For The Love Of Music: ASTROPHE ATTENDS LANEWAY
This past weekend, Laneway returned to Sydney. With a stacked line up, a little bit of rain wasn’t going to stop the crowds from pouring into the Centennial Parklands. I was attending Laneway for Astrophe, with a clear ambition: to capture the powerful moments of emotion and passion from the performers, and to celebrate the displays of love and obsession that the fans bring to the shows.
It was perfect festival weather – overcast, breezy, but warm enough for the festival uniform: bikinis and baggy shorts – and I felt good as I headed into the festival. The calibre of acts performing this year was incredible – but that’s business as usual at Laneway – and I felt a mixture of inspiration and excitement which grew with each act I shot, and saw, and listened to. It’s so impressive that the Laneway organisers manage to curate such a unique lineup of the most exciting performers from around the world, year after year, and nail it every time.
I want to keep my thoughts succinct and let the photos do the talking, but I want to note that I felt the energy of the crowd was really powerful this year. I saw girls overwhelmed with emotion in the front row at Role Model, when their favourite songs started playing. A gaggle of fans wore goose hats for Geese. Wet Leg commanded the stage with their fierce presence. Wolf Alice epitomised rock star energy to a T. The Dare must have had a white Mother energy drink pre-show – he was that electric and energised. The Wiggles joined Role Model on stage, sending the crowd into a roar of nostalgia. Geese were too cool but rocked out regardless. Lucy Dacus touched hearts and ignited souls when Night Shift came on. Of course, Chappell Roan was a highlight. This was her first visit back to Australia since 2023, and it was pretty clear that the majority of the attendees were there to see her. She put on an incredible show, commanding 99.9% of the festival, with a sea of people singing every word to every song. She even did her cover of Barracuda by Heart - hot.
One last note from me: as someone who can’t stand the moshpit for longer than half an hour – and Chappell’s set went for close to three times that – I decided to go for a walk to see what the 0.01% of people were doing. Mostly they were sitting down trying to recover from one thing or another, but I found myself at the other closing act of the night, Mina Galan. Playing underground club music to a crowd of 40 or so, mostly individuals seeking space and time separate from reality and maybe even from Chappell Roan – there was a special energy at this set. The security guards joined in and ended their shifts with a dance. People found themselves and let loose. I loved it, and stayed till the bitter end.
Thank you Laneway 2026. After so many years attending, it never gets any less special.
Photos + words by Olivia Repaci
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