The festival Way Out West has started in 2007, the three-day, multi-genre festival is located in the idyllic park of Slottsskogen, the heart of Gothenburg. This year's festival takes place between 11 and 13 August.
Numerous internationally known artists will come to Sweden in August to participate in the festival, check out the Music Line-Up for all three days here.
Way Out West Film is the third largest film festival in Sweden. Since 2011, it is a vital part of Way Out West. Over the years, the organisers have hosted premieres for films such as Searching for Sugarman, The Square 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.
In addition to all the music and films, Way Out West also hosts inspiring on stage-discussions called WOW Talks, where sustainability in different forms is the basis for the conversations. In recent years the festival presented discussions about bees dying at an alarming rate, food waste, future electricity supply, racism and equality. With WOW Talks as a platform, the organeers hope to inspire, bring knowledge and give clarity on various important issues – all in the name of a better and more sustainable world.
Sustainability is a keyword for Way Out West and has been since the start in 2007. As the only festival in Sweden, and as the first music festival in the world in 2013, Way Out West holds an ISO 20121 certification. That implies sustainability on three different levels (environmental, economic and social) and these are also the elements underpinning Way Out West’s entire sustainability work. Way Out West is also a vegetarian festival – which applies for all visitors, workers and artists.
Way Out West acts as the main festival partner for Keychange in Sweden, and has hosted both Keychange acts and participants since it’s launch in 2017. Keychange is a global network and movement working towards a total restructure of the music industry in reaching full gender equality. Keychange aims to accelerate change and create a better, more inclusive music industry for present and future generations, an objective which goes hand in hand with Way Out West’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
