Festival Review: Laneway 2020

Walking into Albert Park on a boiling Auckland Anniversary afternoon, there was electricity in the air. You really cannot help but be in a good mood when the skies are crystal blue and everyone around you are happily chatting, smiling and laughing. Laneway was hosting its annual festival here in Auckland City for the 10th year in a row. This year brought a fair mix of different music genres with artists like Charli XCX, Omar Apollo, Earl Sweatshirt, The 1975, Mahalia, BENEE, eleven7four, Filth AKL, Col3trane and many many more set to put on a show.

As a University of Auckland student and a first timer for Laneway, seeing my weekly stomping grounds completely transformed into a festival venue was insane. I really loved how they made great use of the space Albert Park had to offer and closed off some of the streets surrounding it, setting up free water stations, film camera stalls, bars and food trucks from some of the best and most trendiest eateries in the city. The food trucks were probably one of my favourite parts about Laneway. There were four stages, all named and their own area. Since there were 4 stages, that meant that artists would be on at the same time but in my opinion that’s way better than having one huge crowd congregating around one stage. Laneway is also a festival that attracts many stylish people and I enjoyed seeing some really cool outfits as I was walking through the grounds. Just an FYI I only reviewed a certain amount of acts that are related to hip hop and R&B who

Col3trane was the first act on at the Rangers Stage, set to perform at 12:35pm. When I arrived, the front of the stage was completely clear of people as festival-goers were all sitting down in the shaded areas under the trees that were around the stage. I don’t blame them one bit, the 26° degree weather was a scorcher especially when the sun was directly beaming down at you. When the interlude music finally stopped, people started making their way to the front of the stage. When Col3trane made an appearance on the stage, the energy definitely picked up as people were cheering excitedly at the very sight of him. Col3trane started talking about Kobe Bryant, who on that morning was announced that he died in a helicopter crash and since he was a huge role model for Col3trane, he talked about him for a bit saying he was really sad when the news broke. Despite that, Col3trane was still motivated to put on a great show for his New Zealand fans and that he did. His somber take on contemporary R&B and dance music definitely set the mood for the start of the festival day. The intimate stage setting made it a real show experience, making it easy for people to see him perform and he would frequently stand at the end of the stage on a platform so he was well above the crowd. I like a few of his songs and it was really great to see him perform them live. Definitely not as great as the actual songs but to be able to see the man who wrote them perform it on stage while he’s having a good time made it an enjoyable experience. He would constantly talk to the crowd, saying that the crowd is much bigger than he expected (which is always great because that means he is more inclined to come back), even talking to people who were a bit further away under the shade, asking how they’re doing and to stop hiding under there. Col3trane did a great job getting people in the crowd more hyped up and by his last song, the crowd was significantly bigger. He even dedicated his song Superpowers to Kobe Bryant. It was definitely seemed like an emotional rollercoaster of a day for him but I thoroughly enjoyed his set.

After his performance, I made my way to the Princes St Stage which was literally a huge stage set up at the end of Princes St, which as someone who has walked down that street multiple times on an average day, it was so cool to see a stage set up bangsmack in the middle of that road. As soon as you walk into the festival, if you walk straight down, there’s a line of stalls, a bar and then at the very end it’s the Princes St Stage which I quite liked. Anyway, Omar Apollo was due to perform there at 1:25pm and there was a bit of a crowd waiting for him to grace the stage. When Omar came out he was wearing a sheer, see-through shirt, with a matching long-sleeve button up shirt which was also see-through. I thought that was a fairly unique outfit but he definitely suited it. Omar Apollo’s music can definitely not be defined by one genre. His fusion of funk, pop, R&B, indie rock and retro-soul was interesting to see played out on stage but he definitely gave us his own unique serving of an Omar Apollo show experience. His soft musical ballads set a laid back tone and the crowd was just having a good time in the sun. At a lot of points Omar would dance and his dance moves definitely reminded me of Michael Jackson which I’m sure was done purposefully as he did the crotch grab and the kick of his foot. A very funky scene when his music is blasting in the background. When Omar started jumping up and down, he would encourage the whole crowd to do the same and despite it being super hot and there being crowds of people congregating under the shaded areas around the stage, people in the mosh pit would do as such. I know for his fans here in New Zealand, that would’ve been a fantastic experience for them as it was his first time performing here.

eleven7four was on at the Puma Blockparty Stage which was set up on another street hence the stage name blockparty. They were set to perform at 3:45pm and are a homegrown duo who have been together since birth. Yes, they are twins and I think it’s awesome they’re pursuing a passion together and doing quite a good job at it too. eleven7four ran onto the stage with lots of energy to which the crowd responded in encouraging cheers. Both wearing patterned outfits and black glasses, they brought high energy performance from start to end. They constantly talked to the crowd and even brought their friends on stage to turn up with them - which from the crowd’s perspective is always contagious when you see people having fun on stage. A lot of people turned out for the homegrown duo and the crowd seemed like they were genuinely enjoying themselves and the energy that eleven7four provided.

Mahalia was set to be on the Rotunda Stage at 5:40pm. Like the crowd at Col3trane, people were just sitting around, laying on the grass and preserving their energy before her set began. My friends were at the very front so I went and joined them in the mosh. When the music started playing and Mahalia came on stage in a cute black and orange tie dye dress, the crowd started going wild for her. When she started singing, wow. Her voice is beautiful. As soon as she came out, she brought her energy with her. Singing as well as dancing, she did a great job at hitting the beat when she danced. She was very engaged with the crowd, constantly talking and even saying she loves to talk. Mahalia just has this beautiful aura, like her stage presence is majestic and you can tell she has a strong personality. She took time out to talk about certain songs before she performed them saying one song was inspired by the idea of consent and she told us a story of how that came about. Another song Sober which is the song that put her name on the map, she said that it was inspired by the fact she was the queen of drunk texting. I thoroughly enjoyed whenever she’d talk to us, it was literally like it was just us girls chatting. Whenever she would sing, you could sense that these songs had significant meaning to her as she sang with passion. Mahalia mentioned it was her first time ever performing here to which the crowd cheered in response, she even said that it was a little scary performing here for the first time which was sorta comforting to hear her say ‘cause it let us know she’s human just like the rest of us, which is something a lot of people tend to forget about artists. Mahalia talked about a lot of things relating to her music and for fans in the crowd that may love that one song so much, I know it would’ve meant a lot to them to hear what inspired the creation of it. Someone in the front even took their bra off and was swinging it about. Mahalia definitely served us good vibes.

Earl Sweatshirt was the last act I was set to see. Earl was one pretty much the only international artist on the lineup whose music is rap since JID dropped out of the festival the day before. A lot of people, however, I know bought Laneway tickets just to see him perform so I was excited to see what his set would be like. When Earl casually walked onto the stage (his set was at 7:10pm), people in the crowd were screaming their heads off and waving to him. Carrying out a Sprite bottle, Earl looked at the crowd going wild for him, smiled in a cute embarrassed like aww they all cheering for me way and pointed at the crowd in acknowledgement. Earl definitely seems like a very laid back guy who doesn’t really care too much what other people think. He came on the stage and really did his thing. He rapped bar to bar and did a stand up job. The clarity of his words were clear and despite the predominantly white crowd yelling the n word along with him and a lot of people just standing around not really knowing his stuff, he held his own and was a cool act to see (especially if you’re an Odd Future fan).

Reviewed: Breanna Tugaga-Rogers
Photos: 10Daniel16

About The Writer:

Breanna is a 21 year old uni student who was born in Australia and raised in South Auckland. Half New Zealand European and half Samoan, Breanna is undergoing a Bachelor of Arts, double-majoring in Communications and Sociology. Currently residing in Auckland, Breanna loves hip hop, rap, RnB music and enjoys watching TV shows, movies, travelling, going to concerts and keeping in touch with the latest of pop culture. Breanna especially enjoys writing and using it as an outlet to talk her sh*t. Breanna loves to always integrate her worldview, her background and her experiences into her writing and values your feedback.

About The Photographer:

10Daniel16 is a man of many talents. A photographer, videographer, editor and director, Daniel is a pillar in the local creative scene working with names like SWIDT, Melodownz and has shot some of the best gigs in Auckland city. 10Daniel16 has shot concerts of iconic musicians like 50 Cent, Jhene Aiko, Bas, Denzel Curry, Lil Pump and so much more. Popularly known for his music videos, 10Daniel16 is continuously expanding his skill set and since breaking through the international scene, he is excited for what 2020 has in store for him.