Patience and calculated growth is salient when it comes to music festivals. Starting something small and allowing it to flourish into something great usually yields the best results in the long run [Falls, Splendour, Meredith, Golden Plains, Soundwave]. Refer to Blueprint festival for the contrary.
What was once a gritty and concealed right of passage for Melbourne musicians, Laneway Festival has now outgrown the prevailing edifices of Melbourne’s aged inner-city nooks and crannies. Over the years its strengths and specificity allowed it to evolve out of its original dwellings and onto the world stage – acting like a butterfly catcher for one of today’s most passionate ilk of music lover. The erudite hipster.
Laneway have identified their target audience – maturing from catering to the punters musical tastes, to becoming the tastemakers themselves. Each year they usher in a new breed of foreign talent, yet to saturate Australian shores. A filtration of a much larger overseas funnel. So it’s no surprise that the company now has its sights set on world expansion. But they remain adamant that it’s for the love of the game.
Co-promoter Danny Rogers told Pedestrian today, “Laneway’s international pursuits have all started very small, with an eye to doing something that has an interesting story and a strong focus on the music we love. The latest collaborations are precisely that – little steps towards doing something different. There is no game plan – just a few over-enthusiastic people trying to maintain some youthful zeal.”
This year the festival will diversify its locale for the fourth time. First was interstate growth in 2006, then came Southern Hemisphere expansion in 2010 (Auckland), Asia Pacific expansion soon after (Singapore) and now, through presence at SXSW 2011 and the prestigious London Field Day, the festival boasts Napoleonic levels of occupation at both ends of the Atlantic.
Field Day takes place in London on August 6, featuring Ariel Pink, Warpaint, Wild Beasts, Jamie XX and Laneway Stage performers James Blake, James Woon, Matthew Dear, Mount Kimble, The Horrors, Twin Shadow and a whole lot more.
