Laneway Singapore 2018 Was Their Best Festival Yet!
SINGAPORE (01/27) – St. Jerome’s Laneway Singapore was held once again in 2018 with stellar line-up and of course, it was a chance not to be missed by festival goers and music enthusiasts. We had the privilege to witness the festival unfolded its best edition yet, according to our field contributor. Starting out in a Saturday afternoon, the scorching heat of Singapore didn’t stop the volunteers and audience to enter The Meadow at Gardens By The Bay, where the festival is held annually. This time around, we didn’t see as much space used as the stages. There were three stages in total, lesser than it offered two years ago when it spanned five stages (two indoor stages). There was Garden Stage, Bay Stage, and Cloud Stage which hosted several world renown musicians as well as rising Asian talents. Laneway Singapore 2018 was headlined by The Internet, The War On Drugs, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Moses Sumney, Father John Misty, Sylvan Esso, Bonobo, Amy Shark, Alextbh, Mac DeMarco, Billie Eilish, Wolf Alice, Slowdive and many more.
For starter, we saw the stage of HEALS, an Indonesian shoegaze band that were chosen to perform at the festival. Taking place at the Cloud Stage, HEALS performed several songs from their latest album “Spectrum”. Their set made us proud as fellow Indonesian, and the perfectly crafted their set of songs in front of the crowd. In 2017 edition, Stars and Rabbit and Bottlesmoker became the representatives from Indonesia. As the day grew darker, more people came to the festival wearing their best festival outfits and had fun with friends alike. We continued our journey to the main stages, and saw rising star Billie Ellish gathered one of the most insane crowd for a newcomer! “COPYCAT” and “idontwannabeyouanymore” became the first two numbers from the American singer. Fun thing happened when Ellish performed, she was banned from using ‘swear words’ on stage. Afterwards, Mac DeMarco’s set was long awaited by his devoted fans and the goofy singer and the band didn’t disappoint. Bringing his songs from old albums like “Salad Days”, “2” as well as “This Old Dog”. Mac DeMarco showed that he was not the man to be messed with, and ain’t no rule could bound him. The singer smoked on stage albeit the ongoing prohibition that festival applies to all its artists.
We took our hats off to Singaporean authority to keep a strict rules for this festival, so it became an enjoyable moment for us. As the night commenced, UK’s rock band, Wolf Alice greeted the stage. It was their first time to perform in Singapore and they blew us away. Ellie Rosewell and friends played some of their famous songs like “Don’t Delete The Kisses”, “Bros”, and many more. Finally, one of the act that we have waited since the first line-up was announced, Slowdive, was finally here! The legendary shoegaze band entertained more than 10,000 spectators on Laneway. We took a little rest by visiting the food and beverages booth at the venue. This time, Laneway Singapore 2018 partnered up with UBER Eats to present more than 30 stands which offered various food. There were Singaporean national dishes like roasted duck, nasi lemak, and many more. To freshen it up there was ice cold beer on each stalls.
H&M opened their booth with interactive games, especially for the ladies. You could win free make-up from the brand, if you won the games and the booth’s attractive theme was a beautiful sight to see. Slowdive’s popularity was proven to be very high, considering the merchandise from this band have sold out within minutes. As the night grew darker, the venue was getting more crowded. Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals became the last performer on Garden Stage, while Father John Misty and The War On Drugs entertained the Bay Stage with their folk and rock tunes. Cloud Stage which we thought a little too far for us from the main stage, had THELIONCITYBOY as the last performer. Overall, the festival presented a great line-up with various music genres, the food was excellent and the engagement with the audience was well-built. Laneway Singapore 2018 was an unforgettable moment and we wished to attend the next edition as well. See you next year!
Reporter: Putra Vibrananda/Editor: Novita Widia
