Norway’s Øya Fest 2024 brought Pulp, Janelle Monae, PJ Harvey, welcoming vibes & more (review, pics)

“Even their porta-potties smell good,” one longtime Øya-goer and music industry vet from the UK told me the morning gates opened on the festival’s first day. If Oslo’s Øyafestivalen has a reputation, it’s of being exceedingly civilized. It’s earned, from the clean grounds of Tøyen Park (right in the middle of the city), to the genial staff and security, to the festival-goers who were across-the-board friendly and polite but there to have fun and see loads of great music.

“Civilized” is too uptight a word for Øya, though. I would use “mindful” or “welcoming,” as everything seems to be considered, from attendees to the artists, the festival grounds, the city of Oslo and, yes, the earth. (That also goes down to having a very easy-to-navigate layout where you could make it from one side of the festival to the other in 10 minutes, which is shorter than some beer lines at other fests.) That care rubs off on attendees and you could tell artists — from Pulp to Janelle Monae — really like playing Øya.

This is not a festival where half the crowd is off their face; in fact I’m not sure I even smelled weed once while there, and while a good portion of the crowd were drinking, I didn’t see anyone wasted. That’s probably due in part to almost no hard booze, and much of the beer they served was lower alcohol. Draft beer also came with a small service fee for the cup, which encouraged you to hang on to it, all part of Øya’s initiatives to be one of the greenest, most inclusive major festivals in the world. (Gender parity on the lineup has been the norm here for nearly a decade, and this year they had dispensers with free maxi pads and tampons.) The food stands use organic produce and 2024 marked the first year where Øya went pescatarian, with most stalls being entirely vegetarian. Meanwhile, being in the center of the city, most attendees either take public transportation, walk or ride bikes (the festival provides ample bike racks). I saw little litter and staff were cleaning up on fields when there wasn’t a performance on a stage.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Øya 2024 boasted a pretty incredible lineup that spanned genre, gender, and generations, including Janelle Monae, Pulp, Jack White, Norwegian star Gabrielle, Vince Staples, Air, Jack White, The National, PJ Harvey, André 3000, Raye, IDLES, Sampha, Overmono, Jorja Smith, The Kills, Slowdive, Arca, Olof Dreijer (The Knife) & Diva Cruz, Blondshell, Yard Act, Joy Orbison, Nia Archives, Alvvays, yunè pinku, and more across its five main stages.

Øya has grown so much since 1999, with huge international headliners, but their commitment to local music is still evident, with I’d say at least a third of the lineup being Norwegian acts, including a number of indigenous Sami artists. I caught lots of great Norwegian acts I was previously unfamiliar with, including Moyka (first thing I saw at Øya), Indian/Norwegian band 9 Grader Nord, post-hardcore rippers Hammok, singer-songwriter Fay Wildhagen, Orions Belte (“Norway’s Khruangbin” is pretty close), the jazzy Andreas Røysum Ensemble, pop star Astrid S, gothy/folky singer Sivert Høyem, DJ Nora Mamdu, ’90s indie rockers Euroboys (reformed for the fest), and more.

Even with the low alcohol beer, 32 hours of music across four days becomes a bit hazy and some of the acts I saw at Øya have slipped out of my brain already (Oh, right I did see Alvvays and Wednesday. They were solid). But I do have my favorites. I picked 12:

Pulp
I’d seen Pulp back in the day but never, as Jarvis Cocker put it in rave lament “Sorted for E’s and Wizz,” amongst 20,000 people standing in a field. At 60, Jarvis still has the juice and was a magnetic gawky sex machine for the band’s whole set headlining Day 1 on the big Amfiet stage. There were hits and most of Different Class, a few deep cuts (they played early-’90s single “O.U.” for the first time in 12 years) and the first full-band performance of “new” song “Sunrise.” There were many moments of theater, from Jarvis rising up out of the floor for opener “F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.,” to the descending glitterball on “Disco 2000” to all of “This is Hardcore.” I am of the general feeling that I never need to hear “Common People” again but there’s no denying its power to send masses into hysterics and that was a highlight I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. That was, of course, the final song of the night…until Jarvis realized they had five more minutes and threw in “Glory Days” at the very end. I can’t wait to see them again in NYC.

PJ Harvey
It had been a very long time since I’d seen Polly Jean Harvey (not since Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea) but I’m happy to report she was in fine form for her late afternoon set on Øya’s first day. The stage was set up like an old living room or library (antique store?) and at times between songs PJ would pour a cup of tea or sit behind a vintage typewriter. Her set opened with three songs from I Inside the Old Year Dying but she included lots of classics, and despite the very quaint stage setting things got loud and grungy. A raging performance of Rid of Me‘s “50ft Queenie” — where her wailing presence on the tall LED screens on the sides of the stage made the song’s title literal — was the hour set’s highlight.

Nia Archives
“We’re gonna start things off with an old-school jungle set,” Nia Archives told the modest crowd at the Hagen stage early on Day 1, and hit us with an amen break-powered remix of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll,” which then slammed into a similar reworks of Charli XCX’s “360” and, I think, 2 Unlimited’s jock jam classic “Get Ready for This.” Nia has the kind of smile you can see from a mile away, and with the crowd primed she led into some of her own songs; with no other backing than her deck / MPC she had everyone bouncing. “Norwegians never dance like this,” a new Oslo acquaintance told me. “Especially not at 4 PM!”

Casiokids
One of the most anticipated Day 1 sets for me were Casiokids, who earned the reputation as “Norway’s Hot Chip,” in the late-’00s thanks to a string of great singles that were as irresistible and danceable as the titles were hard to pronounce for non Norwegians. Having been in hibernation for more than a decade, Casiokids are now back with a new album on the way, and Øya was their first performance in 11 years. Playing a late afternoon set — 7:30 PM, the sun didn’t go down till after 10 at this latitude — at the Sirkus tent, the band pulled out all the stops, playing alongside a gang of giant puppets and people in giant papier-mâché heads. It somewhere between Yo Gabba Gabba!, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a bloghouse-era rave. The classics — “Togens Hule,” “Verdens Største Land,” “Finn Bikkjen!” — played like massive hits and the new stuff fit in seamlessly. Their performance was also more packed than it might’ve been thanks to a sudden downpour — the Sirkus tent was the only covered space — making for even more of a party. Welcome back, Casiokids!

Yard Act
UK band Yard Act embraced pop on this year’s Where’s My Utopia? and it’s even more evident at their live show, which now boasts two backup singers / dancers (including Daisy T Smith, who you might recognize from the new album’s many videos), and they really help take the live show to a new level. “We Make Hits” really highlights the band’s new energy, and frontman James Smith, ever dressed in a rumpled trench coat worthy of Columbo, sounds more than ever like a rapper (albeit one with a West Yorkshire accent) as his wordplay spills out at an incredibly high word count. Drawing a big late afternoon crowd on the Hagen stage, Yard Act are a delight and were a shot in the arm on the final day of Øya.

Kristi Brud
Probably my favorite discovery at Øya, Kristi Brud are seasoned vets of the Norwegian rock underground. The group features four members of much-loved Bergen band Hjerteslag who all started this new band when frontman Robert Eidevik started making records under the Hjerteslag name without them. (It was a story told to me by many Norwegians at the festival.) My festival buddy said “They’re like dark synthwave, but without the synths,” to which I replied “I think that’s called goth.” (There actually was one synth.) The best-sounding band I heard on the Hagen stage all weekend, Kristi Brud blasted out super-catchy, super-tight black mascara rock that recalled Love & Rockets, Sisters of Mercy, or, to include a Scandinavian reference, Union Carbide Productions.

Gabrielle
Barely known outside of Scandinavia, Gabrielle is an absolute superstar in her native Norway and it felt like everyone still left at Øya on Saturday night was crammed onto the hillside for her joyous festival-closing set on the Amfiet stage. With surreal projections and jellyfish princess costumes, Gabrielle is visually in Bjork territory but her sound falls more towards pure pop. She sings in her native tongue but the music is borderless, an effervescent blend of synthpop and jazzy R&B (a Norwegian specialty) that here comes with a spectacular and decidedly quirky stage production. The crowd goes wild to the opening notes of seemingly every song, and I’m singing along to this year’s “Synd synd synd” by the end as if I’d heard it 1000 times already. Øya was not big on pyrotechnics but she sent the 2024 edition out with fireworks, both the charisma and literal kinds.

Slowdive
As much as I love Slowdive, I never really thought about them as a festival band. Now I do. Playing to a packed Sirkus tent, it became clear they play very well to big crowds. Interestingly, it was best at the very back of the room. Let’s face it: this is not a band you need to get up close to see. As OG shoegazers, Slowdive are not jumping off risers or melting faces with fiery shredding, they are creating a diaphanous wall of sound. In the packed Sirkus tent on Day 2, it was both gorgeous and loud as hell. I was up close for the first part of the show, it was fine, but I considered leaving to check out another stage. When I made my way to the very back, where the tent opened up onto the field, the band were a technicolor jet engine, blasting us with gossamer waves of beautiful, perfect sound that, combined with a simple but perfectly psychedelic light show, was pure festival bliss.

Air
Friday’s main Amfiet stage got a major 11th hour shakeup when, just weeks before the festival’s start, headliners Queens of the Stone Age and The Smile had to drop out for medical reasons. Øya rallied impressively, though, with appropriate replacements Jack White and Air. I’m a huge fan of the French duo and have been eagerly awaiting their Moon Safari tour to hit the US, so it was a treat to get to see them in an outdoor setting before their NYC show this fall at Beacon Theatre. Playing with a magical white rectangular box, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel manned synths and bass from either end with drummer Louis Delorme in the middle, and they turned Amfiet into their own lounge as they played Moon Safari front-to-back. (It was also two days before they would make a surprise appearance at the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony.) As lush as that album is, the three of them seemed to play most of it live, and while those signature bass lines, synth sounds, and vocodered exclamations were all present, they were also not beholden to the studio recordings. “All I Need” became closer to the instrumental “Les professionnels” version first heard on Premiers Symptômes, with only Beth Hirsh’s vocals floating through the ether, dub-style. I am still trying to wrap my head around the marvel that is the box they play in, as the interior was both mirrored and digital display and the low-res imagery as a trip. That part didn’t quite translate to an afternoon outdoor stage but it has made me more excited to see them indoors this fall.

Janelle Monae
What to say about Janelle Monae? She is a superstar, part Prince, part James Brown, and part Tina Turner, all wrapped up into one wonderfully eccentric, indefatigable musical dynamo. Her headline set on Tuesday was pure exuberant joy, with every number a dazzling showstopper. There were many costume changes: she made her entrance as a giant technicolor flower bouquet, and later she donned vagina pants, to name two. But through all the visual spectacle and flash, the biggest special effect was Janelle herself. That charisma could be seen and felt from a mile away and made for a show that could be appreciated up close or at the top of the hill facing the stage, and whether you knew her hits by heart or had never heard a moment of her music.

Jessie Ware
One of the splashiest sets at Øya on Day 2 was Raye, the UK singer who everyone I talked to at the festival referenced Amy Winehouse in talking about her, and who clearly has a powerful pipes and charisma to spare. But when a friend mentioned that she doesn’t work the stage, as if she was told not to move from an X on the floor, I couldn’t not notice, and it deflated for me what was an otherwise terrific set. This was not a problem for Jessie Ware, who used every inch of the Vindfruen stage to turn it into a ’70s disco named The Pearl, complete with a massive mirrorball. Despite joking that we were watching a mom live out her fantasy, Jessie was glamorous diva on stage for her tight, very cheeky, choreographed set, complete with two backup dancers who at more than one point carried her around like the royalty she was. They danced their way all over the stage as Jessie belted out bangers like “Freak Me Now,” “That! Feels Good!,” and her cover of Cher’s “Believe,” while making sure the front row, the back and the corners all got attention.

IDLES
I have seen IDLES in small clubs and bigger rooms but it’s very clear where they thrive is in front of a giant festival audience. They absolutely tore the place down as the final act at Øya 2024, playing the Sirkus tent which held everyone who wasn’t watching Gabrielle on the Amfiet stage on Saturday night. (Their set went just a touch later than Gabrielle’s.) Much like I had seen him do at the 600-capacity Bowery Ballroom earlier this year, frontman Joe Talbot greeted the crowd and immediately ordered them to divide down the middle and then smash into each other for “Colossus.” I coudn’t see the mayhem from where I was but I heard the audience. The band didn’t let up from there, and a swirling pit engulfed the middle of the floor for the rest of their wild, very fun set. Talbot’s enthusiasm and sloganeering proclamations makes a whole lot more sense playing to masses like this and when he wasn’t joining the crowd in chants of “Viva Palestina” or belting his heart out, he was bounding across the stage, giddy skipping like a schoolboy. Guitarist and producer Mark Bowen couldn’t make it to Oslo, but frequent collaborator Tina Maynard more than ably filled in — she had a lot of fans in the audience who, at one point, chanted her name. My festival buddy and I were actually planning on skipping out early, as we both had early morning flights the next day, but after two songs she grabbed my arm and yelled “let’s go to the front!” (IDLES are another group that work no matter your vantage point.) It was an energizing end to Øya that kept us going much longer into the night than we had planned.

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This was my first Øya and will hopefully not be my last. The 2025 edition happens August 6-9 and tickets go on sale August 20.

A few other notes:

• While there was a lot of what you would call electronic pop at Øya, most of the serious dance music was relegated to Klubben which always seemed packed and was probably a little too small for the crowds. It was also next to a Pepsi-sponsored silent disco which was also always packed.
• It’s not a festival without a little rain, but really only the first day did we get any significant showers, which ended just in time for Pulp’s headlining set. Jarvis Cocker told us we could keep the rain away by clapping in syncopation as the lead in to “Disco 2000″…it worked!
• For those who wanted to keep the party going each night there were official Øya aftershows at clubs all over the city. As the festival had myself and other “international delegates” up early for activities (I kayaked down the Akerselva river through the middle of the city), I opted for sleep but the first night I did go see Irish band Cardinals who were pretty good.

Check out photos from Øya 2024 below: