With just weeks to go before Oasis storms the Rose Bowl for two sold-out shows in September — its first Los Angeles concerts in 15 years— anticipation reached a fever pitch in Hollywood on Wednesday morning. By 8 a.m., fans were lined up outside the W Hotel, home to the band’s debut North American Oasis Live ’25 pop-up shop full of exclusive merch. Some wore old Oasis T-shirts, while others planned outfits around purchases they were soon to make.
For a band whose history in Los Angeles stretches from catastrophic to triumphant, the pop-up’s Hollywood setting feels intentional. The shop sits across the street from Amoeba Music, a stone’s throw from the iconic Capitol Records Building, where Oasis recorded sessions in its legendary studios for the 2005 album “Don’t Believe the Truth,” and just blocks from the Palace (now Avalon), where it performed in 1995.
When fans were finally welcomed inside at 10 a.m., it felt less like a store opening and more like a pilgrimage. This certainly wasn’t retail therapy to chase away a bad mood. It was very much the opposite, with fans brimming with joy, eager to get first dibs on the collection.
As Oasis tunes poured from the speakers, the space blended past and present, along with exclusivity. Lining the shelves were special-edition colored vinyl formats, including mint green copies of “Definitely Maybe,” the band’s supersonic 1994 debut album, and burnt yellow pressings of “What’s the Story (Morning Glory?),” the record that gave the world “Champagne Supernova,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Wonderwall.”
“Wonderwall was my yearbook quote in high school,” said Oasis fan Billy Horn, wearing a decade-old Oasis T-shirt and clutching a white “Heathen Chemistry” vinyl to add to his record collection.
Most shoppers left with armloads of items, including T-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts and those much-coveted Liam-style bucket hats, with prices typically ranging from $45 to $100. Some fans were already wearing their purchases before checking out. The extensive merch collection also includes tote bags, coffee mugs, keychains and jigsaw puzzles.
Some dedicated fans made a road trip to check out the shop. Jennifer Wyatt and Joanne Manahan drove up from San Diego and plan to make the trek again for both Rose Bowl shows. For Wyatt, these will be her first-ever Oasis concerts. “Growing up in the early ‘90s, Oasis is all I listened to,” she said, before explaining why she never saw them during their original run. “I thought I had time to see them, and figured they’d be around forever.” Now, she’s planning her outfit around the burgundy Oasis Adidas jacket she’s purchasing, finally getting the chance to see the band she grew up loving.
Among shop-goers, Oasis’ Adidas collaboration is a major draw. Fans eagerly explored the merchandise, immediately assembling outfits from head to toe and checking themselves out in the full-length mirrors scattered around the store. After a career marked by a meteoric rise, legendary spats, a celebrated breakup and a globally acclaimed reunion, Oasis has certainly earned its rock-and-roll stripes, making the partnership with Adidas feel especially fitting.
One fan who especially embodied the Oasis-Adidas crossover was Shane Yamada. Not only did he attend one of the Wembley Stadium reunion shows, and secure tickets to both Rose Bowl dates, but he was also sporting an Adidas tattoo. He was shopping with his wife Jewel and their 2-year-old daughter Paisley, for whom he’s buying Oasis children’s gear, a sweatshirt and T-shirt.
There’s a certain irony in the famously feuding Gallagher brothers selling clothing for the whole family, including Oasis onesies for babies. Yet Oasis’ cross-generational appeal was on full display at the pop-up. At the older end of the spectrum, longtime Oasis devotee Jeff Zoleta brought his 78-year-old mother Nila, who became a fan through her sons’ love of the band. She was buying two bucket hats and a tote bag for herself.
Fans’ enthusiasm about the merchandise naturally spilled over into the rest of the pop-up, designed to fully immerse customers in Oasis’ universe. At a “Definitely Maybe” backdrop, shoppers can pose for photos, with some even lying on the ground to mimic Liam’s position on the album cover. Digital maps in the store chronicle the band’s history. Click on a city and every local show appeared, including Oasis’ infamous inaugural Los Angeles performance in 1994 at the Whisky a Go Go — a substance-fueled disaster defined by technical difficulties, clashing set lists and Liam launching a tambourine at Noel, who temporarily quit and fled to San Francisco.
“They rolled in f— up beyond belief,” Mikeal Maglieri Jr., the Whisky’s owner who was 15 at the time, recalls over the phone. “By the time the show happened, they were falling apart. They started the wrong song multiple times … one guy was playing one thing while the others were playing something else. … It was definitely a nightmare of a show.”
Yet Oasis more than made up for its chaotic Los Angeles debut, returning repeatedly to the city and filling ever-larger venues until the final Staples Center show in 2008. The following year, the band imploded when Noel walked out on Aug. 28, following a backstage fight with Liam at a music festival just outside Paris, departing just before their scheduled headlining slot.
“I was devastated when they broke up. I thought maybe they would just fight and get back together in a year or two. I didn’t know it was going to take 15 years,” said Danny Winebarger, who attended one of the band’s recent Manchester shows and also has Rose Bowl tickets. He came to the pop-up on the hunt for a football shirt that had sold out in his size at Oasis’ U.K. shops.
Stories like Winebarger’s illustrate a devotion that spans decades, and an enduring passion that’s echoed by everyone who entered the shop. Roy Kim, a self-described “superfan” who has seen Oasis in concert at least half a dozen times, reflected on the British rockers’ enduring appeal: “There’s a timeless quality about their music. It really reaches into the heart of humanity and the human condition. There’s something for everyone.”
Beyond the discography, Kim said he has long-admired Oasis’ brazen attitude. That trademark boldness was on full display when the band announced U.S. tour dates: “America. Oasis is coming. You have one last chance to prove that you loved us all along.” The response was immediate. Tickets for the concerts sold out within an hour.
That same excitement now filled the Hollywood pop-up, with fans buzzing as if the band were just about to take the stage. With just over two weeks before full Oasis mania descends on Los Angeles, if this warm-up act is any indication, September’s sure to be electric.
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