Toll rises as another major Adelaide festival axed
One of SA’s biggest festivals – that headlines the world’s most famous performers – has been cut from the Adelaide calendar. It triggered renewed calls for better government funding for the arts.
Popular Adelaide music festival Laneway – that has previously been headlined by the likes of Charli XCX and Chappell Roan – will skip Adelaide and Perth next year, the event’s organisers announced in an Instagram post this morning.
“Taking a pause allows us to focus on making the festival the best it can be, while freeing up time for more artists to bring headline shows to cities beyond our festival stops,” Laneway’s organisers said on Instagram.
“Adelaide and Perth, we love you! We are incredibly grateful to every single person who has shown up for us over the years.
“This isn’t goodbye, just see you soon.”
Fans were taken by surprise as the news broke, with an online petition calling for the summer festival’s reinstatement already online and attracting signatures. It was first held in Adelaide in 2008.
Among the performers who have graced the stage of Laneway are pop stars Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, British rapper Stormzy, alternative rock trio Haim, pop-rock band The 1975, indie rock singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco and Australian psych legend Tame Impala.
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The news was met with devastation from local punters, with one saying that she flies to Adelaide for the festival each year.
Another posted that “this makes absolutely no sense”, saying “you’re going to take the two cities who get the least in terms of live acts”.
Yet another said that Laneway “was the festival that always showed up for Adelaide”, adding that “we always did in return” and that the decision was “actually atrocious”.
Adelaide-based Yorta Yorta author and mindset coach Allira Potter told InDaily that the news felt like another blow for the Adelaide festival scene.
“The last two years have been so special, with artists like Charlie XCX and Chappell Roan being huge highlights for the city. It’s hard to see another major music festival disappear from the calendar,” she said.
“I just wish there was more government funding and support for the arts and music.
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“Adelaide has such an incredible music scene, and I’d love to see the same level of investment and excitement that we give to major sporting events.”
MusicSA CEO Christine Schloithe said that she was “pretty gutted” when she heard the news this morning, saying she thought some kind of government intervention could be considered.
“It’s a huge loss for music lovers in South Australia – it’s yet another live music festival that’s not coming through Adelaide,” she said.
“It’s a loss of business for local production companies, local security companies, local sparky companies, local toilet companies and a huge hit to local operators that have been working on this festival for a period of time.
“It’s a loss for local artists – one of the things that Laneway has done is curated small but really important opportunities for South Australian acts to take the stage and to get a little bit of a profile on a national touring stage.”
A petition already established online calls on organisers to reinstate Laneway in Adelaide for 2027.
“To cancel the festivals in Adelaide and Perth is not only hugely disrespectful to the cities but reaffirms the increasing and alarming decline of the arts in Australia,” the petition, which currently has three signatures, reads.
St. Jerome’s Laneway began in 2005 at Caledonian Lane in Melbourne; its first Adelaide version was at Fowlers Live North Terrace in 2008, before moving to Hart’s Mill in Port Adelaide and then Bonython Park and the Adelaide Showgrounds.
It comes after the organisers of Harvest Rock announced that the 2026 edition of that popular festival would not be happening, which in the past had seen performances from The Strokes, Beck, Jack White and Crowded House.
A government spokesperson said that “while it is disappointing … we understand the Festival has indicated this is a pause rather than a permanent withdrawal”.
“Festivals and concert tours around the world have reported logistical difficulties of nationwide touring, with temporary pauses on locations or events being undertaken to ensure delivery of events in future,” she said.
“South Australia continues to offer one of the strongest live event calendars in the country, and the Government remains focused on supporting the artists, venues, and organisations that make our arts and cultural sector so vibrant year-round”
The organisers of Laneway Festival were contacted for comment.
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