Laneway Festival has appointed a new General Manager, Jade Skelly, following the departure of its manager of six years, Jessie Parker.
Skelly – a music, television and festival veteran – joins Laneway Festival as it approaches its 22nd edition of taking events across Australia and New Zealand.
“I’ve always been a fan of Laneway,” Skelly commented in a statement. “What Danny [Rogers], Jerome [Borazio] and the team have created is really special, and I feel incredibly lucky and excited to now be a part of it from the inside.”
Skelly enters the job with over 20 years of experience in artist management, television, content production, and festival leadership. She’s previously held senior roles at major Aussie festival brands such as Splendour in the Grass and Big Day Out and has led a major love affair with the festival she’s joining.
Attending each Laneway over the past ten years, Skelly has also worked on the event through her production company, giving her firsthand familiarity with it. Her career has included television work with Channel [V], triple j and the ABC, as well as producing the ARIA Award-winning Silverchair and Powderfinger documentary, Across the Divide.
Additionally, Skelly has overseen live ARIA Awards performances and served as a Sound NSW industry assessor.
Earlier this week, Laneway Festival organisers unveiled the tour dates and venues for next year’s festival. For the first time, the long-running travelling festival is introducing a new touring route.
Commencing in Sydney for the first time, Laneway Festival comes back to Centennial Park on Friday, 12 February. It continues with its return to Brisbane – after a stint on the Gold Coast this year – at the Showgrounds on Saturday, 13 February.
The following week, the festival rolls into Melbourne, where it all began, to its longtime home of Flemington Park on Friday, 19 February. For the first time, Laneway Festival concludes in New Zealand, taking over Western Springs, Tāmaki Makaurau on Sunday, 21 February.
The 2027 line-up is expected to, as always, feature an exciting mix of new and established artists from Australia and across the globe. The highly anticipated line-up reveal is scheduled for late September.
This month, it was announced that Laneway Festival won’t be stopping in Adelaide and Perth next year, with organisers sharing the “disappointing” news that “in 2027, Laneway will be taking a break in your cities.”
Last year, Laneway won the inaugural ARIA Award for Best Festival and was crowned the Music Event of the Year in New Zealand earlier this year.
