If you’ve not yet managed to enter festival oblivion, this year’s Øya festival may just about get you there.
The festival, located in Tøyenparken, is award-winning for a reason: It fronts a focus on sustainability, promises 50/50 gender split line up, all while sporting local talents mixed in with the international heavy-hitters. A famously hard to please crowd perhaps, but this year’s line-up is up there with the best of them.
Dork takes a look at the program to ensure that you catch the most exciting acts.
Chappell Roan – 6. august 21:30 Amfiet
The midwestern princess rose to superstardom in record speed last year. This meteoric rise was largely due to Chappell’s equally magnetic and quirky quality as a live performer.
Now, bringing her glittering her glittering, glam, over the top pop bangers to Tøyenparken, this will be an opportunity to catch Chappell in a relatively intimate setting. At least compared to the record-breaking crowds she has drawn over the past year.
Credited with “making pop fun again”, Roan’s headline slot on the first day, really sets the bar. As promised: she gets the job done.
Kelly Lee Owens – 7. august 15:40 Klubben
Welsh electronic artist Kelly Lee Owens have impressed with her latest offering ‘Dreamstate’. At Øya you get to experience her, not once, but twice. First, she will do a live set, before returning to the club stage merely hours later for a DJ-set.
With her deliciously tender techno, infused with a pop sensibility your bound to enter a blissful, dare I say, dreamstate. A cinematic sort of escapism. With a delicate eye for details and beats alike, Kelly Lee Owens’ double festival-set is sure to make you soar with joy.
Yung Lean and Bladee – 7. august 18:30 Amfiet
The most famous sad boy meets the unofficial shadow king of weird internet music. The notoriously illusive, yet chronically online duo, Yung Lean and Bladee, have been paired for years. Frequent collaborators, it surprisingly took until 2024 for them to make it official with the album ‘Psykos’.
Though they are both loosely defined as rappers, the offering has a genre defying quality, lending as much from post punk and poetry as from hiphop. Though mysterious in their own right, their live presence is unquestionable. We pray they also bring some solo material along with the Psykos-tracks, for good measures.
Taking the main stage at Øya before Charli xcx’s headline-slot, Yung Lean and Bladee will hopefully bring just the right vibes.
Brenn 8. August 18:30 Amfiet
Maybe one of Norway’s most energetic live acts. As the name suggests, this band is on fire.
The duo knows how to balance the vulnerable and self-deprecating with ecstatic swagger. Their fussy, guitar-driven rock anthems capture the tension of Norwegian summer perfectly: high blue skies and never-ending sun-drenched days, contrasted with massive down pours and heavy clouds. It’s moody and blissful, with chord-progressions that keep you on your toes.
Their magnetic live presence is one to behold. And no worries if you don’t know Norwegian, the Brenns music transcends any language barrier.
Kneecap – 8. august 17:35 Vindfruen
If Brenn wasn’t enough of a musical kick in the face for you, enter Kneecap. There are few things that makes an act more attractive than being called “inappropriate” by a stuffy politician, so thanks Keir Starmer.
Controversy aside, seeing Kneecap play any concert is bound to be a wild ride. Their knack for causing chaos, paired with their unique flow and progressive blend of Irish and English, makes Kneecap way more than the headlines suggest.
The trio are continuously proving that activism and bangers really can go hand in hand – in style. If you weren’t at this gig, what are you even doing?
Mk.gee 9. august 19:50 Sirkus
For many most known for his work on Justin Bieber’s ‘Swag’, Mk.Gee is a guitar maven in his own right.
His off-kilter style and leisurely beat are deceptive; there is little coincidental in the musical universe of Mk-gee. His indie sleaze low-fi is cut through with a precision and cadence that sets him apart. The airy quality of his melodies lends itself well to a festival evening, a welcome plate cleanser or sacral break between high energy acts.
Forging his own path through the vast landscape that is guitar-based music, Mk.gee is definitely an act to experience.
girl in red 9. august 21:30 Amfiet
In the grand tradition of the Øya festival, the closing headliner will always be a Norwegian act. And this year the honour goes to non-other than girl in red.
Marie Ulven’s hometown show, or close to it, we’re definitely bound for something special. girl in red actually played Øya as far back as 2018, so she has a long history with this festival.
As for the set we know she’ll bring the goods. The anthemic album ‘Doing it again’ from last year, leans even harder into the high energy, with its sweeping guitar-based melodies and sardonic flare. Marie isn’t one to hold back and though you are guaranteed to get dancy, you may also be struck with some gut-wrenching sadness if her recent single ‘Hemingway’ is anything to go by.
This will be one for the books.
Leave a Reply