This Is Way Out West
You’re a first-timer? Welcome! Way Out West is the best festival around. Obviously we are very partial, but being blessed with the most beautiful festival area, great artists, amazing veggie food and the best visitors - we’re pretty sure lots of people agree with us. To those of you who have never visited us before, here are basics!
THE SHORT STORY
Since Way Out West started in 2007, we’ve been blessed with stars such as Prince, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Florence + The Machine, Neil Young, M.I.A., Alicia Keys, Stormzy, Frank Ocean, Robyn, The xx, Patti Smith, Solange and The Cure, to name just a few (OK, many). This three-day, multi-genre festival is located in the idyllic park of Slottsskogen, the leafy and lush heart of Gothenburg. From here, pretty much everything in the city is within walking distance, and if your legs are tired there’s always trams, buses and boats to get you where you want in no time.
All of this becomes evident when the Slottsskogen area closes down for the night and the festivities continue in venues around the city as a part of the unique club concept, Stay Out West (which is included in the 18+ festival ticket). Long into the early hours, you can see upcoming artists and established favorites in an intimate setting. Stay Out West has an age limit of 18+ and first come first served applies for all the venues. Sometimes it gets full, so make sure to show up in time if there’s something you really want to see.
GETTING HERE
If you’re traveling within Sweden, we of course recommend that you take the train. Trains are the best – being the most sustainable, scenic and climate friendly way of travelling. Together with SJ, we have a festival train that takes you from Stockholm to Gothenburg (this will be released shortly) and if you travel from other places, you’ll find the best routes at SJ.se.
If you come from other countries, there are trains as well (just prepare for a long travel).
WHERE TO STAY
There’s a rich variety of hotels, hostels and Airbnb’s in Gothenburg to choose from. We recommend you to book your room as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If you want to see how far from Slottsskogen your potential accommodation is, type Linnéplatsen on Google Maps and you’ll see the distance. If you find the walk too long there’s always transit lines – trams or buses – with routes passing there.
FESTIVAL AREA
Slottsskogen has five different stages; Azalea, Flamingo, Linné, Dungen and Höjden. Azalea and Flamingo; the two biggest ones in the middle of the area. Linné – our tent stage that gives us that clubby feeling, even though it’s in broad daylight. Dungen is a stage perfect for those of you who love dance music – where some of the world’s top DJ’s have been giving us amazing open airs. Over the years – Jon Hopkins, Studio Barnhus, Todd Terje, Peggy Gou, to name a few. Höjden is evolving this year, watch this space for more info.
The festival area in Slottsskogen opens at 2pm on Thursday and 12pm at Friday and Saturday. It closes around midnight all three days. Besides all the great acts performing at the festival area, you’ll also find engaging activities from our partners, amazing veggie food, several bars and great hangout places.
You can walk in and out from the area as you like, just take into account that there might be some queues in the entrance during busy hours. Read more about the festival area here.
FILM
Let’s not forget Way Out West Film, the third largest film festival in Sweden. Since 2011, it is a vital part of Way Out West. Over the years, we’ve hosted premieres for films such as Searching for Sugarman, The Square, Turist, Gräns, Palme, Monica Z and Boyhood. The films, a mixture of feature films, documentaries, tv-series and short films, are shown at independent cinema Hagabion and other theaters around Gothenburg. The screenings are free for everyone with a festival ticket.
Stay Out West
When the last tone is played in Slottsskogen and the area becomes silent, the festival continues in venues all over central Gothenburg. It accelerates and moves on with concerts long into the morning hours under the Stay Out West flag. This is a chance to experience big artists on smaller stages with an atmosphere that feels like nothing else. Some venues are familiar from earlier years, but there is always a wind of change blowing.
Stay Out West has an 18+ age limit. Some of the venues lie within walking distance from Slottsskogen. Others are a tram- or bus ride away.
FOOD
Welcome to veggie heaven. Since 2012 Way Out West is a completely meat free festival. Or as jamieoliver.com put it: ”A meatless miracle!” The first few years the decision to go all vegetarian/vegan drew criticism – these days most visitors agree that there’s no alternative. The range of food is large and eclectic, including a Michelin-starred restaurant. 2019 saw the premier of Chef’s Market, a much appreciated effort to make Way Out West even more a culinary experience, too. Of course, our festival beer Norrlands Ljus Alkoholfri is ecological.
