The highlights of St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2019

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival is a reliable fixture in the Australian summer festival calendar. The sprawling Esplanade Park acted as the perfect canvas for a day of sun-drenched fun on Sunday 10 February. With its trademark left-of-centre line-up, Laneway is as much about seeing your favourite alternative acts as it is about discovering new ones. For those who missed out on the fun, these were the highlights of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2019.

20-year-old Clairo exudes cool nonchalance with her brand of daydreamy, lo-fi pop. A self-proclaimed ‘do-it-yourself’ singer-songwriter, don’t let Clairo’s young age deter you from her indie pop credentials. With simplistic hits such as ‘4ever’ and ‘Flaming Hot Cheetos’, Clairo is evidence that you don’t need all the bells and whistles to deliver a captivating set.

‍

If you’re not familiar with Masego’s work, the odds are that you’re probably familiar with his collaborations with the likes of GoldLink and SiR. This smooth songstress employed back-up singers to deliver one soulful set, even showing off his talent with a saxophone.

‍

Festival favourites Methyl Ethel garnered an impressive crowd for their afternoon set. ‘Ubu’ may be their biggest hit but their discography is rich with rousing, offbeat melodies including their recent releases ‘Scream Whole’ and ‘Real Tight’ from new album Triage which kept the crowd’s energy high. This four-piece is just another reason to be proud of WA.‍

‍

Rex Orange County brought the crowd to their knees in what was arguably the most wholesome set of the festival. Most of this 20-year-old songwriter’s melodies are modern meditations on love and odes to his lover, making them great fodder for crowd singalongs. Unsurprisingly, his performances of ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Loving Is Easy’ created heartwarming moments that made this the smiliest hour of the day.‍

‍

Cosmo’s Midnight deliver hits with an alarming success rate. Their brand of infectious, synth-heavy electro-pop transformed the crowd into an uninhibited dance party in record time, whether it was to upbeat favourites such as ‘Talk To Me’ and ‘Walk With Me’ or their more laidback tracks ‘Low Key’ and ‘Get To Know’. They closed their set with crowd favourite ‘History’, cementing their status as one of Australia’s most feel-good electronic live acts.

‍

It seems like just yesterday that homegrown favourites Gang of Youths pulled off the impressive feat of ranking a record-breaking four times in triple j’s Hottest 100 of 2018. Over a year later, the dust hasn’t settled on this band’s widespread popularity. Frontman David Le’aupepe urges the crowd to emotionally dig deep, prefacing emotional hits such as ‘The Heart Is A Muscle’ and ‘Let Me Down Easy’ with ruminations about his late father and the importance of loving fearlessly. Add to this Le’aupepe’s magnetic stage presence and it’s easy to see how Gang of Youths have earned their status as some of Australia’s most beloved performers.

‍

Cover image courtesy of Facebook.