delivering the festival’s most high-energy set entirely solo. As a headliner, she made time fly, claiming space and partying down in a way that feels frenetic and freeing at the same time. Her setlist moved from “Von Dutch” and “360” to “Sympathy Is a Knife” and “Party 4 U,” with remixed takes on “Guess,” “Girl, So Confusing,” and “365” (alongside its original), all while sporting her signature black shades. She sprinkled in lighthearted moments too—spotting a fan dancing to “Apple,” sharing banter about her recent wedding before “Everything Is Romantic,” and revving up the energy on “Speed Drive” with nods to fast cars.
If day one belonged to Chappell Roan’s cosplay army, day two of Øya Festival was drenched in Brat green—flags, banners, T-shirts, nail art, tote bags, even knitted keepsakes—topped off with plenty of Y2K sunglasses. “I love coming here,” Charli told the Oslo crowd. “You have great tap water, coffee, interior design, and phone makers, if you know what I mean. Just a generally good vibe.”
Day three’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 slightly older, rock-loving crowd eager to watch Josh Homme and crew tear it up. Though at times visibly worn, Homme’s energy never faltered. He told Oslo they were there purely to have fun and even instructed security to let fans crowd surf and perch on each other’s shoulders. Opening with the curveball of “No One Knows” right out of the gate, the band kept the momentum going with 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 across the field, he grew a little emotional, taking in the rare sight of a clear night sky. The crowd lapped it up, breaking into a unified sing-along for “Make It Wit Chu.” True to form, QOTSA leaned into their rockstar bravado—Homme and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen trading playful shoves as drummer Jon Theodore powered through a solo—before closing with a thunderous finale of “Go With the Flow” and “A Song for the Dead.”
The message is loud and clear
Girl in Red, headlining the final day of Øya Festival, was the only headliner artist on the Amfiet stage to relay a message to free Palestine toward the end of her set, during “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend.” It showed just how resolute Marie Ulven Ringheim was to make her homecoming match up to Norway’s stand on the ongoing humanitarian disaster.
Girl in Red’s high-energy, soul-baring, endearing set was as good a marker as any for perhaps what Øya Festival was all about—having fun but making sure the world’s most important topics aren’t ignored. “Doing It Again Baby” brought a surprise cameo from Norwegian veteran artist Odd Norstoga playing the banjo, punk band Honningbarna all joined Girl in Red’s band for a blowout on “Bad Idea,” fireworks shot out during “Serotonin,” and the artist crowdsurfed and even got into a playful wall-of-death moshpit to end her set.
One of the most talked-about acts at Øya Festival was Irish group Kneecap, who have been in the headlines ever since facing terrorism charges—winning both critics and supporters following their Glastonbury appearance in the U.K. They opened their set with a bold LED message calling out the Norwegian government for complicity in Israel’s military actions in Palestine, also pointing to the festival’s investors KKR (through their company Superstruct Entertainment) for having ties to Israel. Still, Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí expressed gratitude that Øya kept them on the bill, unlike Hungary’s Sziget festival, where government pressure got them dropped.
Launching into their high-octane, mosh-friendly performance, Mo Chara kicked things off with, “For f***’s sake, I’m up for terrorism charges, give me a bit of energy,” even slipping in a comparison to neighboring 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 punctuated by chants of “Free Palestine.”
On day three, fellow Irish acts The Mary Wallopers as well as rock band Fontaines D.C. were in top form, using their stage time to bring out cherished fan hits but also highlight the plight of Palestine. From “Jackie Down the Line” to “Roman Holiday” to “Favourite” (dedicated to Kneecap) and “In The Modern World,” Fontaines D.C. were in fine form at the Sirkus stage, performing with an inflatable silver color heart stage prop hanging in the back, referring to their Romance.
Much prior, on day one, The Bomb with Norwegian artist Emilie Nicolas took the Sirkus stage on what was the 80th anniversary of the U.S. dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Author Eric Schlosser—behind the book that inspired the electronic-meets-string-ensemble audio-visual performance—spoke briefly about the grave dangers of nuclear armament and the world’s stockpiling of arms. From footage of military parades (including India), there was an hour-long set that was the most thought-provoking and serious thing you would ever experience on a summer music festival stage.
Later that day, Swedish punk/hardcore heroes Refused were scathing and furious in their set at Sirkus as well, with Palestinian flags and a banner that said “Øya must be apartheid-free.” Calling out sponsors, including banks and beverage brands, vocalist Dennis Lyxzén decried the machinations of capitalism that enabled the genocide in Palestine.
Norway’s veteran artist Ane Brun, too, had her own way of taking a stand, her evocative trip-hop-leaning lush set featuring quotes from author Gabor Maté about how it’s “not controversial” to lend one’s voice for the world’s injustices. Elsewhere, Norwegian act Pom Poko’s frenzied performance also saw the drummer wearing a T-shirt that called for “Oya without Genocide” in Norwegian.
The Norwegian stars of tomorrow
Music Norway gave invited delegates an inside track on some of the artists they were focusing on for an international 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 performed intimate sets before taking on the big stages at the festival. While Bare Folk have more of a local appeal due to their pastoral, often philosophizing lyrics in Norwegian, Rabo (who recently released her song “Tiptoes”) and Hillari (with the powerfully catchy “Loyal”) are more poised for global success, and they had arena-ready performances to prove it.
Anna of the North, who’s already enjoying acclaim globally along with listenership, delivered one of the best sets of the festival at the Vindfruen stage on day four. With songs like “The Dreamer” and “Moving On” sounding massive, everyone was just having fun on stage—she even got everyone to sing along to “Hollywood Hills,” her recent single.
Other standout rising acts at Øya Festival 2025 included psych-rock act Kanaan and Ævestaden, who opened the festival and incorporated folk instruments with spiraling rock, and Flammer Dance Band for their vibrant, groovy tunes. Bands like Scoreboard brought shoegaze to the front, King Husky (started by guitarist Vidar Landa from metal act Kvelertak) added confessional indie hues, Makosir brought big band arrangements and vibrant pop, and Pumpegris went well beyond their folk-inspired rock to have an angry song of resistance.
Keeping it heavy
If there’s one way Øya still kept things representative of Norway’s musical leanings, it was by having punk, hardcore and metal on the lineup. From local acts like Feral Nature mobilizing moshpits with their metal-edged hardcore to Japanese post-rock/hardcore band Envy delivering one of the festival’s most poignant and sprawling sets at the Hagen stage to Belgian post-metal band Amenra trudging through an atmospheric, anguished and horrific (in a good way) set at the Sirkus stage, there was plenty to devour. Norway’s own Honningbarna brought madcap energy and an astounding sound and light show to their closing set. On day four, Aktiv Dodsjhelp (which translates to Active Euthanasia) brought stoner punk rock, sing-alongs, and got plenty of love in return, being the local act.
All the stars
International curation stood top-class at Øya Festival as well. From Baltimore native Bartees Strange’s diverse blend of hip-hop, rock and pop at Hagen to Khruangbin taking over the Amfiet stage with their groovy, coordinated moves with songs like “White Gloves,” “Time (You and I)” and “Maria Tambien,” the crowds showed up for these can’t-fail acts. Electronic duo Bicep closed out the festival with their Chroma set, a magnificent audio-visual feast for the senses that everyone rushed towards after Girl in Red wrapped up.
Australia’s The Chats were rampaging in true punk style at the Vindfruen stage with songs like “6L GTR” and “Smoko” and their new song “Half Arsed” (while also commenting on how fellow Oz band AC/DC had performed the previous day).
U.K. act Wet Leg were giving it their all on stage on day two, performing from their new album Moisturizer, including “Catch These Fists.” Getting the crowd to jump and move along, the previously rainy skies had cleared a bit for the crowd to scream along to songs like “Davina McCall” and “Pillow Talk.” The fast, fun and furious set also included new favorites like “U and Me At Home” and staples like “CPR,” “Wet Dream,” and “Chaise Longue.”
Heartworms was like an act possessed on stage, complete with post-punk and industrial rock energy, while Portishead’s Beth Gibbons amazed with a solo set that also threw in the trip-hop act’s most famous songs like “Roads and “Glorybox.”
British act Cymande brought jam band energy, and vocal and songwriting powerhouse Lola Young was a huge draw as well for songs like “Don’t Hate Me,” “You Noticed,” “Conceited,” “Not Like That Anymore,” and of course, “Messy” and “Big Brown Eyes.”
American rocker MJ Lenderman ushered in sad-boy hours with his set, while Sweden’s Yung Lean and producer Bladee were in top form, adding melodic and melancholic hip-hop to the Øya lineup. Hermanos Gutierrez were pensive and powerful, but perhaps programmed a little too early in the day. Maybe the festival could have moved them to the Klubben stage, which doesn’t sound befitting in name, but was more than cozy for intimate performances by the likes of Indo-American Tamil artist Ganavya.
With a harp and a cello, it’s safe to say there was some figuring out to do before Ganavya began her set in earnest but she got a patient, inquisitive audience at the Klubben stage. Performing from her new album Nilam (“Land,” “Nine Jeweled Prayer”), perhaps Norwegians appreciated the pastoral nature of the presentation. Then, Ganavya also included the A.R. Rahman-composed “Oh Raaya” from the movie Raayan. With a little bit of humor (and occasionally freestyling lyrics), it wasn’t all somber during Ganavya’s set, but there was a quiet intensity to it, and here’s hoping Øya Festival spotlights many more Indian voices and their stories.
Future facing
Even though there were protests at the entrance on day three of the festival to boycott Øya, given their funding by KKR and other sponsors, the festival seems to be having an open dialogue about it. In this way, it’s arguably pointing the way forward for all music festivals. You can have the chart toppers, but also the acclaimed new artists on the block, have a very healthy gender balance on the lineup, platform voices who want to speak about topics that are brushed under the rug at a “good vibes” festival (The Bomb was exceptional programming). And of course, have a sustainable outlook for the most part, capping ticket sales without getting greedy.
It helps that Norway is one of the most liberal countries in the world, of course. But where they can vehemently and regularly lend their support to causes in Gaza, some of their headliners wouldn’t dare say a word. The tens of thousands didn’t seem to mind, so there’s space for everyone.
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