First Øya reviews in

Despite variable weather conditions, last week’s Øya Festival in Oslo went down in history books as one of the most successful with sold-out nights, no major cancellations, no organisational hiccups and many blistering live shows.

Øyafestivalen_publikum_ved_scenen (Foto: Bjørnar Haaland)

Last week’s Øya Festival went down as a solid success, with each night being completely sold-out, no cancellations, impeccable organisation and a satisfied crowd. The four-day open-air festival, the club nights and other Øya-related events drew a crowd of 77 500 - breaking all previous records. The open-air concerts in Oslo’s Mediaeval Park drew more than 15 000 concert goers each day.

Pitchforkmedia.com’s Brian Howe has submitted a long, thorough and very well-written Øya report that captures the spirit and ambiance of the Oslo festival really well. Writes Howe: “In terms of booking, organization, and accessibility, Øya is one of the better festivals I've attended. The stages were far enough apart to avoid sound bleed-over, but close enough to navigate without wearing out your legs. The schedule was kept with clockwork precision-- every band I saw started on time, and there were no unfilled slots due to last-minute cancellations.”

Read Howe’s entire excellent Øya report here.

Canadian bloggers Exclaim were also flown in to cover the Oslo festival and have also come up with a long and entertaining festival report.

The Telegraph’s Tim Burrows has posted a short but positive blog entry on his Oslo visit last week.

New, Danish-based site allscandinavian.com (which looks very promising) has also posted a review of the Oslo festival.

Another promising initiative is Norwegian site Nö Music which is also offering its take on last week's festivities.

More festival reports will be added to this article in the coming days.

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