Contrary to the actual event name, Sydney’s St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is moving to greener pastures. Literally. The festival will hitch a ride across the bridge to have it out on the lawns of Sydney’s College of the Arts in Rozelle
Some would say Mr Jerome is getting a tad greedy, others would say he’s just utilising assets and making the most of a good thing. However I’d say he’s kind of a semi sell out. Having attended Laneway for the past two years, the most iconic moment was watching bands then looking to the sky above where two buildings towered overhead. Plus it made for some pretty ridiculous pictures, even for the most amateur of photographers (obviously that’s in no way a reference to the brilliant picture above by Pedestrian BFF Dan Boud)
However as it was illustrated at last year’s Melbourne festival, shoving hordes of mentally altered music lovers into tiny spaces is a logistical nightmare. In the final time slot †Girltalk’ attracted pretty much all of the festival attendees and the teeny laneway couldn’t cope. People were being dragged out left and centre and organisers were thrown into a PR tailspin.
In light of these events Melbourne too is abandoning its humble beginnings and moving to bigger and better things at Melbourne’s Footscray Community Arts Centre.
But it kind of makes you wonder, if they can move the Laneway festival out of the lanes and onto the grass, will other festivals follow suit? Will Splendour swap its grass for sand and Parklife it’s perfectly groomed park arena for a warm and comfy cement playground?
If there can be a Laneway Festival without lanes – what’s next a music festival without music? Yes, bordering on the over dramatic but the point is not so subtly reached.
