Facts: Way Out West
Way Out West was founded in 2007 and takes place in Slottsskogen in Gothenburg. The festival also has club gigs, Stay Out West, at various locations in Gothenburg.
In 2022, Way Out West had 50,000 unique visitors.
This year’s artists include Håkan Hellström, Blur, Wizkid, Tove Lo, Viagra Boys, Devo and Boygenius.
The Stockholm-based group Viagra Boys and the word “decadent” are synonymous. That feeling was reinforced when singer Sebastian Murphy started the gig by ripping off his shirt, in front of a screen with the text “Anxiety”.
Viagra Boys singer Sebastian Murphy started the gig by ripping off his shirt.
After playing “Ain’t no thief” from the record “Cave world”, Murphy acted the opposite of crowd pleasing by calling Gothenburg “Sweden’s second worst city” and the residents “second worst in Sweden”.
After that it went off in the Viagra Boy song catalogue, with hits like “Sports”, “Punk rock loser”, “Slow learner”, “Worms” and “Return to monke”.
Everything ended in a long, intense, instrumental party with a lute playing saxophonist and “crowd surfing” in front of a cheering audience.
Dreamy and tranquil
The supergroup Boygenius, consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, treated the festival-goers to a performance in a dreamy spirit. During the year the trio released the album “The record” and with their quiet indie rock and minimalist interlude (in the style of “thank you” and “Is it raining?”) the group enchanted the audience.
Boygenius, consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
Saturday’s big draw, Gothenburg son Håkan Hellström, announced early during the concert that Way Out West had broken the audience record with 40,000 unique guests during the day. The audience stood like packed herrings in the rain and filled up the entire area in front of the Flamingo stage.
During the two hour and fifteen minute concert (including a fake ending followed by a 45 minute encore), Hellström delivered hits from throughout his career. “Gullbergs kaj”, “Friend with a car”, “Ramlar”, “2 steps from paradise”, “A midsummer night’s dream” and of course “Feel no sorrow for me Gothenburg”.
Lucianoz guested
Even though the heavens had opened with a force that pierced through rain jackets, the energy level among the attendees was high – from those at the very front to those who could barely see the stage on the other side of the area.
When it was time for “Jag vet vylan dy hon ber in” Håkan Hellström brought up Lucianoz, who during the year made a breakthrough on Tiktok with dance band covers, and together they sang the song as a duet.
— This is my most “streamed” artist this year, Håkan Hellström shouted from the stage.
However, the most sing-alongs and dances were “It will never be over for me” from the record of the same name released in 2013 and “Your time will come” from the album “Du gamla du fria” from 2016.
Håkan Hellström closed the concert and this year’s Way Out West with “Valborg”, and then urged the audience to take Nordhemsgatan on the way to the parties in town, because it “leads straight into the sky”.