Way Out West 2024

[ParanoidTourist]

Way Out West in Gothenburg next year looks primising. So far, they´ve announced: Pulp, PJ Harvey, Queens of the stone age and Fred again.

[mortand]

I'm tempted. Heard good things about the festival, and it's usually a really solid lineup.

Great bookings so far.

 

[Kaboom Boxer]

I’ve never been to WOW before. How does it compare to Pukkelpop in terms of organisation, camping, atmosphere etc.? It will be one or the other for us based on lineup and WOW has made a great start. 

[DDave]

9 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

I’ve never been to WOW before. How does it compare to Pukkelpop in terms of organisation, camping, atmosphere etc.? It will be one or the other for us based on lineup and WOW has made a great start. 

Expensive and you can only drink in certain areas. Hard no from me. 

https://alt77.com/way-out-west-2022-review/

[WFD]

There's no camping, it's very much a city break festival.  The drinking rules were eased a bit this year, for beer at least (wine and spirits are still quite tightly controlled).

On the plus side you get access to Stay Out West, separate shows in city centre indoor venues from 11pm-3am, included in the main festival price, as well as a daytime film festival.

It's a nice setting and there is some effort made to give the smaller stages their own feel (bars and places to sit within view of the stage).  Quite corporate though, lots of sponsorship going on.

I've enjoyed both times I've been but it might not be to everyone's liking when there are some very different options out there.

[Kaboom Boxer]

2 hours ago, DDave said:

you can only drink in certain areas

What do these restrictions look like in reality? Is it only in bars? Can you drink in the field?

[WFD]

58 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

What do these restrictions look like in reality? Is it only in bars? Can you drink in the field?

This year you could drink standard strength beer anywhere on the site.  Previously this wasn't the case, but even then each stage had an area where you could drink within decent view of the stage. This year wine and spirits (and stronger/craft beer) were kept to the restricted areas, and the extent to which you could see a stage varied by area.

[Kaboom Boxer]

2 hours ago, WFD said:

This year you could drink standard strength beer anywhere on the site.  Previously this wasn't the case, but even then each stage had an area where you could drink within decent view of the stage. This year wine and spirits (and stronger/craft beer) were kept to the restricted areas, and the extent to which you could see a stage varied by area.

What a bizarre rule. What is the ethos behind it?

[Rico_Pliskin]

45 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

What a bizarre rule. What is the ethos behind it?

Same at opener, you could drink full strength beer/shots in areas.

 

In main arena you had mid strength beer

[Dazrigby88]

On 11/14/2023 at 4:58 PM, WFD said:

This year you could drink standard strength beer anywhere on the site.  Previously this wasn't the case, but even then each stage had an area where you could drink within decent view of the stage. This year wine and spirits (and stronger/craft beer) were kept to the restricted areas, and the extent to which you could see a stage varied by area.

What are they like for checking you on the way in? I usually like to fill a small water bottle with vodka and this lasts me the day... sounds even more pertinent at this festival! Ha

[WFD]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:13 PM, Kaboom Boxer said:

What a bizarre rule. What is the ethos behind it?

Swedish licensing laws, as far as I understand it (but anyone from Sweden would know better than me).  You have to be 18 to even get into the area where higher strength alcohol is sold.

[WFD]

2 minutes ago, Dazrigby88 said:

What are they like for checking you on the way in? I usually like to fill a small water bottle with vodka and this lasts me the day... sounds even more pertinent at this festival! Ha

Quite thorough I would say, you'd get patted down and any water bottle would be checked.  It might even be that (like many UK festivals) you can't take a filled bottle in with you anyway.  I never tried to take one in so can't remember exactly, but either way I wouldn't rely on it as a tactic.

[changingman]

Definitely bag checks and pat down when we went in last time. Once inside, security are pretty hot too, got moved on numerous for having a vape in the wrong area. On the plus time it does make for a pretty chilled vibe, don't think I saw one drunk person for instance. 

 

[lukecork]

Not sure if previously discussed -  How much is the beer(s) at the fest ?

[changingman]

Two years ago a small beer (330ml) was around 7 quid I think (standard lager). IPAs etc were available at certain bars, probably around the £10-12 mark for a large one. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by changingman

[NorthernSoul52]

Cannot comment on the festival itself, but I enjoyed Gothenburg for my brief sojourn there to see Bruce Springsteen earlier this year. I'd be tempted back for a proper look again down the line.

[Dazrigby88]

On 11/21/2023 at 10:17 AM, changingman said:

Definitely bag checks and pat down when we went in last time. Once inside, security are pretty hot too, got moved on numerous for having a vape in the wrong area. On the plus time it does make for a pretty chilled vibe, don't think I saw one drunk person for instance. 

 

so it's quite a reserved festival then? Might not be my cup of tea tbh! Haha

[changingman]

1 hour ago, Dazrigby88 said:

so it's quite a reserved festival then? Might not be my cup of tea tbh! Haha

It's quite reserved for a country ha! And yep, the festival reflects that. 

[NorthernSoul52]

20 hours ago, changingman said:

It's quite reserved for a country ha! And yep, the festival reflects that. 

Way Out West always got me thinking Way Out West.

 

[bjh41]

Four more added to the line-up. Loyle Carner probably the biggest of the new additions given he is headlining a day at All Points East this year.

[changingman]

Showing my age but I've not heard of any of those ha! 

Hoping for the Smile given they're in Helsinki that weekend (Gothenburg, Oslo, Helsinki often share acts). 

That said, the National's tour finishes 2 days prior in Copenhagen but that just feels TOO stacked right? 

[ParanoidTourist]

2 minutes ago, changingman said:

Showing my age but I've not heard of any of those ha! 

Hoping for the Smile given they're in Helsinki that weekend (Gothenburg, Oslo, Helsinki often share acts). 

That said, the National's tour finishes 2 days prior in Copenhagen but that just feels TOO stacked right? 

I´m hoping for the Smile too. They don´t have a Swedish date this spring so that would speak for the group to show up at WOW this summer. 

[mortand]

The Smile added to the lineup. Looking more and more solid.

[ParanoidTourist]

44 minutes ago, mortand said:

The Smile added to the lineup. Looking more and more solid.

Amazing news! Exactly what I hoped for!

[changingman]

Same! If only the flights from the UK were as fantastic as the lineup 🙂