bReview: Laneway Festival 2025

Western Springs, Thursday 6 February 2025
Words by Elle Daji

Photography by Rosa Nevison

I don’t think I’ver ever seen this many sheer dresses, bikini tops and mini shorts before 10am on a Thursday in my life. Let alone at a supermarket. But Laneway day is the only time where this feels somewhat socially acceptable. There is a general buzz of excitable anticipation that runs through the air as I make my way to my friends house before the festival. And after weeks of familiarising yourself with the line up, deciding who’s pres to start drinking at, and ransacking your wardrobe (or your friends’) who wouldn’t be exhilarated?

Laneway is somewhere you can see your favourite artist, but come away seeing something unexpected. There’s something so special about hearing something new for the first time. Seeing an artist in their element and reveling in that moment. You’ll never forget the first time hearing their music. Creating a moment that builds a part of who you are, punctuating your life with an experience you can recall every time you put on their album.

Elliot & Vincent

It’s hard to believe these Tāmaki locals have only one song out on Spotify. What’s even more unbelievable is that there’s only two of them. One may assume that a grunge heavy guitar-drums duo is not what you need at 1pm on a Thursday afternoon, you would be mistaken. They have a symbiotic pulsating energy between them which bleeds into the crowd. Sonically, passionately woven tapestry of driving rhythms that are interspersed with spontaneous, howling vocals. I find it difficult to take my eyes off them, and stop moving my feet. Elliot Finn (drummer/vocalist) humbly thanks the crowd in between songs, in a completely different tone from her voice while singing. It endears the audience to the pair. They close out their set with “Doberman,” a song that I hear was recorded in one take. Their live performances are rife with improvisation which leads to a distinct performance. Each Elliot & Vincent show is unique and articulates their growth as a band, how could you miss it?

Vera Ellen

I walk over to Vera Ellen to the opening bars of “Lenny Says”, and am instantly struck by the cowboy hats donned by all but one of the band members. For a group that writes such heart wrenching music that makes you want to curl up and cry (in the best, most cathartic way), their stage presence is filled with whimsy. They play an unreleased track which they “might release, might not,” called ‘Sangria’. Even though we've never heard the song I can tell the audience adores it, bumping along to the more upbeat track. My friend turns towards me and exclaims “they must release this immediately” while holding up praying hands. Please Vera Ellen, answer our prayers. Next comes the Tuesday Wire’s favourite song, ‘Heartbreak for Jetlag’. Ellen’s unmistakable voice creates a cool tone, juxtaposing the beating sun. A highlight of the set is a cover of Daniel Johnson’s “True Love Will Find You in the End.” The band promises that they will “depress us” and then they will make us dance. And they sure do deliver on the latter. Who says you can’t be depressed AND dance? Finally, Vera tells a charming story about seeing FKA Twigs at Laneway and saying ‘one day.’ I can’t help but wonder if there are any musicians in the audience thinking the exact same thing.

(Vera Ellen at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Skegss

I dashed out of Vera Ellen to catch 20 minutes of Skegss' set, into a cover of Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing.’ And hear a story about the drummer’s passport being confiscated. There’s something so nice about hearing an Australian accent on stage. For a lineup that is oddly without surf and garage rock it is a welcome change of pace, I can feel the bass drum vibrating through my entire body. I see friends holding each other as they dance to ‘got on my skateboard.’ As I slide out, I get to bop to “High Beaming.” and am so glad I made the effort to come see them.

(Skegss at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Fcukers

Walking back to Fcukers, they are sound checking, and even that is so good, I can see the crowd swaying in restless anticipation. With roots in the New York club scene, the duo's stage presence radiates, for lack of a better word, cool. They opened with ‘Homie Don’t Shake’ and then ‘UMPA’ and it's so good to be in a crowd where you can feel their excitement brimming. Their set is so slick, vocalist Shannon Wise floats around the stage hypnotically dancing while her vocals effortlessly sit on top. Even though the sun is beating down so hard that I’m sure someone got heat stroke, Fcukers transport you to Friday nights spent in the back of a sultry yet sticky club. Their 2000s-esque graphics look to be recorded on a handycam making me nostalgic for a time I never really lived through. The phones are down and people are moving in time with the strangers around them. I grab my friend's hand so hard, I’m sure you can see my nail marks in her arm. They close out with the first track of their EP, ‘Bon Bon.’ It’s so electrifying, the mosh riding a wave of electronic beats and distorted vocals. It’s over way before we want it too, leaving us primed and ready for the next one.

**I do have a small confession to make, later in the day while listening to Barry Can’t Swim, I spot bass and keys player Jackson Walker Lewis. I start hitting my friend next to me and when she doesn’t respond, a small screech erupts from my throat. And I in fact make the most awful and awkward eye contact with Walker. I am so mortified that I don’t speak for the next 20 minutes but instead gasp in bewilderment at my own behaviour. Oh well!

Olivia Dean

It’s 3:15pm and I have danced so hard, all of my makeup has been sweated off. Nevertheless, it’s over the hill, and I’m greeted by Olivia Dean’s dulcet tones. She’s wearing a slinky yellow slip dress with long ruffles going down the length of it, my favourite look of the day. I’m so struck by how smooth and rich her vocals are live, it’s like she copy and pasted the studio recordings. She plays us a new song that's not yet been played before, and boy are we lucky for that. ‘Ladies Room’ comes next, and I have the urge to grab my girls’ hands who I lost twenty minutes ago, so I dance with a stranger. If that is not the most girl’s bathroom coded occurrence, I don’t know what is. She starts shaking a banana maraca and asks the crowd to move, and when Olivia Dean asks you to move, you in fact comply. She then talks about recently experiencing a break up, before singing the stripped back opening notes of ‘The Hardest Part.’ It feels as though the whole mosh relates to her and we join in mirroring her lyrics. She then talks about being the product of immigrant parents while introducing her final song, “Carmen.” a narrative that is so strong I’m called to think of my own mother. I feel she seems to draw strength from this track. Love and emotion sitting at the very top of her voice. A beautifully fitting way to close out the set.

(Olivia Dean at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Remi Wolf

Remi Wolf is so delightful. Donning a mismatched ensemble of a long brown tutu, yellow-shirt, moto-style boots (she’s matching with me by the way) and aqua sunglasses. She opens up the set with “Cinderella,” fittingly she is the crowd’s favourite indie-sleaze princess. Wolf is all over the stage and so is the crowd. At one point she’s on the drums and at another she’s doing a Freddie Mercury-esque call and response. My favourite quote from an artist today was “by the end of my set your ego has risen to the sky and you have crossed over.” I have interpreted this to mean she wants the crowd to reach a place of unabashed euphoria, and Remi, I think you have. She goes on to sing ‘Kangaroo’ stating she wrote this after visiting Australia, that she had this boyfriend once and that kangaroos are a lot like dogs. You draw the conclusion.

(Remi Wolf at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

(Remi Wolf at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

I ran into Rachel Ashby and I now have it on good authority that Eyedress jumped into the crowd. Kicking myself that I missed that set. But with such a packed and stacked lineup I’m sure I’m not the only one that couldn’t get to someone they liked. Putting Bicep and Charli at the same time, criminal.

Djo

There is a humming anticipatory energy about the crowd, like they are ready to freak out. And they in fact do, as Djo walks on stage to a chorus of melodic shrieks. He opens the set with ‘Gap Tooth Smile,’ a song so new, it's not even out yet. But will be, on his upcoming album ‘The Crux,’ get excited! Their visuals are shot through a fisheye lens in a very Christopher Nolan, Inception-esque way. I hear the opening percussive strums of ‘Gloom’ and get ready to dance. Vocalist Joe Keery spits out the lyrics with such brutal articulation, it's as though the emotion behind the song is still fresh despite being released in 2022. Keery has some great banter between songs, he says ‘you are so beautiful’ I fear he was speaking to me and only me, and not the other thousands of crowd members.

(Djo at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

There’s something so surreal about standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers listening to ‘Chateau (feel alright)’. Your mind empties and there’s just you, swimming in that lush guitar line and Keery’s somewhat raspy vocals. In a fittingly poetic end, the set is closed out with ‘End of Beginning.’ I’m left feeling a little shocked at the end of the set, more than a little star struck, and I want to do it all again.

(Djo at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Clairo

Difficult to believe that Clairo was at the Grammys mere days ago. But there she is before our very eyes, in a black bikini top, capris and over ear headphones, she just looks like one of us. Track two in her set list is ‘Second Nature’ which I find particularly fitting. Charm is such a dreamy album, and hearing it live as the sun begins to sink beyond the trees, feels like the crowd has drifted into a collective reverie. ‘Softly’ begins to play and suddenly the mosh is full of couples, but as I glance around I equally see girls twirling their friends in floaty chiffon dresses and instinctively grab my friend’s hands to do the same. The guitar break has an intimate quality which captivates the audience, making it feel as though you have your own private concert. A friend turns to me and says “she’s a cool girl, dare I say, demure,” and I must say I have to agree. She has an entrancing presence where you can’t help but feel taken on a journey right alongside her. Almost breaking this spell, she starts ‘every second counts,’ and the crowd is as raucous as a Clairo crowd can get. Up and dancing, the fuzz of people running into each other, shrieks of delight and people clapping fills the hot summer air. Another friend says “sexy to someone? More like sexy to me” as she starts singing the aforementioned tune. She closes out with ‘Juna’, the stand out track from ‘Charm’ a twinkling tune that has a calming effect on the crowd, preparing us for the plethora of dance music that awaits us.

(Clairo at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Barry Can’t Swim

One might assume that after five hours of straight dancing I would be tired. But no, I have been reunited with my girls and we are up and at em’. Staying a little closer to the back of joining the rest of the uncoordinated bopping within the crowd. I have realised that of left feet I have two of them. The projections on screen are intercut with the people that have lept onto their friends’ shoulders. The expression of sheer joy that crosses their faces while on screen is so infectious, I think it makes people dance a little harder. While ‘How It Feels’ plays I see people holding up orange liferafts - I love humour.

(Barry Can't Swim at Laneway Festival / Photo: Rosa Nevison)

Charli xcx

The time has come, we have gone to the club, and we want to hear those club classics. And Miss Charli xcx has them all. Whoever got anywhere near the front, you are such a trooper and I salute you. However, even two-hundred meters back, there is no less energy. No longer on a field on a Thursday, but in the back of a sweaty rave on a Friday night. Charli often crawls around the stage, shaking ass and dancing just as hard as the rest of us. Able to captivate the entire audience with her solo presence. Strobe lights punctuate the tracks flashing the crowd, hitting the back of your retinas smacking everyone awake. The innovative camera interacts with Charli, breaking the fourth wall. Whoever was behind that camera needs a raise. After a hyper run through ‘Von Dutch’ we get a rare, vulnerable moment with ‘I might say something stupid.’ Charli showcases her range with this, because if she is able to make you dance in the same breath she makes you want to break down and cry. It’s cathartic.

I don’t know if your friends are like mine, but we have been grinding flour at the rumour mill, trying to decide whether she would bring out Lorde for the remix of ‘Girl, so confusing.’ Unfortunately, we were wrong and my google searches of ‘where is Lorde right now?’ have gone to waste. Nonetheless, the crowd still screams in sync with Charli and all rumours are forgotten. I get a text from the girl who is the Lorde to my Charli and I am reminded of the power of this anthem, celebrating the complex nature of female friendship. I never thought I would be so emotional at the back of the club. A clear reminder, that BRAT is not just a lime green, drug fueled fever dream, but an introspective look at womanhood for all its messy, unfiltered, sometimes insecure yet juxtaposingly strong attributes.

As I am pushed through the crowd to an exit, I am similarly pushed into reflection. Soundtracked by the final beats of Bicep’s set. It was a day of running into everyone you’ve ever met (and perhaps running away from them), getting absolutely smacked by the sun till you turn red, lovingly embracing your friends and dancing through your blisters. I couldn’t have been happier. There was a firm feeling of community today. A collection of characters pulled together for the love of live music. If you came away with anything I implore you to seek out more live music. Live music here in Tāmaki Makaurau is so special and deserves just as much support. I hope to find you all at the back of the club, listening to those club classics