Way Out West in Gothenburg review: Charli XCX serves British debauchery in sensible Sweden
Chappell Roan, Lola Young and Greentea Peng also bring the vibes to this festival garlanded for its sustainability practices and praised for the 50-50 gender split in its line-ups
“Shall we do a little key? Shall we have a little line?” spits Charli XCX at Way Out West in Gothenburg. The ‘365’ lyric lands as a moment of razor-sharp cultural contrast: this is one of the most sober crowds at a musical festival Attitude has ever seen. Sweden‘s clean-living, socially responsible spirit runs through WOW, which is meat and dairy-free, garlanded for its sustainability practices and praised for the 50-50 gender split in its line-ups. Here, nobody jostles you to get by, and alcohol is too pricey to overindulge in anyway. It’s a chilled out revelation.
Still, it’s a testament to Charli’s glorious, boundless cockiness – there’s no other word for it: brattishness – that she whips the gridlocked crowd into a euphoric frenzy with this sweaty, sweary set anyway. Who needs alcohol when the music’s this intoxicating?
It’s a similar scene at CMAT, where the flame-haired force of nature serves warm, full-throated charisma in spades. She’s a vision in lemon, and Swedes are enamoured with her.
Proof of the Irish starlet’s rapid ascent: she takes to the tiny Höjden by Spotify stage, drawing swarms to this hilly pocket of Slottsskogen park. It’s a tight squeeze. Still, with a 30,000 capacity, WOW is (generally speaking) a less stressful weekend than a supersized UK festival. Although the queues to get in can get ridiculous.
Our favourite set of the weekend? Greentea Peng — chronically unbothered by the festival’s wasp problem and rocking, hands down, the coolest skirt we’ve ever seen. Her rich, mysterious voice bores into your soul on ‘Hu Man’ and ‘Green’; hers is a magnificent stage presence that compels you to go deep, matching her depth and quiet intensity
When she ends the set a few minutes early, she makes the most of it with an impromptu rendition of ‘Downers’, backed only by guitar. The sound is hazy, jazzy, lo-fi. Bathed in Gothenburg’s glorious August sun, we realise we’ve never felt so calm and meditative at a gig.
Less polished but all the more endearing for it is Lola Young, who makes coughing into her mic part of her chilled charm. Her smoky, gritty vocal carries a weight beyond her years, but her wickedly sarcastic lyrics and puppyish energy are pure youth culture.
Another charmer: Sweden’s own Omar Rudberg, who catches up with Attitude backstage before his performance in the Linné tent. “It’s scary,” says the Young Royals star of performing to his home community. “It feels personal. Everyone I hang out with and love are here, all my friends!” What’s on the horizon for Omar? “New music coming out, and hopefully more shows and touring, and becoming the artist I’ve always wanted to be.”
Omar suggests we check out local artist Daniela Rathana — a Eurovision-ready fever dream of operatic vocals and epic choruses — and thank goodness he does. She slices through our gruelling three-hour wait for the weekend’s star attraction, Chappell Roan, turning dead time into pure entertainment.
While Charli dazzles with minimal staging, in just a T-shirt and hot pants, Chappell conjures a full-blown Disney fantasy. We study her ornate castle backdrop forensically; it all but dares your inner child to climb up and play make-believe. And her tattered woodland-fairy look, all mossy greens and iridescent purples, is everything.
We enjoyed her barnstorming performance so much, that we’re seriously considering seeing her a second time at Reading and Leeds Festivals. The vocal on ‘The Subway’ is rich and controlled; her hair-flicking energy on ‘Pink Pony Club’ proves her Grammys performance was no one-off — she’s still giving 100%. When a brief rain shower hits, she steps out from cover and onto the runway to chat with the crowd, letting her hair soak without a second thought. There’s a striking lack of vanity on display.
Our preoccupation with WOW’s stellar female acts not withstanding, the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Fontaines D.C. prove the men can bring the fireworks too. Completing the experience are some of the fabulous things about Gothenburg as a destination: the unrivalled thrift shopping, the impossibly fresh seafood at Fiskbar 17 and Feskekörka, and the breathtaking views from the Clarion Hotel Draken, our glossy, well-appointed home for the week.
At 104 meters tall, with 34 floors, it qualifies as a skyscraper. Its top-floor restaurant is Brasserie Draken, offering panoramic city views. From here, Gothenburg is a patchwork of warm terracotta rooftops and swathes of rich green. In a season — and an age — when global warming has scorched London’s parks into brittle, joyless brown, the foliage here is lush to the point of decadence.
We experience peak natural beauty while wild swimming in the pristine waters off Donsö, part of a tour through the Gothenburg Archipelago, where jagged shorelines and quiet coves take turns stealing the breath. In the car-free southern islands, a bike ride free from both engine noise and exhaust fumes feels like bliss distilled. And what better way to close the weekend than with the catch of the day and a scoop of handmade sesame ice cream at Popsicle Café? We leave Sweden feeling healthier than we arrived, and without added tinnitus thanks to our trusty Loop earplugs: a musical festival first.
Way Out West returns in August 2026.