Laneway Breaks Record With Return

7 February 2023 | 12:49 pm | Mary Varvaris

"It was awesome to see new festival goers attending for the first time ever and our regular fans returning to support us and the incredible 2023 line-up."

jamesjamesjames at Laneway Sydney

jamesjamesjames at Laneway Sydney (Provided by Laneway, pic by Daniel Boud)

More Fontaines DC More Fontaines DC

Laneway Festival organisers have announced that the 2023 edition has broken records, with 46,000 punters attending the Brisbane and Sydney dates of the touring festival. 

The long-awaited return of Laneway has been met with astonishing numbers at Brisbane's Showgrounds and Sydney Showground, with dates in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Laneway Festival co-founders Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio commented, "This weekend was a really special one - the first Laneway Festival in three years. It was awesome to see new festival goers attending for the first time ever and our regular fans returning to support us and the incredible 2023 line-up."

The highlights at Laneway in Sydney included Fontaines D.C., who reviewer David James Young called a "well-oiled precision machine". Young added that the Irish post-punks sounded "as urgent and violent as ever, while their signature song Boys In The Better Land served as a standout moment of the entire day." Fred again.. meanwhile, provided "Beautiful, exploding festival perfection – easily the set of the day." 

Young capped off The Music's Laneway review by dubbing it "a new era" for the festival.

"Slickly run, well executed and confidently putting its best foot forward after a long period of uncertainty surrounding Australian festivals' sustainability as a whole, Laneway feels hopeful. Not only can this be done, but it can also be done well – maybe even better than it's ever been," Young concluded. Read the rest of the review here.

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Laneway's run in Adelaide takes place at Bonython Park, while in Melbourne the festival heads to The Park, Flemington (part of the Flemington Racecourse). The festival ends at Perth's Wellington Square.

LANEWAY FESTIVAL

2023 LINE-UP

HAIM (Exclusive) - JOJI (Exclusive)
PHOEBE BRIDGERS
FINNEAS - FONTAINES D.C - FRED AGAIN..
GIRL IN RED - SLOWTHAI - TURNSTILE
HOCKEY DAD - JULIA JACKLIN - THE JUNGLE GIANTS
100 GECS - CHAOS IN THE CBD - KNUCKS - MALLRAT
ROSS FROM FRIENDS - THE BETHS - YARD ACT
ADAM NEWLING - THE BACKSEAT LOVERS
HARVEY SUTHERLAND - JACOTÉNE - JAMESJAMESJAMES
LOGIC1000 - SYCCO - TASMAN KEITH - THE LAZY EYES
ABBY BELLA MAY - ANDY GARVEY - COLDWAVE
DALLAS WOODS - FELIVAND - JONO MA
PRICIE - RUBY CANNON - SIOBHAN COTCHIN - SOPHIYA  

REMAINING DATES:

ADELAIDE (16+) - SELLING FAST
Kaurna Yerta
Friday 10 February
Bonython Park

MELBOURNE (16+) - SELLING FAST
Wurundjeri Biik
Saturday 11 February
The Park, Flemington

PERTH (16+) - SELLING FAST
Whadjuk Boodjar
Sunday 12 February
Wellington Square