Øya Festival 2026: The 10 Best Sets We Saw, From the Cure to Geese to Lily Allen

When Irish singer-songwriter Dove Ellis stepped onto Øya’s Vindfruen stage, he looked like a kid. Then he opened his mouth. It took about 30 seconds for his rich, lilting, limitless vocals to convince me that the 23-year-old is Jeff Buckley reincarnate. His band — which based on their skill levels, must be classically trained — consisted of guitar, bass, drums, saxophone and violin, while Ellis himself switched between guitar and piano. “When You Tie Your Hair Up,” from his excellent debut album “Blizzard,” was a highlight as the instruments built to a nearly cacophonic peak and were brought back down again by Ellis’ heavenly crooning.

French electro-pop musician Oklou lit up the festival — literally — with a stunning stage set-up that included glowing instruments. Her recorder burned a bright red, while an acoustic guitar during “Blade Bird” cast a blue glare. Combined with an on-stage cameraman delivering a live, up-close feed of her performance and a light that doubled as a swing during “Take Me by the Hand,” Oklou’s was one of the more visually innovative sets of the fest. Though it was fascinating to watch, there was still plenty of dancing going on — especially during low-key banger “Harvest Sky,” which had the crowd singing along to the chorus’ every beep and boop.

The Cure’s headlining set on Wednesday night was so good, it got its own post. But we’ll give you the lowdown here, too: the iconic goth-rock band delivered a two-and-a-half hour epic consisting of their greatest hits, with frontman Robert Smith in top form. He even got emotional after playing “Just Like Heaven,” wiping away what seemed to be tears of gratitude (and smudging his eyeliner in the process). “It’s strange, that song,” Smith said to the crowd of the track, which turns 40 next year. “Every now and then, that last bit…”

The Brighton-bred punk duo is always good for a festival set, and Øya was no exception. Singer Phoebe Lunny’s in-your-face crowd work got the huge but polite mass of people to open up the pit, resulting in the friendliest mosh I’ve been a part of. Instead of shoving each other and throwing elbows, festivalgoers mainly darted and jumped around with glee, which was almost comical with a song like “Big Dick Energy” playing in the background. Another highlight was “Cuntology 101,” where the hundreds-strong crowd repeated “cunty” in a Norwegian accent. How could you not have fun!

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The dad-rockers brought Chicago to Oslo for their main stage slot on Thursday, prancing through a tight 12-song lineup that included an impeccable “Via Chicago,” “Jesus Etc.” and “Impossible Germany” run, descending into an all-out jam. As the early evening sun shone down, the band delivered two more songs from “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” — “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You” — getting the whole crowd swaying and singing along with frontman Jeff Tweedy. “I’ll play a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll now, I guess,” Tweedy said cheekily before launching into “California Stars,” a fitting conclusion to a near-perfect set.

The Vindfruen stage was packed to the brim for indie sensation Geese’s first-ever show in Norway. Though the Brooklyn-born band has touring non-stop off the heels of their critically acclaimed album “Getting Killed,” the Øya crowd was treated to quite a few tunes from 2023’s “3D Country,” including “Tomorrow’s Crusades,” “Cowboy Nudes,” “Gravity Blues” and “2122.” During “2122,” frontman Cameron Winter paused to play Norwegian band Sputnik’s 1991 song “Skilles Johanne.” “Does everyone know this song?” Winter asked, and the crowd responded with cheers. “I don’t know what the words mean!” There was, of course, a healthy mosh pit, especially during “Getting Killed” favorite “Trinidad,” for which Winter improvised some new lyrics about “those pieces of shit in the government” and a “husband who lives in a hole and eats raccoons.” You simply have to admire the creativity.

Blood Orange brought the vibes on Thursday night as Dev Hynes and his band balanced fan favorites like “I Wanna C U” with cuts from his newest album, “Essex Honey.” Though Hynes is the brainchild behind Blood Orange, he wasn’t performing just as a frontman — from electric cello to the keys to the guitar, Hynes played nearly every instrument on the stage, sometimes opting to focus on the music rather than sing. Case in point: for 2013 banger “You’re Not Good Enough,” Hynes let his very fabulous backup singers handle the vocals, and they sounded so good that one hardly even noticed he wasn’t on the mic himself. It made the set feel very intimate, as if you were watching a band make music in the studio rather than in front of a large crowd.

The Virginia Beach hip-hop duo, consisting of brothers Pusha T and Malice, last played Øya in 2008. “That was a real dark time, so thanks for rocking with us,” Pusha said to a rammed crowd on Friday. Clipse went on hiatus soon after in 2010, only recently reuniting for last year’s “Let God Sort Em Out,” which was met with critical acclaim. It’s safe to say the audience was hype, and hands remained in the air through new tracks like “Chains & Whips” and “Ace Trumpets” as well as oldies such as “Chinese New Year” and “Momma I’m So Sorry” — with particular enthusiasm for the line about being “adored by Norwegian women.” The two even signed a stack of vinyl for fans during their set, and led the crowd in the “viking row” chant that went viral during Norway’s World Cup run. Their love for the country was palpable, and Clipse got it right back.

With four out of five members hailing from Oslo, Girl Group’s set on Saturday was a homecoming of sorts for the Liverpool-based band. And they certainly proved themselves to be one of the country’s next big exports: with refreshing energy, some light choreography, catchy melodies and a feminist message, there’s not much not to like about Girl Group. After skewering men in bands with songs like “Shut Your Mouth” and “Yay! Saturday,” the set hit an emotional peak with “Food Shopping,” a Cranberries-esque ballad about living far from home and missing your family. There’s no doubt they were somewhere in the crowd, watching proudly.

Lily Allen’s “West End Girl” tour has seen the British pop star sing her scathing, critically acclaimed album straight-through, complete with an elaborate stage-set up as if it was a musical. This was naturally a success in theaters, but it wasn’t clear how it would transfer to a festival environment. Rest assured, it did. Though some fans at Øya undoubtedly wanted to hear Allen sing “Smile” and “Fuck You,” the show’s sheer production value — complete with several costume changes, some tears during “Relapse,” a “cuck” apron and Allen balancing on a cake that rose out of the stage — was surely enough to keep even the most casual fan entertained.

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