Live Review: St Jerome's Laneway Festival

St Jerome's Laneway Festival was back once again in what has to be one of the best settings for a festival in the country. Sydney’s College Of The Arts at Callan Park still a great spot to make a lot of noise for a day.

Laneway has always had a habit of booking acts that are about to break. This, their 14th year in Sydney, was no different. A wide range of genres and artists, both local and international, were on the bill, but the fact that it wasn't sold out may have pointed to a more eclectic line-up than past years.

Triple j Unearthed winner, Tasman Keith, kicked things off at the Park Stage with his searing and honest hip hop. Clearly talented at spitting hectic rhymes, this burgeoning talent is already proving he deserves a big stage and a bigger crowd than the smattering that turned up early!

KIAN, last year’s triple j Unearthed High winner, was joined by a full band for his debut Laneway performance. The singer, who wouldn't have been able to hit up the many bars on the festival grounds, started with a very chill new track. After warming into the set a little, he was joined by Vince The Kid for their single of last year, Too Far Gone. The crowd had swelled considerably before - of course - Baker Boy jumped up for their collaborative tune, Cloud 9. The recent Hottest 100 number 20, Waiting, finished off a solid set from the teenager with a big future ahead of him.

With just enough time to catch Charlie Collins and a good-sized crowd for her last song, Mexico, it was on to the Future Classic Stage, known for hosting new faces. Ravyn Lenae is a 20-year-old with soul chops to die for. The groove that her and band emitted got the crowd swaying, even in the increasingly hot midday sun. On Computer Luv (a collab usually featuring Steve Lacy), she delivered vocal acrobatics that pulled people in and made them stay. A beautiful set from a new discovery.

Starting by drumming to Right Here, Right Now and Hot Hot Hot (very suitable), G Flip didn't mind taking on every role. Killing My Time started the set proper as Georgia Flipo made her way to the front of the stage. A screen on the front of the drum was a very cute addition and emphasised the effort that G Flip puts into her live performance - she got on the drums, guitar, bass and keys on top of singing some well written songs. No wonder the big crowd that showed up at the Garden Stage were getting so into it.

One very rude punter really didn’t need to be at the festival, heckling during the well delivered Welcome To Country. He was hastily booed and gestured at. He quickly left. The latest Young Australian Of The Year, Baker Boy took to the Park Stage. With unfortunate sound issues plaguing the start of the set, the energy took a bit of a hit, but once the young Yolngu man took control, it was constant. Black Magic kicked it all off, before he performed Cloud 9 for the second time of the day with Kian jumping up to return the favour.

What was supposed to be a quick duck to the Mansionair set wasn't so easy with a packed crowd at the Future Classic Stage. A couple of tracks from the local electro-indie group was about all that could be seen or heard, but their warm sound was matched by the crowd and the weather.

A quick, cool refreshment later and we were watching the even cooler Smino. This Chicago-based artist delivered soul-infused hip hop with swagger. Think the Andre 3000 of 20 years ago. A hugely diverse crowd snaked back from the Dr Martens Stage to see an artist on the rise.

Elsewhere in the festival among brand activations and bars, Girls Rock! Australia presented a stage with all female artists and an amazing line-up. Imbi The Girl performed her unique pop groove with a saxophonist and cruisy arvo vibes. The tucked-away stage promised huge acts later in the evening which it appeared not many knew about, including sets from Alex The Astronaut and Alex Lahey.

Hannah Joy from Middle Kids was in fine form. Despite touring their album almost constantly, they still show a passion and energy on stage that has seen them gain international attention. Edge Of Town still sounded strong, along with a huge choir of voices that were on hand to help out. Latest single, Salt Eyes, was sung with a delicate rock tinge. “That song has never been so true”, declared Joy before wiping the sweat away from her face. 

It's been a huge two years since Camp Cope were last at Laneway and in that time the release of their second album has established them as a crowd favourite with a passionate fan base that follow them to every festival. Starting cheekily with Green Day’s Warning, Georgia Maq, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich and Sarah Thompson were in good spirits, even when Maq's guitar didn't want to work at the start of the set. Thanks to their tech, the show went on as they performed a set mostly taken from their second album, How To Socialise & Make Friends. In between tracks, Maq was thankful they were playing at a festival that makes attempts for gender equality in the line-up (“Here’s to the nine other acts with females in them!”), along with calling out the number for the hotline that people could call if they were in trouble, an initiative they helped to start. Her call to, “Fuck White Australia,” might have been spurned in other parts of the country, but here in a (mostly) accepting and diverse crowd, it received cheers and applause. Performing The Opener with special guest Courtney Barnett on guitar was a perfect end to an excellent set.

The multi-talented Masego had the crowd bouncing at the Future Classic Stage. There were big pops for songs Lady Lady and Tadow off his new album and even in the afternoon sun the crowd weren't holding back. Unfortunately, as is often the case at festivals, this stage wasn't the best for audio and most of it was lost at the back, even as the bass bounced around the old walls of the College Of The Arts.

Mitski's show is something that has to be seen to appreciate, with a purposeful and deliberate stage presence full of interpretative dance moves and Kate Bush-like vibes. She brought out a chair, sat down, bent over, waved her arms around, lay on the floor, wiggled her legs, all the while singing perfectly. It was hard to stop watching. When there was a small tech issue, she suddenly came out of character to say hi. “I don’t have any jokes,” she grinned before the tech issue was sorted and she was straight back into character. Nobody had the large crowd dancing and enjoying one of the more unique artists on the bill.

Meanwhile, over at the Jameson Stage, another pop-up venture, The Chats were going off. The band that has been getting their fair share of attention recently, rocked hard, played a KISS cover and generally just got fucking loose with the crowd.

It's never easy being on the Garden Stage as the sun goes down, but Jorja Smith made it effortless. Teenage Fantasy had the crowd singing, grooving and loving. The timing of her song, February 3rd, couldn't have been better. A cover of TLC's No Scrubs had the crowd vocal again. It was a good chance to rest up, lie on the grass and recharge for the acts to come. A soulful and powerful set from another exciting up-and-comer.

You can't really dance to Courtney Barnett, but the crowd were giving it a shot. The relaxed vibe of the artist that well and truly deserves a late slot on the main stage, was well received. She rolled from song to song, mixing old (Avant Gardener) and new (Small Talk). Georgia Maq from Camp Cope joined Barnett for Nameless, Faceless. Unfortunately, someone felt the need to blast music on the Garden Stage behind us when Depreston started. The soundies responded by pumping up the volume to the level it probably should have been at from the start.

The young crowd were obviously all at Denzel Curry. The Dr Martens stage was filled right to the back and Curry made most of them bounce. A big screen created a stadium-like aura, and as he performed CLOUT CO13AIN, plenty of people knew every word. He picked up the energy with PERCS, screaming his lyrics with ferocity. When he started playing XXXTentacion covers, this reviewer escaped to get dinner.

There's a huge amount of food options at the festival including burgers and corn on the cob, but it felt like everyone was just eating hot chips. Sometimes the cheapest option just works?

The word got out that What So Not had a special guest coming along and as we peered over the waves of people on the hills looking over the Garden Stage, we heard the familiar riff from Silverchair’s Freak. Yup, Daniel Johns had come along to not only bust out most of that classic song, but also his collab with What So Not, Be Ok Again. It was a big, big performance from Chris Emerson/Emoh Instead of What So Not, proving that he can definitely pull the crowds with a massive stage and light show.

The fact that his band is headlining the biggest inner-west festival in Sydney having grown up just down the road is not lost on David Le'aupepe. A man as humble as he is charismatic arrived to screams from the crowd that snaked its way right back to the trees behind the second stage. Watching the rise and rise of Gang Of Youths has been a joy and here they were, performing to probably their biggest home crowd ever. If you were one of the many that attended their Enmore Theatre shows, you’d know the set, but for a lot in the crowd, this was their first time to experience the raw power of a GOY show. There’s the sensitive start of Fear And Trembling that builded into a full-blown rock classic, a rollicking version of What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? and a heartfelt dedication to his dearly loved and departed father before The Heart Is A Muscle.

The band don’t miss a beat, and the crowd stayed with them even through the seven-minute rendition of Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane. The double of Let Me Down Easy and Magnolia had everyone belting out the words before Say Yes To Life closed a powerful set and wonderful homecoming and return to Laneway.

Despite the main stages being done, many people flocked to the back stages to catch the end of Crooked Colours and their electro-bangers. On the Dr Martens Stage, Jon Hopkins mixed his sensitive tracks with festival beats as a nice way to end the huge day.

Once again, St Jerome's Laneway Festival proved itself to be the envy of summer festivals. A well behaved crowd, an awesome location, a perfect day and an exciting line-up. They do a festival as it should be done and we’re pumped for next year already.