The Øya Festival took over from the Kalvøya Festival, which was held on the island Kalvøya from 1971 to 1997, with legends like Frank Zappa, Jackson Browne and Nirvana on stage. The new festival appeared in 1999 under the name Øya, which means "island", and the name was kept when the festival moved off the island and into the city in 2001.

2001–2013 the Øya Festival took place in the Medieval Park, but due to work on the train lines it moved to Tøyen Park (Tøyenparken) – still in beautiful green surroundings on Oslo's east side, still near the centre of Oslo.