If you’ve missed it, here’s Day One – check it out!
On Thursday it still felt like there was more space at Slottskogen, but on Friday it was totally packed from pretty early in the evening. So it felt reasonable to take things a bit more easy compared with how much running from stage to stage there was on Thursday.
Part of that decision was made for us, though, as it was clear already a week in advance that the evening’s big star Charli XCX would not allow any photographers. The photo restrictions from the big names are starting to be more and more commonplace, so it’s something us photographers have to live with. Little Simz was another very interesting star of the day that I felt I needed to skip due to tough photo terms and conditions. But there was still plenty of action on the WoW stages that was so much fun to photograph on this day as well…
Sweden’s own superstar Molly Sandén played her first Way Out West gig, and it was on the biggest stage, where she clearly belongs. She did note, however, that the start time at 5pm was more like the time of day her little son might be having a birthday party. Her star power was shining bright in the broad daylight as well, and she totally owned the stage. She had a videographer following her around on stage, so even the people in the back of the sizable crowd were enjoying her stage presence. Her song material is packed with numerous hits by now, and one of the highlights was Slutet på sommaren, during which she brought the music video stars Oscar Zia and Edvin Törnblom on stage. She also brought Jonathan Johansson on stage for his Rosa Himmel, which Molly has pretty much made her own.
Time for Ireland’s own CMAT at the Höjden stage for up’n’coming artists, which was very clearly too small for her, the crowd were packed like sardines! CMAT’s fame in Sweden is probably mostly due to the viral TikTok hit Take a Sexy Picture of Me (I did the butcher, I did the baker… ). But she has clearly so much more to offer than just that – based on her album Euro-Country, and especially on her live capacity. She’s got the stage presence and charisma, and she and the band are so much fun in a rather unhinged and queer way. Definitely a pleasure to photograph and to witness the interaction with the crowd so close-up in the photo pit.
The very hip Khruangbin took to the big Flamingo stage and gave the audience a sleek show with coordinated movements, with bassist Laura Lee Ochoa and guitarist Mark Speer walking up and down and side to side on the stage with slow and exaggerated movements and poses. The laid-back instrumental music matches their movements perfectly, and is a great match for the summer evening, when the people closest to the stage are clearly getting into the groove while waiting for Charli XCX to come on later.
I still needed to make my way to the Linné tent stage to see Wet Leg play their intensive show. Having seen them at Rosendal Garden Party back in 2022 in their quirky cottage-core era, the music and the aesthetics have now shifted toward a more indie rock style, with frontwoman Rhian Teasdale looking like some kind of superhero from a futuristic movie. Her styling is very bold and queer, and she really exudes power, while Hester Chambers is staying pretty much in the shadows and in the background.
After the three songs in the photo pit for Wet Leg, it was time to drop off the heavy gear to the press centre and get in place in anticipation for Charli XCX. The most eager fans in the front-row had most likely been in place from when the gates opened, but I still managed to get right behind people at the barricade at the side of the stage. Charli started 20 minutes late, so some people were starting to get restless, but when the show finally kicked off, there was no turning back. It was hyperpop to the max from the first song to the last. Charli commanded the stage very impressively throughout the show all by herself, running up and down the catwalk, twisting and turning, jumping – and leading the audience in sing-alongs to hit after hit.
The Brat Summer of 2024 was clearly still present at Slottsskogen that summer evening, and as Charli herself manifested at the end of the show, let’s hope it never ends. During the show Charli made it abundantly clear she loves Sweden – she even said she would want to be Swedish, if she had one wish. (Not such a surprise, as she was seen honeymooning in the Stockholm area just a week before the festival.) She has of course written a lot of her songs with Swedish songwriters, and one the most influential songs she has written herself is I Love It by Icona Pop, which she of course sang with the audience shouting along. Another highlight of the show was 360, for which she was joined on stage by Yung Lean, who had just finished his set on the Azalea stage on the opposite side of the field moments before Charli came on.
Have to be content with having had the chance to photograph Charli three times before, as she is such a force of nature on stage – would have been amazing to capture. A couple of her tour photographer’s out of focus shots were made available, so it does sting a little…
Getting out of the festival area after Charli had finished her set was not the easiest task, as the huge crowd was moving all to the same direction. Also had to wait a bit for further transportation, but luckily the bus I wanted had space unlike the trams most people were queuing for. Sitting down in the bus with my aching feet having less-than-pleasant feelings about the time it had taken to get on that bus, my mood swiftly improved when some fun guy from Linköping(?) started doing some good-natured banter and others joined in. Soon enough the passengers were singing along to I Love You Baby… (Can’t Take My Eyes off of You). The stream of conciousness of the funny guy went to Allsång på Skansen and he started with Stockholm i mitt hjärta, but quickly realised it was more approriate to do Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg, which the whole bus joined in on whole-heartedly. In that moment I also had Gothenburg in my heart.
Continue reading…
Way Out West Day 3
Text and photos: NINA UDDIN
