WFD

We had this problem, ended up watching it in a bar in the square on a phone on a VPN, even the Irish Times wasn't open til 2pm!

Florence cancels, replaced by Balthazar

Cheers, have messaged you

There are lockers inside the campsite but not big enough for a suitcase. Hasselt Station may have lockers and then get the shuttle bus to the festival site?

We're in, pre pitched took a bit of finding but all good now. Probably going to head into town tonight rather than go in for the party but liking the set up so far. If anyone spots a too-old indie dad with an obscure band tshirt and a daughter who looks like Wednesday Adams, feel free to say hi!

We got back last night, and all pretty much went to plan except for the late withdrawals of Johnny Marr and Billy Nomates, and we ended up not staying out for any SOW shows. We did make it to one of the movie screenings (The Society of the Spectacle) before going in on Friday, which meant we missed Yo La Tengo. They made some changes this year, getting rid of most of the segregation between the drinking and non drinking areas (they did still have the separate area which included Puben, Dungen and the wine/spirits bars), which made things easier. The Linne tent was in the same place but a different tent than last year and much better, now an arch-shaped structure with an open end at the back so a lot better for watching and listening from the seating areas around it (though entry and exit at the sides could have been better organised). I was down the front for MUNA and saw Phoebe Bridgers watching from the side of the stage, and it looked like she was getting wired up to come on at some point so alerted my daughter to come down for it. We left after boygenius on Saturday, so got caught in a bit of rain during their set and on the way out, but it seemed to be getting worse as we were leaving and looked like Hakan Hellstrom's crowd got soaked. There were clearly a lot of people coming in just for him, and a lot seemed to leave it to the last minute because of the weather. I know corporate sponsorship at festivals isn't popular but have to say that the viewing gallery sponsored by a certain mobile phone brand was a godsend on a long day, particularly when sitting on the grass wasn't really an option! Great weekend all round, couple of days to recharge before we head off again, to where the beer is cheaper!

Yes we were there last year and I did a couple of the Stay Out shows, really enjoyed them. Haven't got the stamina to stay out till 3am each night after a long day at a festival but they are a welcome extra option.

Current plan: Thu - King Gizzard, Devo, Last Dinner Party, Tove Lo, Caroline Polachek, Caroline Rose, Jockstrap Fri - Yo La Tengo, Arlo Parks, Amyl, TSOOL, Aurora, Blur Sat - MUNA, Empress Of, Snail Mail*, Johnny Marr, Viagra Boys, Sam Fender, boygenius, Billy Nomates *In practice will only see half of her set given the slight overlap with the before and after and the walk between stages after Empress Of. Thursday will take a bit of stamina because Jockstrap are on late, could have done with that being a midnight show.

We were there on day tickets yesterday. We had what turned out to be a stroke of luck by getting turned back from the main car park (which had filled up) into the overspill one next to the campervans. This meant we were parked not too far from the exit track, so we got onto the track with a push from two stewards and then out ok from there. Seemed like there was a lot of rain still coming down during the night so can imagine how bad things got overnight. Had a good day despite the weather and hope they have better luck with it next year.

The times aren't showing for me (Android app) and a lot of people are saying the same on social media.

We stayed near San Mames, and had a great time overall. Really well organised in the most part, wristband pick up (and facility to add funds to it right next to it) worked well, I did the walking route each night (including the brass band accompaniment on the first night but just went at my own pace the other nights), and daughter got the shuttle bus for nights 2 and 3 and said they were well organised. Site layout was fine, but yes the toilet facilities weren't great, very crowded at busy times, having the urinals and the cubicles next to each other didn't work, and with multiple entrance and exit points it got chaotic, and also produced a pinch point on the path down near mainstage. First night we managed Dry Cleaning, M83 (in a sudden but brief downpour), Florence (partial for me, whole set for daughter), Desire (just me), Fever Ray and most of Chemical Brothers. Second night Tinariwen, Roisin Murphy, most of Pavement and down the front for Phoenix. Final night Perfume Genius, Last Dinner Party, Arctic Monkeys and Idles. I wasn't bothered about getting a spot for AM so had a wander up to the lookout point past the dance stages and watched the sun set over the city with a quiet drink. 5am finishes are a bit much for us (particularly after having a very early flight out on Thursday), the latest we stayed was for Chemical Brothers. The walk back down afterwards was fine, plenty of people doing the same but not too crowded. Had a bit of time in the city in the afternoons and did the Guggenheim and the stadium tour. Would certainly do it again, probably not next year due to other plans but definitely worth a repeat visit and glad we chose it over Mad Cool (which we did last year but avoided this year due to it being a new and untested site).

The gap before Arctic Monkeys is confirmed as The Last Dinner Party. Some other minor changes, e.g. The Lathums dropping off.

Super Bock Super Rock moved location at two days' notice last year, due to the potential for forest fires on the coast near Lisbon, imagine that thrill ride.

I think the headliners are complete and the differences in how they are being presented is just politics, i.e. showing Billie Eilish as being "more of a headliner" than Yungblud and Years & Years, while showing Killers/Florence as equal to each other.

They appear to be now separating out the Stay Out West acts (thinner font on the poster), Jockstrap being one.

Fair play to her, I saw her play a small room in Manchester not long before covid, when by her own admittance she was squeezing in some stripped back shows before the end of the year to get enough money to see her through Christmas.

You say that now, but wait til later when someone gets their taco knocked out of their hand by a wayward hacky sack, and spills it on someone's else Shrek blanket, and it'll all go off big style.

They have designated drinking areas at Way Out West, although some are close to the front of stages (just to the side a bit) with a decent view, so people just stay there. In fact they cover so much ground (and some smaller stages are entirely within drinking areas) that it seemed pointless separating them from general areas, but it's due to Swedish licencing regulations.

Impressive booking that.

Way Out West are announcing this week (maybe not Tuesday) and they've just increased their price tier so looks like they are announcing a headliner. I thought Cala Mijas was announcing tomorrow but after reading it again it's just people speculating.

Are we convinced Placebo is the sole headliner on the Friday? Feels like there is a reason for so many announcements landing this week (and particularly tomorrow), that there must be a big artist involved.

First Aid Kit have already got a hectic schedule that week, so not sure that they'll fit in PKP as well, depends on what night they are playing Green Man maybe.

Boygenius announced for Copenhagen, Berlin and Cologne, the latter being on 16 August so still seems likely that they'll do Lowlands and/or Pukkelpop en route to their London show on Sunday 20th (MUNA are on the London show and play Pukkelpop on Saturday 19th).

The festival doesn't show day splits until much closer to the time, but the band may reveal it (or it might be obvious from other dates they are doing). I quite like Way Out West's laidback approach to announcing things out of the blue, it's like getting little bonuses all the time instead of a hype build up to an announcement which can then disappoint.

We stayed at Comfort Hotel City last year, near the train station. There was a direct tram service but we never used it, on day one we had to wait until 3pm to check into the hotel and then got an uber to get there in time for Black Country New Road, the other days we walked. We walked back each night too, and a couple of the Stay Out West venues were approx halfway between Way Out West and the hotel so I went to a couple of those shows too. We're booked in Liseberg this year which is slightly further from the festival site but again there are Stay Out venues in that area so we might get lucky with those.