Since holding their first festival in a Melbourne laneway back in 2005, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival has become one of Australia’s favourites. Touring an always-brilliant selection of both homegrown and international artists, we spend the majority of each year waiting painfully for Laneway to roll back around.
As I was preparing this article, I found myself perusing through the archives available on Laneway’s website, documenting the insane lineups they’ve brought together over the years. The Avalanches in 2005, Girl Talk and The Drones in 2009, Ariel Pink and Beach House in 2011, Kurt Vile and King Krule in 2014, St. Vincent in 2015, The War On Drugs last year… it goes on.
Though this year, with a lineup including such names as Gang Of Youths, Courtney Barnett, Mitski, John Hopkins and a massive stack of others, it seems Laneway have outdone themselves. So we’ve compiled a guide to this incredible event.
As you may be able to tell, we’re getting pretty bloody excited for Laneway Festival next year… so we’ve compiled an extensive guide to this phenomenal event.
The Music
For many festivals nowadays, the music is an afterthought. Not Laneway.
As previously mentioned, this year’s lineup boasts an epic catalogue of brilliant acts… and while you definitely don’t want to miss sets from Gang Of Youths and Courtney Barnett, there are a stack of acts lower down on the bill that you should most certainly check out.
Laneway always put in the effort to stack their lineups with the finest international acts making the rounds. Of course, this year is no exception. Our number-one pick for the day is American singer-songwriter Mitski.
Fresh off the release of her absolutely incredible new album Be The Cowboy (you’ll struggle to find someone who disagrees with this opinion), Mitski is set to bring her endearing brand of indie-pop down under next January… and we can’t wait. If you haven’t already listened, we strongly reccomend you do so now.
Elsewhere on the lineup, New York indie post-punk outfit Parquet Courts will bringing their danceable art-punk vibes to the Laneway stage. Having released one of our favourite albums of the year Wide Awake! back in May, we can’t wait to catch this new material played live.
With a lineup this impressive, making singular recommendations will always be a difficult task… however, Masego, Clairo, and Jon Hopkins are all international favourites that we reckon you should definitely be across.
Clear The Schedule
Perhaps the best thing about Laneway is that you’ve got plenty of time to properly plan. There are a few key things you’re going to want to sort out before January and February roll around.
You’re biggest priority should undoubtedly be clearing your schedule. The last thing you want is to find yourself a week out from your selected festival date, only to realise that you’re all out of sick days and you can’t get out of work.
Put your leave in early. Chances are that you’ve got a few co-workers who are thinking the same thing… so beat them to the punch. Strike now.
Sunscreen
This is another incredibly important thing you’re going to want to take into consideration before embarking on your Laneway 2019 journey.
At last year’s festival, while I was frolicking around watching The Babe Rainbow play bongos and Roy Molloy review stools, I got severely sun-burned. It didn’t ruin my day, but it did make my Monday morning significantly more painful than it would have been otherwise.
Be on top of it. Again, your friends will love you for it.
Get A Damn Ticket
Of course, all these good times won’t be possible if you don’t buy yourself a ticket. They’re on sale now, and we can’t reccomend any festival more highly than Laneway.
If you’re strapped for cash, the festival also offer a Time To Pay option; which allows you to buy your ticket straight up and pay in increments over time.
If you’re a fan of Aussie music, if you’re a fan of music in general… Laneway is a festival you can’t miss. Do yourself a favour and head along. We’ll be seeing you there.
Grab tickets and more info here, and suss out the full lineup below:
Gang of Youths
Courtney Barnett
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (Exclusive! No sideshows)
Baker Boy
Camp Cope
Charlie Collins
Clairo
Cosmo’s Midnight
Crooked Colours
Denzel Curry
DJDS
G Flip
Jon Hopkins
Jorja Smith (Exclusive! No sideshows)
KIAN
Mansionair
Masego
Methyl Ethel
Middle Kids
Mitski
Parquet Courts
Ravyn Lenae
Rex Orange County
Ruby Fields
Skegss
Smino
What So Not
Yellow Days
Dates & Venues:
Monday 28th January – Albert Park, AUCKLAND
Saturday 2nd February – Brisbane Showgrounds, BRISBANE
Sunday 3rd February – Callan Park, Rozelle, SYDNEY
Friday 8th February – Hart’s Mill, Port Adelaide, ADELAIDE
Saturday 9th February – Footscray Park, Footscray, MELBOURNE
Sunday 10th February – Esplanade Reserve and West End, FREMANTLE
