Laneway Festival sold out in under an hour. Are music festivals coming back?

Picture New South Wales in the early 2010s and you would think its the most festive state in the world. Field Day, Laneway Festival, Big Day Out, Parklife, Future Music Festival, Listen Out, Stereosonic, Groovin’ The Moo, Harbourlife, Splendour in the Grass, Bluesfest. Music Festivals have always been a big part of Australian culture, especially since big-name international artists travel longer to get here and so tend to make the most of it.

Yet post-pandemic years has seen festivals all but crash and burn in spectacular fashion. I never thought I’d see the day we’d have to mourn Splendour in the Grass (last year was cancelled due to low ticket sales; the festival is taking “a breather” this year), and most of the aforementioned names no longer exist. There hasn’t been a Big Day Out in years, Parklife and Future Music Festival are no more, Groovin’ The Moo’s shock cancellation a few years ago stung for regional audiences.

It’s a bit of a mess in the touring industry right now, especially with a shift in drinking culture (festivals rely on money from alcohol sales), tunnel-vision music tastes, and the fact that a festival’s target demographic is struggling through a cost of living crisis. If a big music festival doesn’t sell the majority of its tickets within the first few weeks of the lineup being announced, it’s considered a failure. People are delaying discretionary spend now because they are less certain about their financial future, even if it’s a matter of months.

But Laneway Festival is quickly emerging as the new “it” festival, which could see it become more prominent if hype moves away from mega-festivals like Splendour in the Grass towards these smaller, more focused events like Laneway and Listen Out. The festival’s 21st anniversary lineup was just announced, and tickets sold out in less than an hour.

Laneway Festival bucks the trend

When I first met Laneway’s co-founder Jerome Borazio, he had flown me down to Melbourne in 2017 to be amongst the first journalists to experience a new immersive art experience he was working on. Alone: The / / / / / Sequence was the name, and it took place around the streets of Melbourne. I walked around dark alleyways and into converted warehouse buildings while a muffled voice directed me where to go via an earpiece. Inspired by immersive theatre, such as New York’s Sleep No More, the participatory art project felt urgent, imaginative, and lonely. Borazio wanted to induce a feeling of mystery and confusion with this one-and-done experience.

I remember sharing some 1am ramen with him and chatting about the genesis of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, once a literal name—it took place in the laneways of Melbourne and Sydney. “I just want to provide an experience,” he said, like a true creative.

I feel that’s why Laneway Festival has remained such a strong, pervasive name on the festival circuit despite others dropping like flies. The people behind Laneway are always thinking about how to provide an experience, as opposed to just slapping some big-ticket, trending acts on a lineup and calling it a day.

Laneway Festival has shifted away from its indie roots to be less a festival about trust and discovery, and one that’s more about appealing to the TikTok generation. That’s no problem. When Charli XCX was announced as headliner last year, the festival’s hefty investment paid off with an instant sell-out. This year, Chappell Roan will shoulder most of the demand.

The festival’s curatorial spirit has always been about anticipating trends and capitalising on them at exactly the right time. It’s not only kept Laneway Festival in the game; the approach has pushed the festival to become one of the most successful touring events in Australia each year. Having all your tickets sell out in less than an hour is the kind of Beyonce-level relevance that any event organiser would give their left arm for.

What can music festivals learn for Laneway’s success?

The festival has always operated like a cultural barometer, sensing shifts in the zeitgeist months or even years ahead of the curve. When indie sleaze was having its moment, Laneway leaned into it. As bedroom pop and hyperpop gained traction, they were already there. Now, as pop music embraces camp and overindulgence, Laneway positions itself right at that intersection.

But perhaps most crucially, Laneway has never lost sight of scale. While other festivals expanded into sprawling, impersonal mega-events with multiple stages and overwhelming lineups, Laneway maintained its intimacy. The festival feels curated rather than corporate, like attending a friend’s exceptionally well-connected house party rather than a stadium show. That personal touch, the feeling that you’re part of something special rather than just another punter, creates the kind of loyalty that survives economic uncertainty.

The lesson for other festivals isn’t to simply copy Laneway’s booking strategy, but to rediscover what made Australian festival culture special in the first place: that sense of discovery, of being part of a community, of experiencing something that feels genuinely unique. In an era where everything feels algorithmic and predictable, audiences are craving shock more than ever. The festivals that survive will be the ones that remember they’re in the business of creating memories, not just selling tickets.

Can I still get tickets to Laneway Festival?

The current ticket allocation for Laneway has been exhausted. But we’re still four months away from the festival, so it’s safe to assume there’ll be a bunch of resales closer to the date. The question is: will Laneway release more tickets? It’s unlikely; they didn’t last year, even though the festival saw an even bigger surge in demand off the back of Charli XCX. Rather, I think the festival will rely on a fair and equitable reselling system via Ticketek’s Ticket Marketplace.

Fan-to-fan resale should start to open towards the end of the year, but for now, we don’t know when you’ll be able to get your hands on a ticket to Laneway Festival in Sydney right now.

There are, however, still tickets available to other stops on the tour including Perth, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Auckland. If you’ve got any scope to visit those cities during their respective dates (listed below), then that could be your best shot at seeing the likes of Chappell Roan, Wolf Alice, PinkPantheress, Wet Leg, Role Model, Mt Joy and The Dare.

What are the dates for Laneway Festival 2026?

Thursday 5 February – Western Springs, Auckland
Saturday 7 February – Southport Sharks, Gold Coast
Sunday 8 February – Centennial Park, Sydney
Friday 13 February – Flemington Park, Melbourne
Saturday 14 February – Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sunday 15 February – Arena Joondalup, Perth

For more information head to lanewayfestival.com.au.