The Laneway Festival cemented its place as one of the hottest tickets on the summer calendar during its return to Footscray on Saturday.
A sell-out crowd of 15,000 people enjoyed a stellar line-up of local and international acts performing a diverse range of music.
Early highlights included the southern-fried folk-hop of Raury, the moody post-punk of Eagulls and the loping rap of Ratking.
Benjamin Booker won the crowd over with his shameless rock ‘n’ roll, while Vic Mensa brought plenty of swagger to the stage.
Mac DeMarco made his summer sounds look deceptively simple as local psychedelic heroes Pond raised a cheer with some mid-song crowd-surfing. Royal Blood’s bass-and-drums attack and the emotion-charged Future Islands kept the rock vein flowing, but electronic acts were evening highlights thanks to superb sets from Jon Hopkins, Caribou and Flying Lotus.
Once again, Laneway showed female artists are breaking new ground, whether it be the futuristic R&B of FKA Twigs or the art rock weirdness of St Vincent.
View the picture gallery at www.maribyrnong.starweekly.com.au.
Benjamin Millar
