Is Laneway Festival the Most Stacked One-Day Event on the Planet?
It’s no secret that festivals around the world are struggling. Rising production costs, inflated artist fees, and the dominance of stadium tours have made booking genuinely exciting line-ups harder than ever. Many long-running festivals are downsizing or disappearing entirely. So how, in this climate, is a relatively small festival on the other side of the world consistently delivering one of the most stacked one-day line-ups anywhere on the planet?
The festival that keeps booking tomorrow’s headliners before anyone else notices
Laneway Festival has built its reputation on one core strength: booking artists at exactly the right moment. Rather than chasing the biggest names of the year, Laneway focuses on identifying acts just before they explode, trusting that by the time summer rolls around they’ll be defining the musical conversation. More often than not, that gamble pays off. Over the past decade, this approach has kept Laneway as one of the only truly marquee festivals still standing in the Australia and New Zealand market.
That strategy is no accident. In a recent interview with Style Magazine (7/11/2025), Travis Banko, Head of Programming at Laneway, explained that the festival’s booking process begins far earlier than most people realise. “Laneway has always been about that sweet spot: a mix of established headliners and artists on the brink of breaking through,” he said. Conversations with artists often begin 12 to 18 months in advance, sometimes even earlier for major names. As Banko points out, Geese are a perfect example, booked before their album cycle took off and now sitting at the centre of indie discourse.
Of course, that approach carries real risk. Book someone too early and they might outgrow the festival entirely. Billie Eilish’s cancelled appearance in 2019 is the most famous example, booked before her debut album turned her into a global superstar, only for her schedule to balloon beyond Laneway’s scale. It’s a reminder that Laneway’s success is built on sharp instincts, but also on accepting that sometimes the bet is too good.
Looking at this year’s schedule, the proof is almost overwhelming. Trying to see everything feels genuinely impossible. At 6pm alone, clashes include Geese, PinkPantheress, Role Model and Wet Leg. It’s not unreasonable to suggest that within a few years, all four could be headlining major stages at Glastonbury or Coachella. And that’s just the start. There’s still time to squeeze in The Dare, Alex G, Wolf Alice and Oklou before the day closes with Chappell Roan at the top of the bill.
What makes this even more remarkable is Laneway’s recent track record. Last year they secured Charli XCX just before Brat Summer dominated the cultural conversation, DJO before he landed a Billboard Hot 100 number one, Olivia Dean before releasing the best Pop Album of 2025, and Barry Can’t Swim before becoming one of the most in-demand electronic acts on the planet. That kind of consistency doesn’t happen by luck.
So I’ll throw it out there. Is there another festival anywhere in the world that predicts the next wave of indie and pop superstardom as accurately as Laneway?