Way Out West review: Zara Larsson stuns the Swedish crowd in ultimate homecoming gig
Swedish event is often overlooked as a festival go-to, but is well worth the trip
Key points
- The festival kicked off on Thursday afternoon with Lily Allen running through West End Girl, the Brit-nominated dissection of her…
- It felt as though the buzzing crowd reached a state of collective euphoria while jumping along to the group’s 2005…
- Dance music pioneer Moby followed with a moving set, dedicating a rendition of “Go” to the late filmmaker David Lynch…
- Much like those national pastries, Way Out West is just as sweet and will leave you wanting even more.
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While Robyn’s electropop regularly climbs the UK charts and rock band The Cardigans have an album literally named after the ITV soap Emmerdale. , aside from IKEA, meatballs and H&M, one of Sweden’s most popular exports to the UK has been its musicians. ABBA’s Greatest Hits has become a British wedding staple.
So, you’d think more of us would be flocking to Sweden for its musical festivals, particularly with Glastonbury taking a break this year – and yet, few Brits have heard of Way Out West, Gothenburg’s annual three-day event.
Based in Sweden’s second-largest city, Way Out West attracts the same heady headliners as Primavera, We Love Green and its European rivals, but oozes Scandinavian charm thanks to the picturesque backdrop of the pond-filled Slottsskogen park and its efficiently compact array of stages. There’s nothing quite like bopping around to Lorde belting out “Green Light” as the sun descends on the Azalea stage, before spinning around 180 degrees for the Gorillaz’s closing set on Flamingo – which is directly opposite.
The festival kicked off on Thursday afternoon with Lily Allen running through West End Girl, the Brit-nominated dissection of her marriage’s demise. The London-born singer certainly lived up to the album’s name, shedding tears and hurling dildos in the theatrical staging of it. Way Out West may be one of the later stops on Allen’s festival tour, even so hardcore fans could easily slip to the front through the blonde sea of polite, tall Swedes for a more intimate experience.
What happened
There was less of a chance of getting to the barrier for Zara Larsson however, with Sweden’s pop princess drawing the biggest crowd of the weekend. The “Lush Life” singer’s hour-long set proved that she’s the ultimate siren, hypnotising the hyped crowd with her mermaid aesthetic and infallible vocals while twerking to catchy track “Pretty Ugly”.
Dance music pioneer Moby followed with a moving set, dedicating a rendition of “Go” to the late filmmaker David Lynch before playing a video message from chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall. This person died last October aged 91, in which she urged more residents to take up a plant-based diet and end animal cruelty.
While Gothenburg itself is one of the greenest cities in Europe, he couldn’t have picked a better audience for that message – Way Out West has been a completely vegetarian festival since 2012 for environmental reasons. It’s incredibly easy to secure around the city on foot or via its electric trams and buses so while climate change is at the forefront of our minds thanks to the UK’s hottest summer on record, you can at least rave guilt-free (well, somewhat if you took a plane to get there).
Friday’s line-up truly provided something for everyone, beginning with the chilled musical stylings of Jalen Ngonda before a wild set from rock outfit The Hives on the main stages. Geese were a particular highlight on the festival’s alternative stage Linnê with the American rising stars drawing throngs of rock lovers. As a head-banging audience wailed along to their breakout album Getting Killed, shaggy-haired frontman Cameron Winter channelled both John Lennon and Liam Gallagher in circular glasses and a skintight Massive Attack top.
The details
While DJ Four Tet and electronic band Fcuckers delivered high-energy performances on the dance and alternative stages, with the rest of the acts tightly packed into the evening’s schedule, those bouncing between them were in for emotional whiplash – with both Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and The Cure playing mellow two-hour sets.
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One of the few downsides to the festival is its after-hours set-up – with those wanting to party after the headliners being redirected to various clubs around the city as part of the festival’s Stay Out West initiative. For the more popular acts like rapper Earl Sweatshirt and rock band My New Band Believe, this can require a 20-minute walk into town and an extensive queue, so by the time you’ve made it in the venue, your body is calling for its bed.
Although I identified food and drink in the festival to be roughly on par with London prices, sweden is also, unsurprisingly, fairly expensive. You can buy a can of beer for the equivalent of £7.30 and while drinks outside of the festival were slightly cheaper, it’s worth remembering that highly few corner shops sell booze. Those that do have to stop after 3pm on Saturdays and can’t sell any on Sundays. On the plus side, the city is one of the cleanest and most peaceful I’ve been in, with the strict rules clamping down on binge drinking culture.
Bringing the weekend to a close were British jazz quintet Ezra Collective, whose infectious positivity boosted a somewhat hungover crowd on Saturday afternoon, followed by viral music star Sombr strutting around in leather trousers while working through his chart-storming hits. Lorde thrilled fans by performing several her crowd pleasers as well as tracks from her latest album Virgin, peppered with the heartfelt yet long-winded monologues she’s become known to do at her live indicates – providing numerous opportunities to grab a drink.
Why it matters
Ending on a high, Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn commanded the stage in his military-style outfit as he welcomed guest star after guest star – from Anoushka Shankar to Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) for “Stylo” and “Damascus” from the group’s latest album. It felt as though the buzzing crowd reached a state of collective euphoria while jumping along to the group’s 2005 hit “Feel Good Inc” – the song really does what it says on the tin.
While prices could be lower, those trekking to Gothenburg won’t be disappointed by Way Out West’s stellar musical line-up, the charming city and its addictive cinnamon buns (I sauntered over to cafe da Matteo Magasinsgatan every morning to scoff one down with an iced latte). Much like those national pastries, Way Out West is just as sweet and will leave you wanting even more.
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