Live Review: St Jerome's Laneway Festival

With the Australian festival scene growing larger every year, St Jerome’s Laneway has become one of the biggest touring summer festivals. Not only attracting big international names to the line-up but also gaining a reputation of keeping an eye out for emerging local artists to join the diverse line-up. This year we see a new wave of up and coming artists like DVNA, First Beige and Sycco taking to the opening slots of the festival and still packing out crowds despite being so early. 

Los Angeles’ very own Oliver Tree is our first international artist to kick off and he’s overflowing with colour, energy and wit. Rocking his signature bowl cut, sunnies, pink and purple jacket and baggy jeans, the rest of the band follow in the exact same outfits. He pulls out all his top hits instructing the crowd to jump in unison as they sing the lyrics to “Alien Boy” at the top of their lungs. As well as throwing in a cover of AC/DC “Thunderstruck”, Oliver brings his comedic charm to the stage with his epic scooter skills, flipping a 360 spin on stage towards the end of his set.
 
BENEE takes on the Never Let it Rest Stage, and with still 20 minutes to her set, the tent is bursting at the seams with people. She’s only 20 years old but oozes confidence as she bounces around stage as if no one’s watching. Her goofy charisma and clean-cut vocals have us mesmerised – she’s just too darn cute! Her indie-pop lullaby “Soaked” echoes through the voices of almost everyone in the tent, as they bop along to her groove-drenched style.
 
With the festival now sold-out, navigating your way through the swarms of sweaty bodies between stages seems impossible, so I stick close by at the Spaced-Out Stage for Spacey Jane and hope the sun sets soon. With bucket hats dominating the mosh-pit, 4-piece garage pop band have us jumping in unison to their infectious tunes. No wonder Triple J are all over these guys this year. The air is thick with humidity and the sun is scorching, but luckily security is here to spray the crowd with a hose. I walk out of the crowd unsure whether dripping wet is a refreshing change or I’m now just uncomfortable.  

With Spacey Jane wrapping things up, the crowd quickly rotate to catch the last half of shed-punk band - The Chats. Known for their chaotic stage presence, Aussie morals and careless attitude, the 3-piece have gone from viral internet stars to selling out international shows and even playing Coachella later in the year. With the tent packed out with bodies thrashing and riding on each other’s shoulders…who would’ve have thought that mullets, lyrics about pub-feeds and constant swearing would have such an influential connection with so many people.
 
As the sun starts to set, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets take us on a trance through their doom-laden guitar riffs and experimental style. The yellow and red smoke around them adds to their psychedelic setting as people head-bang along to their chest-pounding rhythms. 
 
To switch things up I visit a real-life angel with Stella Donnelly stealing the spotlight. The colour of her guitar reflects her peachy personality as her charming vocals leave us in goose bumps. Writing powerful lyrics of vulnerability, feminism and sticking up for yourself - it’s obvious she’s an inspiration to many. She synchronises her dance moves with the band and takes off her pants revealing an 80’s inspired purple leotard with bright green stockings underneath… yep, she could pull anything off! I cut her set short to head to the Good Better Best Stage to get a glimpse of world-wide pop star Charli XCX. The view from the stadium is overwhelming with thousands of people standing beneath her reflecting a swarm of fireflies moving in unison – it’s quite surreal.

A sudden change of mood flows through the showgrounds as Laneway announces the cancellation of headliner act The 1975 with Matt Healy having to be hospitalised for an unknown sickness. With rumours floating around on the factors to him falling ill (and a lot of Coronavirus jokes being thrown around), the frustration and disappointment starts to become a lot more apparent throughout their fans. Although on the bright side, one thing is for certain - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will be taking the main stage, closing the festival with an hour long set in-store.
 
But before the finale, DMA’s are here to lighten the mood with Laneway being their first shows since release of latest single “Life is a Game of Changing”. It’s my third time seeing DMA’s live and each time it still feels so euphoric. Whether it’s their effortless talent, passionate energy or the raw emotion you can feel in Tommy O’Dell’s angelic voice, you can’t help but dance and sing along.
 
With the close of the festival insight, it was clear there’s only one way to finish up tonight. That would be flying head-first into a King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard mosh pit. So, grab your helmets and run back to the Main Stage because things are about to get chaotic. Pounding straight into “Mars for The Rich” they thrash their futuristic looking guitars as 3 circle pits start to form around me. Psychedelic visuals that flash behind them only enhance the crowd’s energy as they body slam into one another. They treat us to a rare performance of “The River” and “Her and I (Slow Jam 2)” off their Mind Fuzz Album, as well as a rare front and centre vocal performance from Ambrose in “Let Me Mend the Past”. With front man Stu occasionally engulfing the whole microphone in his mouth bending over backwards or playing his guitar behind his head, it’s safe to say their stage performance is a vivid experience and that they stand as one of the most exciting live acts in the world right now.
 
Looks like Brisbane got the short end of the straw as Matt Healy seems to have recovered super quick for the following day’s Sydney show after announcing that things got “way too vibey” in a twitter post. As well as announcing that he’ll be playing an acoustic set a couple days after that in Sydney. In addition, Mallrat and Cub Sport having also been announced to join the line-up. It looks like Sydney’s in for a treat, but I’m not complaining – Laneway stands as one of the best one day festivals in the country (even without the festival headliner playing).
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Words by Chloe Magee
Photos by Dom Gould