St Jerome's Laneway Festival

St. Jerome's Laneway Festival began in 2005 when Jerome Borazio and Danny Rogers decided that summers in Melbourne would be far better with more live music in unique settings. First came the "St. Jerome's Summer Series" each Sunday afternoon, featuring "new" bands of the time, including The Presets and Architecture in Helsinki. They then included a monthly Saturday night called "Brains" (which was actually a residency for musical act The Avalanches).

Borazio and Rogers eventually convinced The Avalanches that they could close the lane, remove the bins and stage a laneway party. With the addition of promotional material and other acts, the inaugural St. Jerome's Laneway Festival was launched. The line-up included: The Avalanches, Art of Fighting, Eskimo Joe, The Dears, Cut Copy, Architecture in Helsinki, Clare Bowditch, the Feeding Set and Gersey.

Following a total attendance of 1,400 people at the first Laneway Festival, it was announced later in 2005 that Laneway was expanding to Sydney, Australia.

Art of Fighting performing at the 2006 Sydney Laneway

In 2006, both Melbourne and Sydney hosted a lineup of both international and domestic artists, including: Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav, Gossip, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Avalanches, The Posies, The Hold Steady, The Raveonettes and The Drones.

Just as Sydney's Laneway was becoming further established, Brisbane venue The Zoo staged the festival in 2007. Brisbane. A combination of street party and music show included performances from The Walkmen, Yo La Tengo, Peter Bjorn and John, Camera Obscura and Snowman.[2]

In 2008, Laneway found a home at the Fowler's Live venue in Adelaide. Laneway Festival 2008 included performances by Feist, Gotye, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Presets, Stars, The Vasco Era, The Panics and Okkervil River.[3]

Laneway Festival Perth happened for the first time in 2009. A FasterLouder review of the inaugural Perth event stated: "The promoter's move to bring the festival to Perth is the best decision taken since Howard's rejection from parliament. The awesome turnout attested to the West Australian respect for great music, which rivals that of our purportedly more urbane eastern counterparts".[4]

The 2009 event featured Girl Talk, Stereolab, Architecture In Helsinki, The Hold Steady, The Drones, Cut Off Your Hands, Four Tet, Tame Impala, El Guincho, Jay Reatard, Buraka Som Sistema (DJ/MC set), The Temper Trap and No Age.[5]

An announcement in October 2009 confirmed that the festival would be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2010 onwards.[6]

In 2010, Laneway Festival implemented some significant changes to adapt to the growing stature of the event. After some considerable issues with the Melbourne site in 2009, Laneway left its original venue and moved to the inner western suburb of Footscray, with the support of the Footscray Community Arts Centre. Also, the Sydney event relocated from the site at Macquarie Square in the CBD to the historical courtyards of the Sydney College of the Arts in Rozelle. The inaugural festival in Auckland, New Zealand, sold out.

The line-up in 2010 included: Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons, The XX, Kid Sam and Wild Beasts.[7] In November 2010, the organizers announced Singapore as the first city to host the festival's expansion into Southeast Asia. Rogers stated: "We've been working on this [Singapore Laneway Festival] for ages and we're over the moon that everything lined up for 2011. We can't wait to host Laneway at the stunning Fort Canning Park, easily one of the best, most unique locations in the city."[8]

For the inaugural Laneway Festival Singapore, music fans from all over Asia travelled to the Canning Park venue. Paul Kay, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Out Hong Kong, wrote:

Finally, a music festival in Southeast Asia that's worthy of the name. A fantastic venue, a packed and up-for-it audience, and a lineup that mixed unimpeachable indie credibility with balls-out, dance-till-you-drop rock'n'roll euphoria, Laneway Singapore couldn't have asked for a better debut. Even the non-stop torrential rain couldn't wash the smile from my face.[9]

The 2011 list of acts featured: Foals, Warpaint, Beach House, Two Door Cinema Club, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and !!!, among others. Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis called it "the best line-up we've been a part of for a very long time," while the Vine website's Marcus Teague wrote: "the top-to-bottom completeness of this year's Laneway line-up will be hard to beat in future years. Its roster of quality new bands coupled with on-the-cusp outright stars is veritably unmatched by any other festival. There's next to no filler ... It also seems to breed a discerning music fan that's (largely) focussed on the music."[10]

In March, Laneway Festival co-hosted a day party at the American SXSW festival—alongside North American agency The Windish Agency, independent British promoter Eat Your Own Ears, and Austin, Texas, publication Austinist—which featured Twin Shadow, Foster the People, Givers, Hanni El Khatib and Jamie Woon, among others.[11] Eat Your Own Ears then invited the Laneway organisers to curate a stage at the August Field Day London event for the first time, which featured Matthew Dear, The Horrors and James Blake.[12]

In 2012, Laneway Festival selected acts such as M83, Chairlift, SBTRKT, Toro y Moi and Washed Out for that year's events. The festival recorded its highest tickets sales ever in Singapore, Auckland and Sydney in 2012. A Vine review stated: "This year's event seemed the most enjoyable yet … the 2012 Laneway proved that it's now an essential recurring destination on the calendar."[13]

Laneway returned to SXSW in 2012—and again in partnership with The Windish Agency, Eat Your Own Ears and Austinist—to co-host the "Austin or Bust" day party that featured DZ Deathrays, Django Django and Chairlift.[14] Laneway's organisers also returned to London's Field Day festival—in collaboration with Last.FM on this occasion—and showcased artists such as Blood Orange, Sleigh Bells, The Vaccines and Kindness.[15]

Snakadaktal performing at the 2013 Melbourne Laneway

The Laneway lineup in 2013 included: Bat for Lashes, Japandroids, Divine Fits, Alt-J, Of Monsters and Men, MS MR, Jessie Ware, Flume, Chet Faker, Pond and The Rubens. The Tone Deaf website wrote: "Laneway does not fail to live up to its reputation, putting the mega-corporate festivals to shame with [its] authenticity".[16]

The festival continued to stage its events in New Zealand and Singapore, and programmed a stage at Field Day London for the third time. The Field Day stage featured a line-up of acts that included Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs, Dark Bells and Django Django.[17]

On 15 March 2013, Laneway Festival announced it will expand to Detroit, US,[18] to make its North American debut on 14 September 2013. The inaugural Laneway Festival Detroit lineup was announced on 13 May 2013, and included co-headliners Sigur Rós and The National.[19] The Detroit event also featured CHVRCHES, Solange, Savages, AlunaGeorge, Flume and Icona Pop. After spending some time in Detroit in 2012 at the invitation of the Palace Sports & Entertainment company,[20] Rogers said he knew the city was Laneway's next stop and first American venue: "Detroit is having its rebirth and as Laneway continues to evolve, we can identify with a city that is continuing to evolve as well ... It seemed like a great fit and this line-up seals it."[21]

On 9 November 2013, Laneway Festival won Music Event of the Year at the West Australian Music Awards.[22]

Lorde performing at the 2014 Sydney Laneway

Laneway Festival sold out five of the seven events in 2014. The festival featured Vance Joy, Lorde, CHVRCHES, Haim, The Jezabels, Earl Sweatshirt, Four Tet, Jamie xx, Frightened Rabbit, Daughter, Warpaint, Danny Brown, Savages and King Krule.[23] In regard to the line-up, Rogers said:

We’re exceptionally proud of this year’s line-up. As usual, the artists have been chosen on the strength of their music and their ability to deliver an insanely great live show. It’s why we couldn’t resist bringing a few international acts back and it’s why we are so thrilled to introduce you to some most exciting new artists this side of the world has seen for the very first time. This country has so many incredibly talented artists; if only we could bring them all along.[23]

In 2014, the Perth event relocated from the Perth Cultural Centre to Esplanade Park in the port city of Fremantle. The new venue was chosen due to the event's growth in popularity, accommodating 12,000 people.[24] Laneway also relocated in Adelaide and moved to the historical site of Hart's Mill, Port Adelaide. In regard to the Adelaide move, Rogers explained: "We searched super hard to find a site that we felt could match the experience that other cities have had with Laneway. Renewal SA, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and a team of locals have worked with us to find a site that ticks all the boxes."[25]

New Zealand artist Lorde was scheduled to perform at Laneway Festival Auckland on 27 January 2014; however, due to her attendance at the Grammy Awards ceremony on 26 January in Los Angeles, US, she was unable to perform. In lieu of her performance at the festival, Laneway's promoters announced a special stand-alone Lorde performance at the festival site at Silo Park, which was held on 29 January 2014.[26]

2015 was another bumper year, loaded with massive personalities and attracting global attention for its quality line-up.

The festival cemented its reputation for bringing ladies to the front, with the likes of FKA twigs, St Vincent, Angel Olsen, Banks and the homegrown Courtney Barnet playing some of the most coveted time-slots. Whether it was St Vincent absolutely shredding her guitar, FKA mesmerising with her gymnastic ability or CB demonstrating equal levels of lyrical dexterity, the women proved that gender does not dictate the skill of the performer or strength of the performance.

Mac Demarco spearheaded a gang of rabble-rousers that included Connan Mockasin, Peter Bibby and Pond whose mutual admiration for each other culminated in plenty of guest appearances onstage and memorable scenes off.

A surprise hit of the festival was Agnes Demarco, mother of Mac, along for the ride as a special guest MC. Armed with bundles of immaculately researched notes, Agnes introduced several bands in each Australian city and charmed audiences with her boundless charisma and enthusiasm.

Mark Kneebone (Laneway NZ co-promoter): "Auckland turned on another great day for the biggest Laneway yet. FKA Twigs set a record for the biggest crowd, Vic Mensa tore the roof off mid afternoon and the new Thunderdome stage set up saw 700 punters rammed inside an abandoned silo doing a circle dance with Dan Deacon."

2016 saw Laneway Festival prove itself once again to be one of the most celebrated music events in the country. With more tickets sold than ever before, Laneway punters were treated to a huge selection of artists across all genres - the dreamy tones of Beach House and DIIV made for a transcendental experience whilst FIDLAR, Violent Soho and DMA's represented the guitar establishment- but it was Melbourne's premier underground Psychotic rock band Tripmonks that stole the show with their unexpected nudity. Flume debuted his new material including special guest appearances from MC Vince Staples and Kai, and Grimes turned electro-pop on its head with her energetic dancer-infused sundowner set.

Laneway Festival 2017 was the thirteenth edition of the boutique inner-city festival. In keeping with tradition, the line-up showcased the best new international talent (Car Seat Headrest, NAO, Mick Jenkins, Aurora & more), while welcoming back acts that once occupied early slots to close out the festival. Local favourites like D.D Dumbo, Camp Cope, A.B. Original and Tash Sultana pulled some of the biggest crowds, and Tame Impala closed out the festival in Fremantle (their hometown) with the very final show of their incredible album cycle. 2017 also saw Laneway Festival launch a new podcast, throw a Hottest 100 Backyard Party in Brisbane, and introduce the 1800-LANEWAY hotline in every Australian city.

Danny Rogers (Laneway co-founder): "Laneway 2017 saw another Australian artist close out the festival - Tame Impala - from the festival perspective, having the guys return to Australia to do Laneway as their final run of shows on their incredibly successful album world tour was everything Laneway could ever hope for and more. The band opened up on the Laneway festival all the way back before they released their first record, so this had significant meaning for us and them. It was also a year where we also focused heavily on Australian / NZ talent, demonstrating to the world that artists from this region are continually standing up alongside their international pals. The festival also presented for the first time an Australian hip hop outfit and we could think of no act more appropriate than A.B Original who also hosted the festival. Strong crowds turned out for all shows with our new site in NZ at Albert Park lifting the Kiwi show up to being a genuine world class event."

New collaborations included I OH YOU's Block Party's, David Moyle's Royal Moyle food extravaganza, and the debut of Luke Henery's (Violent Soho) latest exhibition, "Everybody Needs A Home". It was the largest line-up so far and featured Mac DeMarco, The Internet and POND, as well as the Australian debut of (Sandy) Alex G, Dream Wife, Shame, S U R V I V E and Slowdive. Triple J live broadcast the Adelaide event, with Ben & Liam mc'ing the event.

Laneway Festival returned in 2019 as one of the most respected and popular events on the Australian music calendar. Our fifteenth edition saw the announcement of a new venue for Melbourne Laneway, now taking place at the lush Footscray Park. The move marked an exciting new chapter for Melbourne Laneway, which started in a Lonsdale St alleyway and came of age at Footscray Community Arts Centre.

This year's line-up once again showcased the best rising local and international talent. R&B queen Jorja Smith made her Australian debut alongside Clairo, Denzel Curry and Rex Orange County. It was the twenty-year-old English crooner ROC who ignited crowd-singalongs across every leg of the festival with his lovelorn sentiments and dreamy tunes. Off the back of their record-breaking tour, Gang of Youths closed out the festival in Fremantle with a very special performance marking the last show of their album cycle.

The festival also teamed up with Girls Rock! to empower the next generation of women and gender-diverse musicians. The inaugural Girls Rock! collab featured a unique lineup, which saw artists like Alex Lahey, Alex the Astronaut, Courtney Barnett, Georgia Maq (Camp Cope) and Middle Kids take to the stage. The line-up differed across each Australian festival date and also featured a stack of local favourites and Girls Rock! affiliated bands – a true highlight of 2019.

2020 saw St. Jerome's Laneway Festival return as one of the most celebrated music events across the country. With more tickets sold than ever before, the sixteenth edition marked its most successful year ever. Over 10 music fans attended events in Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle and Sydney, where the event was held at The Domain for the very first time.

With performances from a diverse range of over 35 artists, the blockbuster bill featured the summer's best line-up of local and international acts including our brilliant 2020 headliners, The 1975 and Charli XCX who were met with an army of fans in each city. From the wildly popular and hugely entertaining Oliver Tree, to the charismatic BENEE (whose Laneway tour will surely go down as a career-defining moment in her unstoppable rise) and JID who announced himself as a powerful new force in hip-hop, the festival was jam-packed with incredible performances. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tones and I and Ruel played to adoring hometown crowds while Omar Apollo, Oliver Tree and bbno$ all made their Australian debuts.

The sold-out Laneway Festival afterparties, one off charity gig by The 1975 and Ruel, plus the 50c donation from every beer sold at the festival collectively raised over $150,000 to support those who were affected by the devastating Black Summer bushfire crisis in Australia. Special love and thanks to Charli XCX, Oliver Tree, Spacey Jane, The Chats and Omar Apollo who donated their time and talents and of course to the fans who attended.

The Auckland venue went on hiatus & will return in 2022; others are pending the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.

Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne & Sydney

Auckland