Laneway has always positioned itself as the festival for people who think they’re too cool for mainstream festivals. That identity gets harder to maintain when 30,000 people are queued for fried chicken in the midday sun, but here we are.

The 2026 edition was the biggest Laneway yet, and “biggest” is both a compliment and a concern. Here’s the full review.

The Highlights

Amyl and the Sniffers played what might have been the set of the festival on the main stage. Amy Taylor’s energy is genuinely superhuman. She spent more time in the crowd than on stage during their closer, which was simultaneously thrilling and a liability nightmare for the event’s insurance provider. The sound was huge and the response was deafening.

Fred again.. delivered a crowd-pleasing headline set that managed to feel intimate despite the enormous audience. His ability to build emotional arcs through electronic music — layering samples, building tension, releasing it in moments of pure euphoria — is unmatched in live electronic performance right now.

Sycco proved she belongs on festival stages. Her set leaned into the dreamier side of her catalogue, which worked beautifully in the late-afternoon slot. The crowd was smaller than the headliners drew, but the connection was real.

Genesis Owusu was, predictably, a revelation. His live show is part punk concert, part performance art, part therapy session. If you haven’t seen him live, make it a priority.

The Triple J Unearthed stage provided some of the day’s best surprises. A Melbourne four-piece I’d never heard of played a blistering post-punk set to a tiny but devoted crowd at 2pm, and I’m still thinking about it days later. That stage is Laneway’s secret weapon.

The Concerns

Crowd density was a genuine issue. Several stages were overcrowded to the point of discomfort during popular sets. Security moved people away from barriers at times, which is a sign that capacity management needs attention.

The food and drink queues were the longest I’ve encountered at an Australian festival. Twenty to thirty minutes for a beer at peak times isn’t acceptable at any ticket price, let alone what Laneway charges. More bars and food vendors would solve this immediately.

Sound bleed between stages was noticeable. During quieter moments in some performances, you could clearly hear the neighbouring stage’s bass frequencies. This is a consequence of fitting more stages into the same footprint, and it detracts from the experience.

The ticket price — now over $200 for a single-day event — is starting to push the boundaries of what feels reasonable. For that money, the operational experience should be flawless, and it wasn’t.

The Lineup Question

Laneway’s lineup this year leaned heavily toward current streaming favourites, which makes commercial sense but raises questions about the festival’s curatorial identity.

Several of the acts felt like they were booked based on Spotify numbers rather than live performance ability. A couple of the mid-afternoon sets on the main stage were underwhelming, with artists who clearly haven’t played enough shows to command a festival audience.

The contrast with the smaller stages, where the programming was more adventurous and the performances more dynamic, was telling. Laneway is at its best when it takes risks. The main stage programming felt safe.

The Verdict

Laneway remains a highlight of the Australian festival calendar. The production values are high, the venue works well (mostly), and the core audience is enthusiastic and engaged.

But the festival is at an inflection point. Growth brings commercial benefits but risks diluting what made Laneway special in the first place. A 30,000-person festival can’t maintain the intimate, discovery-focused atmosphere of a 10,000-person event.

My hope is that Laneway invests its growing revenue into operational improvements (more bars, better crowd management, reduced sound bleed) and curatorial boldness (more risks on the main stage, more local artists in prominent slots).

If it just gets bigger without getting better, it becomes another generic festival with good branding. And that would be a loss.

Next year: more water stations, more toilets, shorter beer queues. Please.