Laneway Festival has always had a funny relationship with hindsight.
Look back at old lineups and they read like bingo cards of future superstars: Billie Eilish in 2018, Lorde in 2014, Fred again.. in 2023, Charli XCX in 2020, Olivia Dean last year, to name a few. They weren’t obvious bookings at the time, but artists caught in that rare window where momentum is building and they’re on the edge of superstardom.
That knack for catching artists mid-ascent isn’t an accident. It’s baked into Laneway’s DNA, says co-founder Danny Rogers, speaking with Rolling Stone AU/NZ over Zoom. He’s guided the festival as it’s grown from a 1400-capacity alley party into an ARIA Award–winning institution, without ever losing sight of what matters.
“It was never really about chasing the biggest thing,” Rogers says. “I just wanted to book stuff because of a feeling. Because I liked the music.”
Now, as Laneway celebrates its 21st birthday, Rogers looks back on a history shaped by instinct and decisions that slowly evolved the festival into one of the most influential in Australia and Aotearoa.
Laneway Festival 2007
Before it was a touring festival, Laneway was simply a, you guessed it, laneway. Rogers and longtime collaborator Jerome Borazio ran a loose, creative space that blurred the line between venue and testing ground. Local artists drifted through, uni students packed it out, and the likes of The Avalanches slipped in under fake names to road-test new material. On Sundays, Rogers booked local bands in a makeshift concrete “garden” out back, hosting what he casually dubbed the Summer Series.
The festival itself emerged almost by accident. Sitting in the laneway one afternoon, Rogers floated the idea of shutting the street for a birthday party. The Avalanches agreed to play – but only if the laneway could be closed. And somehow, it was.
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“It did seem like an impossible feat, but we did it. We had the idea in December, we got them [The Avalanches] to sign off at the end of December, we announced it in January, and it happened at the end of February. We really didn’t think too much about where it would go.”
Danny and co-founder Jerome Borazio at Laneway
From there, Laneway grew quickly. Other cities expressed interest, and Rogers partnered with promoters who understood the ethos rather than those trying to scale it overnight. At the same time, the Australian festival landscape was commanded by giants like Big Day Out, and rather than competing head-on, Rogers deliberately carved a different lane.
“I had enormous respect for Big Day Out,” he reflects on the now defunct festival that once dominated. “And realistically, I couldn’t compete on fees. So instead I focused on finding artists they weren’t booking yet.”
By the late 2000s, the shape of Laneway’s identity was coming into focus. The 2010 lineup – Florence + The Machine, The xx and Mumford & Sons among them – marked a shift, and each would soon graduate to headliner status.
The 2010 Laneway Festival lineup
“That moment was when we switched the lights on a bit. And people, I felt, started to take what we were doing a little bit more seriously.”
Perhaps the most emblematic example of that instinct came a few years later with Lorde. In early 2013, a then-14-year-old Ella Yelich-O’Connor wanted to attend Laneway Auckland as a fan. Her manager emailed Rogers asking if she could be let in despite being underage, and Rogers agreed. A month later, the same manager followed up to say thanks – and mentioned a song called “Royals”.
“I listened to it and thought it was cool,” Rogers says. “But I didn’t think too much about it, I have a million new artists sending me music, even back then.”
It wasn’t until several trusted voices independently flagged the track that Rogers returned to it with fresh ears, and the following year, Lorde was booked. By the time Laneway rolled around in 2014, “Royals” had exploded, transforming her into the festival’s biggest name.
“That kind of thing has happened again and again,” Rogers says. “I like an artist’s songs, I think they’re interesting and talented, but most of the time there’s no way that most people would think they’d become absolute breakout global superstars.”
The same logic underpins later Laneway staples. Billie Eilish was booked as an idiosyncratic teenager with a compelling vision, not a future stadium artist. Olivia Dean appeared because Rogers loved her songwriting long before she became a breakout star. Fred again.. arrived ahead of his leap from cult producer to global headliner.
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I ask if there’s a secret to the success, and Rogers insists there’s no such formula, just openness. He spends his time listening widely, from unknown artists who sent late-night emails to word-of-mouth tips from people whose taste he trusts. Plus, he adds, artists talk too, which is his biggest asset.
“If Haim tells Phoebe Bridgers, and Phoebe tells Clairo, and Clairo tells Charli – that’s the biggest thing, right? That’s the best thing we could ask for. If artists leave feeling respected, they tell other artists.”
In a post-Covid festival landscape defined by rising costs, cancellations, and underwhelming lineups, Laneway has resisted the urge to chase scale. Bigger, Rogers believes, isn’t better.
“The focus now is quality,” he says. “I’m still more interested in finding who the next Charli is, who the next Fontaines D.C. is, you know. I’d rather the festival be in a position where it can move culture, not just be a follower.”
The 2026 Laneway Festival lineup
This year’s edition reflects that, with longer performances and a lineup that balances emerging names with artists who’ve crossed into the mainstream.
Sometimes, Rogers admits, the obvious choice is still the right one – as with Chappell Roan, whose ascent made her a natural fit. Elsewhere, the love for those on the cusp of superstardom – like Geese – remains.
“I heard the Cameron Winter record, I was a fan of Geese, but I wasn’t sure where they fit on a lineup two or so years ago. Now, I booked it thinking it would be a good fit for the lineup, and they’ve turned out to be one of the hottest acts on the planet,” Rogers laughs.
If history tells us anything, we’ll be circling names on this year’s poster in a few years’ time, shaking our heads and saying the same thing we always do. Laneway got there first.
For more information about Laneway, see here.
LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2026
Thursday, February 5th (18+)
Western Springs, Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau NZ
Saturday, February 7th (16+)
Southport Sharks, Gold Coast/Yugambeh Jagun QLD
Sunday, February 8th (16+)
Centennial Park, Sydney/Gadigal & Bidjigal NSW
Friday, February 13th (16+)
Flemington Park, Melbourne/Wurundjeri Biik VIC
Saturday, February 14th (16+)
Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide/Kaurna Yerta SA
Sunday, February 15th (16+)
Arena Joondalup, Perth/Whadjuk Boodjar WA
