The 2009 Laneway Festival was mired in controversy. The
Melbourne event in particular was besieged by infrastructure problems, security complaints and timetable clashes that, infamously, saw hundreds of furious punters locked out of Girl Talk's set. While the Sydney event was relatively trouble-free in comparison, post-festival organisers came under scrutiny regarding noise complaints.
So whilst visualising this, frankly, aweseome first lineup announcement for the 2010 event, hold your mind's-eye for what comes after...
ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2010 - FIRST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT
Echo & The Bunnymen (UK)
Florence and TheMachine (UK)
Black Lips (US)
The XX (UK)
Daniel Johnston (US) (excluding Adelaide)
Sarah Blasko
NASA (US)
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Hockey (US)
Dappled Cities
Mumford and Sons (UK)
Radio Clit (Africa/UK)
The Very Best (Africa/UK)
Wild Beasts (UK)
Whitley
The Middle East
Kid Sam
The Dirty Three (Melbourne only)
...and more to be announced.
Laneway is moving.
The Vine was taken on a guided tour of the new Melbourne site a few weeks ago. Traditionally located around Caledonian Lane in the Melbourne CBD, the new site is now located across that
other river, in the lush surrounds of the Footscray Community Arts Centre. (Here's their
website.)
(Pic: Bonnie Dalton)
Major changes? It's green. Nestled on the banks of the Maribyrnong River and just two stops out of Southern Cross station (Footscray Station is but a few minutes down the road from the site), the new venue features city (and river) views, rolling grasslands, palm trees, shaded cul de sacs, a large triangular shaped parkland dotted with trees, multiple viewing spots, and promises of easy access to amenities, craft and food stalls, and - most importantly - to other stages. The production set-up has been reduced from six stages to three - there's no longer an indoor stage - while the overall capacity has expanded. Oh and the Melbourne site is the only site to host hometown heroes The Dirty 3. 'Sue's Last Ride' while the city twinkles beyond palm fronds and the gently flowing river? Yes please.
Sydney also gets new digs. The Circular Quay/CBD site did work, but
even we could see last year that there were issues with traffic (the indoor stage was a write off by the afternoon) and again there was the office tower-assisted bottleneck for Girl Talk.
(Sydney College of the Arts)
Not so now. The Sydney site will now be located in the decadent surrounds of the Sydney College of the Arts, situated in Rozelle. While the Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide grounds will stay the same, there is one more addition to the itinerary: New Zealand.
For the first time the Laneway Festival will go international, hopping the Tasman and landing in Auckland at Britomart Square. (And just a week after Camp A Low Hum - holiday?)
Tickets go on sale Friday October 30th. Here's the essentials:
DATES AND VENUES
Friday 29 January - Brisbane QLD
Alexandria St off St Paul’s Terrace, Fortitude Valley (Twilight event)
Saturday 30 January - Melbourne VIC
Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC)
Sunday 31 January - Sydney NSW
Sydney College of the Arts (SCA)
Monday 1 February - Auckland NZ
Britomart Station
Friday 5 February - Adelaide SA
Fowler’s Live, North Terrace(Twilight event)
Saturday 6 February - Perth WA