NORWAY ROCK MAGAZINE
We ventured down to Tøyenparken in Oslo to check out a few rock and metal artists at this year’s Øyafestivalen. We saw Japanese metal, British indie rock, a Norwegian rock duo on the main stage, a band that could become the biggest Irish group since U2, and of course, the main rock headliner, Queens of the Stone Age.
It was a lush and enveloping set, warmly enjoyed by a large crowd, some of whom were at Øyafestivalen in 2004 to see Euroboys, and some of whom were not even born then. The band had men, women, boys and girls of all ages smiling in the sun.
The National were back at Øyafestivalen to promote their two most recent albums First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track, released back-to-back in 2023. This was a brilliant performance from a band who seem to be back at the peak of their career.
Thirteen years after their last visit, Britpop icons Pulp made their grand return to Oslo as part of their ‘’This is what we do for an Encore’’ tour. This is certainly a nice catch for Øyafestivalen as they have been featuring, over the last few years, some of the best spearheading British pop bands from the 90s.
It was the last day of Øyafestivalen, a day bookended by national treasures. In the evening, we would have Sigrid-den-Gense, but to start us off, to get us in the mood, came BigBang to Amfiet, with full attendance within a few minutes of their taking to the stage.