LANEWAY HAS NOW SOLD OUT!

Check out our Laneway Forum for more details.

The very first Laneway Festival in Auckland city is set to be an absolute doozy. From the seminal to the scene-starting, the esoteric to the exhilarating, the Laneway Festival brings you a roll call of artists that is as exciting as it is diverse. Laneway is a festival put together by folks who love music, for folks who love music- and there are plenty of us in New Zealand.

Laneway was founded by friends; compelled to create a street party in Melbourne for their mates in bands. The festival was an instant success and grew to Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and now us! Auckland Laneweay Festival is in the perfect location: Britomart Square, centre city! What's more, Britomart is just 2 steps from Britomart train and bus station. The square is freshly furbished, complete with sculpture and a park. Now add your favourite bands and plenty of access to cool refreshments, beer and tasty morsels from fresh food stalls = The St. Jerome's Auckland Laneway Festival.

MUSICIANS AND BANDS

UK heroes ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN are heading to New Zealand to perform at the 2010 event. The legendary (sorry, there's no other word for it) post-punk band authored countless hits ('The Killing Moon', 'Silver', 'Nothing Lasts Forever' etc etc) and acclaimed records (including the groundbreaking 1980's classics Crocodiles and Ocean Rain), and it's hard to understate their influence on contemporary music. The likes of Suede, Pavement, Elbow and Interpol owe much to the Bunnymen's brooding soundscapes, pulsating guitars and subversive attitude. Plus, they were featured in the opening sequence of Donnie Darko. Beat that. They come armed with material from their brand new record The Palace and by all accounts they're set to win over a whole new generation of fans.

FLORENCE & THE MACHINE is coming. Yes. The Mercury-nominated flame-haired ingénue and her band head to New Zealand for the first time, equipped with a mega voice and a swag of tunes (including radio favourites 'Kiss With a Fist', 'Dog Days Are Over' and 'The Drumming Song') from her roundly praised debut. It's called Lungs and she's not joking. Classy and confident, with a vocal range as big as the imagination it expresses, Florence is completely in her element on the festival stage and she is going to own it at St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2010.

With an unparalleled reputation as one of Australia's most enthralling live acts, DIRTY THREE'S Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White are exceptional in many respects: an instrumental, violin-led trio who are lauded by the music intelligentsia but who also embody the primitive appeal of rock'n'roll unlike any other band. Since they formed in Melbourne in 1991, DIRTY THREE have released seven studio albums, one soundtrack, and several collaborations to worldwide acclaim, as well as individual projects with the likes of Nick Cave and Grinderman, Smog, Cat Power and Bonnie Prince Billy. Warren Ellis reckons they are in 'showroom condition' following a recent US tour and ATP New York appearance and we welcome back to Auckland for the first time since 1984!

One of the most influential bands to come out of Flying Nun return to play at Laneway! For the first time in twelve years THE 3D's will beam New Zealanders directly to 'Outer Space'. 'Hellzapoppin' 'Hey Seuss', 'Beautiful Things' are also 3D hits, and their live show was described as a "mind-boggling, eye-popping, heart stopping affirmation of twin-guitar hysteria". At home they have shared the stage with everyone from Nirvana to U2, and in the US they toured with Pavement, Superchunk and Guided By Voices. Whatever planet you live on, there is no band like them, no band as "spookily transcendent or plain raucous" as David Mitchell, David Saunders, Denise Roughan and Dominic Stones - collectively known as The 3D's.

BLACK LIPS call their live show a 'quasi-violent sexual comedy'. Sign us up! The Atlanta, Georgian-four-piece are known to get raucous and rowdy (and naked) onstage but behind their booze-fuelled performances are tight songs that span psych, country, blues and garage. The supremely-titled 200 Million Thousand upholds their reputation as one of the most exciting assets of the American underground, setting undeniable pop hooks against a psychedelic haze. Good ol' fashioned rock n roll at its most unhinged.

Laneway is new to New Zealand but not to CUT OFF YOUR HANDS. 2010 will be their 3rd appearance at the festival. The power pop upstarts released their Debut LP 'You and I' in NZ in October 2008 and toured the globe. COYH most recently set their sights on the States where they were released on French kiss Records (home to Passion Pit, the Dodos etc). The self confessed tour addicts commenced a grueling 5 month road binge playing over 100 shows, alongside the likes of Ra Ra Riot, Passion Pit, Peter Bjorn and John, and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Album number two is due for release in early
2010.

FAMILY CACTUS are everyone's favourite fancy new band. What started off as a flippant idea between cacti, soon became the basis for Family Cactus. Seven strong, the Family is lead by Adam Ladley, Graeme Cummack and enhanced by the smoking vocals of Nina Siegler. You know their single Kingmaker, their first album "Come Howling" was released in July 2009 to the adoration of many.

DANIEL JOHNSTONE gate-crashed an MTV episode in the mid-80’s an ever since the beloved folk-pop singer, songwriter, artist and musician from Austin, Texas, has a developed a cult following, inspiring performances from Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Bright Eyes and a legion of other indie artists. Johnston has translated his lifetime battle with the demons of his mind into a vast catalogue of songs of heartbreaking honesty and charm, and his unpredictable live performances are nothing short of compelling. Before DANIEL JOHNSTON heads to New Zealand for the first time, we recommend you see the 1996 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a fascinating insight into this fragile spirit and singular talent.

Born from sleepy disillusionment with life in Auckland's leafy suburbs, DEAR TIMES WASTE paints an aural picture of soft water colour with a grey wash of light that is 'akin to a morning orgasm'. After six solid months recording at producer Djeisan Suskov's home (a rambling old house that was once a hospice for the elderly), Dear Time's Waste's debut EP Room for Rent emerged from the earth and found many many fans with first single Clandestine. The live show conjures spellbinding musical dreams, Dear Time's Waste is an artist to make yourself familiar with.

As of Thursday’s Aria awards SARAH BLASKO is now officially Australia’s best female artist. She has long been a star but As Day Follows Night, her Bjorn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn & John)-produced latest LP elevates her to the status of one of Australia’s national treasures. The album is an intensely personal offering in equal turns melancholy and hopeful. Its resounding beauty and depth is matched by Sarah’s impressive stage performance.

Portland‘s HOCKEY bound athletically across the history of soul, punk and rock and roll on Mind Chaos, an album with the swagger of (a young) Rod Stewart. It’s an audacious, gate-crashing sound. The confidence can be heard in the breakthrough single ‘Too Fake’ or the rap-inspired curveball that is ‘3A.M. Spanish’. The Guardian decreed Hockey’s Mind Games as ‘witty, literate songs you can dance to’, which happen to be our favourite kind.

THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION are charming men. Their live shows defy expectation. When you expect it loud they will play delicate indie folk, and when you expect the former you can find yourself lost in a psychedelic wig out. They will always charm you. Their last album Happy Ending is adored by all and described by The New Zealand Herald as “one of the best examples of pop music that this country has produced" . TPF have played New Zealand’s biggest festivals, toured the US and UK and it is undeniable the six-piece has emerged as one of the country’s finest acts. “TPF will play some songs off the new album (Not “Merry Kriskmass”, the other, newer one) and they will be so amazing you'll pee your pants, but that's cool man." - Samuel Flynn Scott.

Giving international bands a run for their money, SURF CITY emerged as one “easily one of the most anticipated bands at CMJ 2009” (New York’s Brooklyn Vegan). And it’s no wonder. They were all over US College Radio and setting the blog world on fire. Since the band’s beginnings in 2004, they have become notorious for their sets of mastered cacophony. Stories of their performances have spread like Chinese Whispers and garnered them international supports with Interpol, Dinosaur Jnr, Battles and MGMT. According to The Washington Post their songs, “work up a head of steam but never boil over into chaos…a fine line that Surf City walks admirably”. Following a couple of local tours, numerous day jobs and several flat evictions, Surf City have a brand new album all set for worldwide release.

In just one year THE NAKED AND FAMOUS have become the later most certainly. In little over a year the band has released the “This Machine” and “No Light” EP's, supported their idols (Nine Inch Nails at Reznor's request) and have truly stepped forward as songwriters, players and producers and they caused a stir at CMJ in New York in 2008. Alisa Xayalith, Thom Powers, Aaron Short, David Beadle and Jesse Wood the band have enjoyed a month long residency at the top of the NZ Alt Chart, as well as shocking out punters in a most positive way on the gig circuit, with every show.

THE XX's beguiling, and frankly lovely self-titled debut has critics and fans all hot under their cardigans. The London quartet are quiet achievers, capable of music and lyrics that are no less compelling for their muted tones. They also happen to be 20 years old, which is a bit unfair. An exercise in understatement, the enchanting boy-girl vocals and sweet and tender melodies of THE XX will have everyone swooning.

So you think you can't dance? N.A.S.A (North America South America) defy you not too, with their sweaty, Baille-Funk inspired project from US producer Squeak E. Clean and South American DJ Zegon. Their first offering Spirit of Apollo a 16-track party-starting monster of an album features 'friends' that include Tom Waits, Nick Zinner, Spank Rock and Santigold. We would accuse them of name-dropping if the results weren't so good.

STREET CHANT (formerly Mean Street) aren't slouches. A teenage education via the 1990s grunge compilation called "The Trip" learned them good. They know what being a heavy guitar pop trio is all about. Turn it up loud, hit the distortion pedal and get to the point. Smart but economical. If there is an Auckland underground, then they have driven a bulldozer through the middle of it. They are one of this towns best live bands and have notched up a couple of b-Net hits with "You Do The Math" and "Scream Walk". According to many, including Under the Radar, their forthcoming album is one of the most anticipated for 2010.

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