Photos by Reo-Blü Caré

With Origin and Falls well behind us, it was Laneway Festival’s turn to steal the spotlight of Perth’s festival scene. With its comprehensive lineup, it was going to be pretty hard to disappoint the eager Perth festival-goers – and fortunately, it didn’t let us down.

Back again at Fremantle’s Esplanade Park, the scene was set under our iconic pine trees with the famed Ferris wheel keeping a brazen watch. Having started in 2005 from an alleyway in inner Melbourne to selling out a 12,000 person venue in Fremantle, Laneway Festival has made quite the progression. Its indie roots persist to this day, complemented by some of the biggest pop names in the game.

Littered with wooden pallets and bohemian rugs, the venue offered plenty of shaded spots for those not able to brave the surprisingly hot 24-degree day.

Walking into the park, we were graced by Kaiit’s soulful tunes, as the audience’s hands glided through the scorching mid-afternoon sun. Bouncey, jovial and just down-right groovy, she set the scene for day to come.

Either from her newfound Hottest 100 fame or from crazed viral Tiktok-ers, BENEE had attracted quite the crowd. With ‘Glitter’ being an obvious hit, her whole set seemed to get the main crowd singing and dancing along, with ‘Find an Island’ and ‘Soaked’ hitting the sweet spots.

Opening with the Rocky theme song, The Chats immediately placed themselves within their stereotype - a bunch of memey Aussie blokes. Rural, raw and of course, mulleted, their set was fun and fast, but who doesn’t love a good ‘Pub Feed’.

Coming off her 4th place Hottest 100 placement, Tones and I has been going repeatedly hitting new heights. Performing her ‘Forever Young’ Like a Version and also a cover of Flume and Chet Faker’s ‘Drop the Game’, she churned out hit after hit, much to the delight of those screaming every lyric right back at her.

Hockey Dad – an all-time favourite and a band you can’t help but love. This time around was no different, ushering in the late afternoon sun with their rhythmic classics and adorable accompanying visuals. Ending on ‘Seaweed’ was the perfect way to go out for the New South Wales duo.

Young, charming and vocally on-point, you couldn’t miss the heads turning when Ruel finally hit the stage. Accompanied by large ‘Ruel 2020’ props and air cannons, the 17-year-old wowed the crowd, even performing an impressive cover of Frank Ocean’s ‘Pink Matter’.

The 2020 Visions stage started to pick up with the appearance of Stella Donnelly’s beautiful set with the sunset softly lighting the pines behind her. Listening to her serenade her home Fremantle crowd to ‘Lunch’ ought to be a Perth rite of passage.

Following her shortly was quite a jump in the mood with J.I.D., undoubtedly the most lit performance of the festival. Jumping, bumping and some front-flipping, the crowd was lapping up his sublime flows. The Dreamville star blasted out hits ‘151 Rum’ and ‘Off Deez’ – but could have kept his songs going a little longer, often breaking the flow to change tracks.

As the sunset, the DMA’s dazzled us with their beautiful discography, with ‘Delete’ and ‘Lay Down’ gracing the lips of the enthralled crowd. Although coming out 20 minutes later, Charli XCX made sure to catch up, not leaving any energy left to give. Her supreme stage presence, extravagant set design and wide range of hits surely left the crowd with ‘1999’ and ‘Boys’ stuck in their head for the rest of the night.

Colourful, fragrant and effervescent – it was finally time for The 1975 to emerge, putting on the perfect ending to a packed day. Stumbling across the stage in a seemingly drunken, lucid state, lead singer Matty Healy won our hearts with his authenticity and humility. Back up dancers, a Greta Thunberg interlude and a light spectacle made the set just that extra bit. From the jovial ‘Chocolate’ to the heartbreak of ‘Robbers’, The 1975 beautifully reminded us why they’re one of the leading indie bands of our generation.

As a wonderful close to the week, I’m sure no one wanted the day to end.

Laneway, I can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for us!