18 Best Moments From Norway’s Øya Festival: Girl In Red Goes Punk, Chappell Roan Shouts Out Her Mom & More

Norway’s Øyafestivalen wrapped over the weekend with girl in red — one of the country’s best musical exports — bringing a raucous conclusion to four days of genre-spanning music. In addition to the Norwegian singer-songwriter, the Aug. 6-9 festival was headlined by Chappell Roan, Charli xcx and Queens of the Stone Age — an impressive international lineup for a festival that hosts around 20,000 people each day (by most festival standards, that’s a cozy crew).

Situated in Oslo’s lovely Tøyen Park, Øya Festival is a bit reminiscent of New York City’s Governors Ball back when it took place on Randall’s Island: there are plenty of trees to hide under and thick grass to sit on, so it feels like a functional park, even after four days and thousands of feet (at some outdoor fests, the grass gets trampled into the dirt within hours). Another nice bonus is how accessible the festival is from the city’s (very clean) subway — or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, it’s an easy 30-minute walk from downtown. The grounds are walkable, too: at most, you’ll stroll 10 minutes between the main stage and the farthest food stand. (Pro tip: the falafel and pastries are fantastic – really, anything involving bread in Norway is a cut above the usual.) Some of the stages are quite close (all of a one-minute walk apart), though oddly don’t suffer from sonic bleeding. For the most part, the sound quality at Øya was top-notch — when Roan was belting out her most challenging notes, you could really feel how magnificent her voice is.

From internationally renowned stars to homegrown talent, there was a lot to savor at Øyafestivalen 2025 – here are some of the best moments Billboard experienced.

Billboard’s travel and accommodations for Øyafestivalen were provided by Music Norway, founded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality.