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Laneway Festival 2025
@ Flemington Park, Melbourne,
14th Festival 2025
(Live Review)

Review by Dante Griffiths

Photos by Jean Ngooi (@jeanngooi)

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beabadoobee / Photo – @jeanngooi

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A veritable sea of Von Dutch hats and plaid t-shirts swarmed Flemington Racecourse on Saturday for Laneway 2025, a definite subset of Melbourne youth culture full of energy and exuberance.

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Skegss / Photo – @jeanngooi

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A rush of wild untamed energy formed on the main stage as Skeggs took to the stage. They knew what the crowd wanted and during a particularly fast track, they produced giant beach balls, slick with fresh coats of spray paint, and hurled them into the audience – the perfect amount of jovial mayhem to start the day. 

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Joey Valence & Brae / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Across the festival grounds Joey Valence and Brae brought the classic punk hip hop to the stage, harking back to the grandaddies of the genre, the Beastie Boys, but without ever feeling derivative. Their hyped energy and huge sound lured waves of moshing fans to the tent. The sweaty crowds threw their hands in the air for each song in classic hip-hop fashion to match Joey Valence’s movements across the stage. Each song led perfectly into each other without a missed beat, the energy was unmatched for the rest of the night.

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Djo / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Current media darling Djo brought his soul rock-inspired sounds to the main stage as the first drops of the approaching rainstorm drizzled down. Unexpectedly, Djo’s audience seemed to receive his set in a rather lacklustre fashion until the drum introduction of his mega-viral hit ‘End of Beginning’ – finally he was met with roars from the audience, but one wonders if he might be a one-hit wonder.

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Clairo / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Clairo’s crew ensured her soft and lush jazzy vibes were audible front and center for the audience, and she has certainly mastered the coy fawn-like persona as she softly asked the audience questions and interacted with her bandmates in a deeply connected manner. This beguiling set meandered towards a finale – her closing track ‘Sophia’ boosted with the appearance of the one and only Charli xcx to perform the track with her. 

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beabadoobee / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Beabadoobee strutted onto the stage, strapped on a pink guitar, and jumped headlong into a loud rock set deeply imbued with elements of grunge. Bea continued the spirit of collegial collaboration, inviting Clairo to the stage for a much-anticipated performance of ‘Glue’. The crowd heaved and raged, and it was clear the audience were thoroughly wowed by Beabadoobee’s strident tones.

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Ninajirachi / Photo – @jeanngooi

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As I walked over to the start of 2hollis’s set the forecasted rain started to pummel the crowd, leading to a rush for cover in the white claw tent. Almost two thousand other members of the festival joined me; waiting for the rain to pass as stories filtered through about the under-18 crowd having little to no cover from the rain and lacking easy access to water.  This appeared to be a significant issue that had many people concerned about the lack of basic event management at a mostly all-ages event. There certainly seemed to be a few organisational hiccups, but the water issue was the most concerning.

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Girl and Girl / Photo – @jeanngooi

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At a certain point, I accepted the rain wasn’t going to let up, and I braved the elements to secure a spot for Charli Xcx’s performance. The rain pelted down in Barry Can’t Swim’s set, yet it felt very fitting, as the lightscapes blended into the rain mist and a wash of colour seemed to flow into the audience. His mix of house music beats, live instruments and vocals was a welcome addition to the festival. Indeed, Barry Can’t Swim offers a niche sound compared to the usual festival DJs. 

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Julie / Photo – @jeanngooi

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The bedraggled crowd quickly forgot their sodden shoes and the uncomfortably wet wait when Charli xcx hit the stage in a commanding manner amidst a backdrop of synths and in front of a giant brat banner that swallowed the entire stage appearing behind her as she yelled, “What the f-k is up Melbourne!” The crowd’s screams were soon drowned out by the intro of 365. Charli’s set was nothing short of incredible, she made use of every single inch of her stage and didn’t stop moving for a moment.

Laneway Festival has been able to keep its footing in a world where it seems that most major festivals are getting canned and forgotten. Laneway opens its doors to people from all walks of life and gives an unmatched experience for many as there is no set genre for the festival, every year brings in new sounds and artists from across the globe, until this changes I truly believe that Laneway will continue striving in the current festival landscape.

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Olivia Dean / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Check out Jean Ngooi’s (@jeanngooi) full gallery of this event HERE

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Djo / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Follow LANEWAY FESTIVAL
WEBSITE – TIKTOK – INSTAGRAM
 SPOTIFY – FACEBOOK – X

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beabadoobee / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Press Release 23rd January 2025 (below) HERE

LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2025
playing times are here

+ Limited tickets added to
Brisbane and Melbourne

+ Lineup additions

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AMNPLIFY – DB