Laneway Expands

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival (Australia), which showcases indie acts on city streets, is going global starting next year.

Its six-city run through Australia (Jan. 29 to Feb. 6) will reach 32,500 fans with a bill including Echo & The Bunnymen, Daniel Johnston, Black Lips, Mumford & Sons, Sarah Blasko and N.A.S.A.

Promoters Chugg Entertainment and Lunatic Entertainment will also stage Laneway at Auckland, New Zealand’s 6,000-capacity Britomart Station Feb. 1, working with New Zealand firms Isaac Promotions and Mystery Girl Productions. They’ll use the same bill with a handful of NZ acts included.

A Singapore date, Feb. 7 on the 6,000-capacity grounds of Management University, teams with local marketing company Lumina Live!

Lunatic Entertainment founder Danny Rogers says the bill will have four acts from Singapore and one each from Indonesia, India and Malaysia.

Rogers is also discussing taking Laneway to India, China and Malaysia.

Promoters from North America and Europe have also expressed interest in the concept, and Rogers estimates Laneway to be introduced in the northern hemisphere within two years.