The Power 50: Danny Rogers

While in his 20s, Danny Rogers landed a job at New York music venue The Living Room. Soon after returning to Australia, he launched Lunatic Entertainment, which has now grown to include a management arm and the much-loved St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. 

Some of the most loved and most in-demand artists in music toured Australia in 2019 and they chose to do that with Laneway Presents. Is that image of Florence Welch gracefully swanning across a stage going to be forever in your mind? Ours too. That Florence & The Machine tour spanned Perth to Sydney across seven shows, kicking off 2019 in a big way for Danny Rogers and the Laneway/Lunatic Entertainment teams. Throughout the year, there were runs from Billie Eilish, Rex Orange County, Pond, The Internet, Jorja Smith and more. 

There was management client The Temper Trap as well, who celebrated the tenth anniversary of their album Conditions with a national tour. Skegss - who Rogers co-manages - picked up an international deal with the US’ Loma Vista Recordings, while Baker Boy announced a deal with Island Records Australia in January. 

There was, of course, their signature St Jerome’s Laneway Festival at the centre of it all - which in 2019 scored a new Melbourne home at Footscray Park - complete with Courtney Barnett, Denzel Curry, Gang Of Youths, Parquet Courts, Middle Kids, Florence & The Machine, Mitski and more on the line-up.

"I think we felt very fortunate to be part of some wonderful projects that we had been with from the beginning: Laneway, Florence and Billie are all things we started on very early on and have been part of their story in Australia and NZ. Continuing to work with many amazing artists and people."