From scorching heat to heavy rain, Laneway began this decade with a rough start. However, the festival was able to literally weather the storm and deliver that classic Laneway experience. From the heart of the city of Sydney, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival made its way to the Domain this year with a huge line-up of international headliners, domestic darlings and home-grown talent. While the headliners were weaker compared to other years, the depth in this year’s line-up was outstanding, with the up-and-coming bands rewarding those who came for the whole day.

Spread across the Domain, Laneway’s structure was well planned, making it easy to navigate between the bar, food stands, market stalls and four stages. Getting in was frustratingly overcomplicated, with movement brought to a crawl as the entrance way was congested. Each patron needed to line up once to have their ID checked, again to be patted over with a metal detector and again to have their bags checked, all while police drug dogs sniffed below their belts. While this wasn’t too detrimental at first, a 3pm rush mixed with this slow admission pace to cause many people to miss certain acts. Others missed certain acts on arrival because the set times had changed, for the second time that weekend.

Once inside, there was plenty to do at Laneway. The main area was a double stage where the biggest acts of the days alternated between, minimising time between sets. If patrons walked past the Garden/Park stages and followed the main road, they could either visit the huge licensed bar area, continue down past the market stalls, such as merchandise stands, fashion stores and a record sale, or end up at the festival’s hidden gem, the Future Classic Stage. Tucked away to the side of the entrance was the Alley Stage, which did not link up with the Future Classic stage, mapping the whole festival out as a broken circuit, which not only thinned crowds out but also ensured everyone moved in the same direction. 

While there were plenty of side activities this year, the music was still the main attraction. The Garden/Park stages boasted the biggest names and gathered the biggest crowds. Starting early was triple J unearthed’s 100, who established themselves through their chugging punk riffs, BENEE, who excited the early crowd with her upbeat pop sound, and Tones and I, who was coming off the back of a career making performance in the triple j Hottest 100. The Alley stage was a great alternative for people wanting a more mellow and less crowded experience, hosting talent like Hatchie and Stella Donnelly.

The best series of performances was at the Future Classic Stage. Fresh off the release of their debut single, The Lazy Eyes left everyone exhausted, ending their set with the unreleased “Where’s My Brain” in which they made the crowd squat for two minutes before collectively standing. The Pist Idiots played a full throttle rock set to a packed hometown audience before the Sunshine Coast’s the Chats jammed an entire day’s worth of laughs into a single set. Near this stage was also a food and drinks area, which included DJ sets and a second Pist Idiot performance at the Jameson House of Rounds Pop-up bar. The Pisties would spend the remainder of the day serving kebabs from their very own food truck, provided by their local Revesby kebab shop.

The festival took a significant turn in the early stages of the night following two terrific sets from Hockey Dad and the DMAs. The sweltering heat and blistering sun turned to harsh winds and torrential downpour. While the pouring rain gave artists like Ocean Alley and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets a chaotic energy, it exposed the lack of shelter at Laneway, with patrons huddling under what little cover they could find. With no signs of it letting up, festivalgoers simply had to cop the poor weather conditions if they wanted to see their favourite artists.

The rain didn’t stop the party and the Park/Garden stages pressed on with the headliners. The young, seventeen year old Ruel embraced the soaked crowd, giving them a surprise appearance from Cosmo’s Midnight and brand new track as a little treat. The best set of the night was from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, who’s heavy drums, metal riffs and breakneck pace matched the intensity of the battering storm that pummelled the audience. Final acts Charlie XCX and the 1975 were the reason many fans endured the mismanaged set times, long queues and wet weather, so it’s a testimony to the artists and their performances that everyone was able to leave satisfied. 

Laneway 2020 was an outstanding day despite numerous hiccups. In the face of the many issues that hindered patron’s enjoyment, both in and out of the festival’s control, it still remains one of the best inner-city festivals that Sydney has to offer.

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