We kick off our second day at the festival by checking out José González on the Höjden stage. It’s unsurprising that the stage area is absolutely packed, given the fact that he’s one of Gothenburg’s own, and security shut it down within twenty minutes because it’s at full capacity. It’s a great, understated performance and a gentle start to ease us into the day ahead.

Arguably the best gig of the day happens at the Linné tent, where Kamasi Washington takes to the stage. It’s a brilliant set and Kamasi and his band are on top form, oozing musicality, as they crack through tracks from The Epic. With such superlative musicians on stage, it’s no surprise that the crowd is roaring by the time they’re halfway through the opening track. It’s a jazzy, bluesy, souly, funk-shake, shot through with African rhythms. We drink it up. Afterwards, we go from one epic performance to another. By the time Grace Jones makes her appearance, the skies have opened and the festival site’s slowly being transformed into a quagmire. We barely notice the rain when she takes the stage: skulking out wearing a black cloak and a gold skull headpiece with a crown of black feathers. On losing the cloak and putting on a golden headdress, we discover that she’s covered in tribal body paint. She is fierce, commanding and completely compelling.

When The Tallest Man On Earth takes the stage he is genuinely delighted to see such a huge crowd waiting, given the fact that we’re all in danger of being washed away by the rain. He’s as great a stage presence as ever without needing any gimmicks: the songs fly on their own. His most recent album Dark Bird is Home saw him embracing a full-band sound and these tracks, combined with reworked tracks from his earlier albums come across really well despite the fact that the band are playing borrowed instruments after their kit got lost on a plane. We love the new versions of 'Wind and Walls' and '1904' and 'The Wild Hunt', arranged for guitar, pedal steel and violin, is something really special. He abandons the band for some of the set, playing some earlier tracks in their original arrangements. 'Love is All' and 'The Gardner’ prove that Kristian Matsson is at his best with just his vocals and guitar.

Based on my previous experiences with The Libertines, where the gigs were either blisteringly good or cancelled, it’s 50/50 as to whether they’ll pull of their first performance in Sweden in twelve years. By the time they take the stage, it’s public knowledge that Pete wasn’t even in Sweden when they were due to play the day before. Now he’s here, but he’s pallid and woozy and looks like he’s just back from a date with Gazza, circa 2014. Things get off to a good start with 'The Delaney', mainly because it’s nostalgia in overdrive, as Pete and Carl appear on the stage in their scarlet guardsman jackets. Appearance-wise, it looks just like the old days. Performance-wise, it’s just like the old days too: pretty shambolic in parts with moments of brilliance where the band really gets it together and are on top form.  After a great start, the set goes awry and by the time they get to 'What Katie Did' the cracks really start to show. Carl’s been looking wary all through the set and there’s a moment where he seems to have to chivvy Pete along, Gary’s looking wary too while working overtime on the drums to keep the songs on track and John is getting the job done with aplomb but looks like he’s quietly fuming. At one point, Pete gets so frustrated that he throws his guitar into the crowd and his guitar tech has to scramble out to get it back. It’s a shame that, on some of the band’s best tracks like 'Can’t Stand Me Know', the guitars are all chord work and really scrappy. As the set nears its end, though, they really get it together. 'Vertigo', 'Death on the Stairs' and 'Time for Heroes' are absolutely smashing and show that The Libertines can still really deliver. The set rounds off with 'The Good Old Days', 'Up The Bracket' and 'Don’t Look Back into the Sun', and the crowd is delighted. Like previous Libertines gigs, the set is brilliant and frustrating in almost equal measure but still worth seeing. Carl and Pete still have great, fractious chemistry but they can’t hold the band together. It’s time we got over idolising the leading men and gave the Gary and John the credit they deserve for being the ones who work overtime to hold the band’s live performances together. It’s no wonder that Gary whips his top off and hops about the stage at the end of the set.

PJ Harvey’s headline slot is both austere and magnificent. She comes onstage flanked by men in grey suits, chanting, swathed in indigo and carrying a saxophone. We can’t take our eyes off her. She plays most of her most recent album, the monumental The Hope Six Demolition Project, some tracks from Let England Shake and it’s only after over an hour that the 90s classics get an airing. By the time the lights finally go out, we feel like we’ve just witnessed something monumental. 

Way Out West kicks off in blazing sunshine. Walking through Slottskogen, we’re surrounded by a sea of Fjällräven backpacks and fashionable monochrome. For three days a year, Way Out West takes over the heart of Slottskogen, the huge park at the heart of Gothenburg. This year, the festival is celebrating its tenth year: music-wise, there are five stages to choose from where you can see popular headliners and the bands who, in a year or two, will be headlining the bigger stages on their own. Just ask Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses and Warpaint, who played at Way Out West just before making it big.

But Way Out West isn’t just about music. The focus is much more wide-ranging. Keen to support the environmental movement, the festival has been 100% vegetarian since 2012 and it went dairy-free last year. As well as checking out music, you can head along to talks about environmental and societal issues throughout the festival— an example of this being, Karolina Skog from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, who is giving a talk at the Höjden stage. This being Musos’ Guide, we’re going to stick with the music. Tonight’s headliner is Morrissey. But before night falls, there’s plenty of music that we want to check out.

 We start things off by going to see Vasas Flora och Fauna at the Höjden stage. It’s at the bottom of a gentle slope and lined with trees, making it a natural amphitheatre, and it’s a great place to grab a spot on the grass and enjoy the music. Vasas Flora och Fauna are a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, whose gentle indie pop is utterly charming. After that, it’s time to catch Jason Isbell on the Azalea stage, one of the festival’s two main stages. He plays a fantastic set that’s tight and full of soul. Our mate, who’s a huge fan, spends the entire set in a swoon. The track '24 Frames' is better live than on the Grammy award-winning Something More Than Free, Isbell’s most recent album. Other tracks that really fly are 'Stockholm­­­­­' and 'Cover Me Up'.

London band Daughter have been gaining lots of traction recently and we’re keen see what they’re like live. We head over to the Linné tent to find out and aren’t disappointed. It’s atmospheric stuff and tracks 'New Ways' and 'Youth' go down really well with the crowd. I’ve got a real soft spot for the Saturdays=Youth album by M83, so we amble over to the festival’s main stage, Flamingo, to catch their set. It’s just the kind of music to get the crowd moving and they crack through a decent set that includes 'Midnight City', 'Outro' and, happily for me, 'Couleurs'. After that, it’s time for a shot of Scotland in the form of Chvrches. They draw a big, appreciative crowd and blast through a cracking set that includes 'Bury It' and 'Never Ending Circles'. Lauren Mayberry banters away with the crowd, stopping at one point to tie the laces on her platform shoes. It’s a sign of their success that even the typically reserved (“No, discerning”, says my Swedish co-writer) Swedes are dancing away by the end.

The Last Shadow Puppets are one of the highlights of the day and they play an absolutely delicious set. Alex Turner and Miles Kane are on top form with Alex posturing his way across the stage in a shocking pair of maroon trousers while Miles flounces about in black and white silk. The set is high camp, knowing and utterly glorious with Alex channelling a stage presence that’s somewhere between Grinderman and Neil Diamond as he croons that he’d “like to play something from my last LP”. They blast their way through a great set, the best of which are 'Standing Next to Me', 'Age of the Understatement', 'Everything You’ve Come to Expect' and 'Bad Habits'.

There’s a sticky moment just after 8pm when The Libertines set gets cancelled at the last minute but the Way Out West app quickly notifies us that they’re taking over ANOHNI’s set tomorrow night. ANOHNI is down with the flu, which is a huge disappointment but I’m keen to see The Libertines live, even if it’s a day late, as it’s been twelve years both since they last played in Sweden and since I last saw them live.

Finally, in the headline slot, it’s time for Morrissey. It’s good to see that he’s as provocative and combative as ever and the crowd devours his set. He’s winningly self-aware as he chats to the crowd between songs, a particular cracker coming after he applauds the festival’s vegetarian ethos when he says “No death for sale, no pain for sale, no torture for sale… except for me”.  The set blasts through his best tracks, even 'Ouija Board' gets an airing, and standouts are “The World Is Full of Crashing Bores' (accompanied by a picture of Kate and Prince William looking particularly vapid with the slogan “United Kingdumb”), 'English Blood, Irish Heart' and 'The Last of the Gang to Die'. The crowd clap and cheer long after he leaves the stage with a bow before dispersing into the night. 

They’re a band whom many hold very close to their hearts and rightfully so, Ocean Colour Scene are currently triumphantly celebrating the twenty-year anniversary of their classic album Moseley Shoals. They’re doing it in style to with carefully curated outdoor shows and tonight is no different as they take over the huge Times Square in Newcastle with a plethora of bands both old and new in support.

We arrive in time for Sunderland’s Hyde & Beast whose early set gets everyone excited with their upbeat sing-alongs, with the likes of 'Train To Nowhere' and 'Keep Moving' proving to be particular highlights. Their buoyant manner lifts the mood considerably; the band seem to be having equally as good a time as the crowd. However, you get the feeling that today isn’t about the new - the crowd are here for the nostalgia.

They get that in spades with John Power of Cast's hit-laden, hands in the air set as Times Square fills to capacity. The early evening sing-alongs come thick and fast. The nostalgia effect truly takes hold of the crowd; the likes of 'Walkaway' could be heard for miles around. 'Alright' invokes a similar reaction as Power effortlessly fires up the huge crowd, as the alcohol takes a grip of the audience things only seem to go from strength to strength.

This boisterous crowd scream back every word at deafening volume making us thankful for ear plugs even in this outdoor space. If John Power fired the crowd up The Bluetones took everything to the next level, with front man Mark Morriss swaggering on to the stage before breaking into opener 'Cut Some Rug'. Morriss is full of bravado as he taunts the crowd but they respond in kind, arms aloft whilst once again excitedly singing everything back.

It is yet another packed set, the likes of 'Slight Return', 'Marblehead Johnson' and 'If…' all playing their part in yet another passionate and exciting set. There is a real excitement in the air this evening, every band is going above and beyond expectation, each raising the level and if Mark Morriss is full of enthusiasm, Rick Witter is on another planet.  

Taking to the stage in spectacular fashion he wastes no time in turning everything up to eleven, his swagger is quite literally off the scale. Taunting the crowd in between songs he and Shed Seven put everything into their performance, 'Going For Gold', 'She Left Me On Friday' and 'High Hopes' all providing yet more memorable moments for the crowd. With the excitement almost reaching fever pitch the save the best until last with a rousing rendition of 'Chasing Rainbows', which again will undoubtedly have been heard for miles around.

With the crowd now tightly packed in and the effects of the alcohol overwhelming many, this leery crowd begin to get restless with anticipation. It’s safe to say it’s been a long day and many haven’t coped all that well, the floors are overly sticky and the paths are littered with casualties. However, it is the turn of Ocean Colour Scene, the dapper foursome take to the stage to a rapturous reception from their adoring fans.

Opening up with a cover of The Beatles 'Day Tripper' it invokes yet another deafening sing along, which is quickly followed by arguably three of the band's biggest tracks in 'The Riverboat Song', 'The Day We Caught The Train' and 'The Circle'. Each one met with an astounding reception as drinks fly overhead and words are screamed back, these fervent tracks are what this crowd have been longing for all day.

However, Ocean Colour Scene remain true to the album's original track listing, which appears to be this evening's downfall. Following the euphoria and unbridled excitement of the early part of the set there is a lull that seems to plague the middle part. This is such a shame as the band appear to be on top form. Yet it lacks the rousing excitement that was delivered by so many of the other bands today.

That said though they pick up the pace again in the latter part of their set with a selection of their other tracks from across their back catalogue and this revives the mood. It just feels like a true shame but at the same time we can see the reason for playing the set in this order, it still doesn’t take away the fact that on their day Ocean Colour Scene are still one of the greats of this genre and tonight in many ways they still prove that.

Further images from the show can be found here.

Anna von Hausswolff

Anna von Hausswolff’s third album, The Miraculous, is underpinned by the sounds of the Acusticum Pipe Organ in Piteå which, combined with her soaring vocals, makes for a hair-raising listen. I can’t wait to see how the album translates to a live stage.

ANOHNI

Moving on from her days as lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons, ANOHNI released the album Hopelessness in May this year.  It’s a gorgeous, thrilling listen and the combination of the rich timbre of her voice combines with the album’s electronic notes creates a record that’s simply irresistible.

The Tallest Man On Earth 

I’m really keen to see how Dark Bird is Home comes across live, seeing as it was the first of The Tallest Man on Earth’s albums to embrace the use of a full band. Kristian Matsson’s always been a charismatic and utterly compelling performer and I can’t wait to see him on stage under a wide open sky.  

Daniel Norgren

I’ve only recently been switched on to Daniel Norgren, after a few of my Swedish friends started talking about him. I’m utterly charmed by his particular brand of blues-folk, shot through with Americana and topped by grainy, emotive vocals. Do not miss.

Cloves

There was something really striking about the minimalism of Cloves’s EP ‘XIII’, realised last year: a confident, rich vocal line most often combined with little more than a sparse piano melody. Live, this could be something really special.

Niki & The Dove

Niki & The Dove’s latest album, Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now, in an absolute beast of indietronica that’s on its way to being my record of the summer. Here, things are more laid back than on previous releases, notes of the '70s and '80s abound and there’s more than a hint of Prince and Stevie Nicks lurking in the background. Lush.

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Tempted to get yourself over to Way Out West this year after reading this? Check out the festival's official site!