Waltzing into its fifteenth consecutive year in action, few festival brands have conquered the test of time like St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. Having seen its fellow touring festivals fall to the wayside over the years, Lanewway’s clear vision has remained consistent, enabling the festival to continue to book artists just before they hit the run into mainstream success.
This year’s lineup was no different, nailing the balance between local and international rising stars and homegrown juggernauts to draw in a vibrant crowd of alternative music lovers with their ears firmly planted to the ground.
With the summer sun sizzling all in its wake, the light summer breeze carrying the aroma of amal, Cooper’s tinnies and sneaky Jameson’s worked wonders to set a calming atmosphere of caring punters, keen to ensure that every one of their fellow revellers had a wonderful time.
Here are just a few of our highlights from the day in Sydney.
ALL HAIL THE FUTURE QUEENS
With each stage welcoming at least two female acts, this year’s lineup featured an abundance of future queens. Ruby Fields, Charlie Collins and Ravyn Lenae each set the afternoon alight with sets in the early afternoon.
Riding on the high from a killer triple J Like A Version from the day prior, Ruby Fields lured in a strong contingent of punters, myself included, who refused to let the early timeslot detract us from catching the young Aussie star on the rise. Her raw banter, littered with Aussie humour, had the crowd in stitches as she fired through a high octane set, culminating in a stunning delivery of “Dinosaur”.
However, it was London-native Jorja Smith who, later in the day, would steal the show with, arguably, one of the most endearing sets ever to grace a Laneway stage. Her unbelievably angelic vocal elevated the crowd to a state of euphoria as track after track, we hypnotically sung and dance along under the fading sun.
EVERYONE LOVES A GOOD FESTIVAL SINGALONG
One of the most highly anticipated appearances on this year’s lineup was without a doubt Rex Orange County. Having charmed audiences with his contribution to Tyler, the Creator‘s ‘Flower Boy’ and his breakthrough single “Loving Is Easy”, Rex’s unique take on young love and all of the insecurities that come with it have quite evidently struck a ripe chord with Aussie music fans.
Thousands flocked to the field to catch his set and, from the first chord, he had the entire crowd singing along with him. Those who were being introduced to his music for the first time were clearly taken aback – a friend of mine repeatedly asked, “Who even is this?” The energy of the Surrey native’s set refused to subside and, when the time came for the finale, the crowd was charged up and ready for a good ole fashioned boogie.
GANG OF YOUTHS ARE THE DEFINING BAND OF OUR GENERATION
Australian music has a habit of delivering one generation-defining band per decade and all would agree, that band for the present decade is Gang of Youths. Just two years ago, the boys played a mid-afternoon set at the 2017 Laneway festival. At the time, the turn out was astonishing as thousands rocked up to catch the lads shred through their debut album and subsequent EP.
Two years on, with another record under their belt and the taste of both bitter and sweet life experiences teetering on the tip of their tongues, they were billed as the festival’s co-headliner.
As expected, the lads proved us right and rose valiantly to the occasion. Following a relentless touring schedule, they showed no signs of fatigue, feeding off the crowd’s adoration and insatiable appetite for more. Four years on from the release of the Sydney band’s critically-acclaimed debut record ‘The Positions’, songs like “Magnolia” from still packed the same one-two punch when paired with Dave’s impassioned stage presence. However, it was the jaw-droppingly beautiful ballads from sophomore LP ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ that stopped the crowd in their tracks, with performances of the “The Heart Is A Muscle” and “Say Yes To Life” almost demanding tears.
All in all, it was a wonderful day brimming with Laneway’s signature youthful exuberance.
Photos by Ruby Boland.