Laneway Festival will return ‘ASAP,’ enters new era with TEG

After taking a hiatus in 2021, Laneway Festival will mark its return to the live events calendar through a new partnership with TEG.

Sydney-based TEG, the concerts, ticketing and technology group, teams up with Laneway’s founders Jerome Borazio and Danny Rogers to take the iconic touring fest into its next phase.

TEG CEO Geoff Jones assuaged any concerns that Laneway would lose some of its cutting-edge appeal.

The fest “will continue to operate as it always has, with founders Jerome and Danny and their team working closely with TEG Live Managing Director Tim McGregor as they continue to innovate and plan for the 2022 Laneway Festival,” he explains. “Watch this space.”

Geoff Jones

TEG takes an undisclosed stake in the brand, while Borazio and Rogers stay on as “substantial owners,” and will continue to run the festival and the business as co-Managing Directors, in partnership with TEG.

Founded in 2005 as a Melbourne street party, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival has grown-up into an international touring beast that shifts more than 100,000 tickets on each trans-Tasman run, and showcases the hottest artists before the rest of the world catches on.

Laneway alumni include Billie Eilish, Lorde, Haim, Tame Impala and Flume.

In a typical year, Laneway visited the five biggest Australian cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Fremantle) as well as Auckland

The most recent tour rumbled across Australia in February 2020, with a lineup led by The 1975, Charli XCX, Ruel, Earl Sweatshirt, Tones And I, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

Credit: Ashley Mar

In years past, Laneway circled into Asia via a Singapore leg, and organisers briefly entered the U.S. market with a one-off show in Detroit back in 2013.

Borazio and Rogers thanked supporters for turning a fest that emerged from a “a tiny alley in Melbourne” into an “institution in Australia, NZ and Singapore,” and gave a hint of things to come.

“To the fans and artists,” they say, “we are super determined to get Laneway Festival back on the circuit ASAP, delivering you the amazing line-ups and experiences that you’ve grown accustomed to.”

The pair also thanked Michael Chugg, who leaves the leadership group, and “his incredible teams, past and present. The festival would not exist today without his, and their vision, passion and support.”

Finally, they say, “to the current team working on the festival: thank you for your ongoing patience throughout this challenging period for our industry. With our new partnership with TEG we’ll be able to navigate these next few years knowing we have a team who shares the festival’s long-term vision.”

TEG’s sprawling international network spans ticketing, live entertainment and technology, with interests including Ticketek, TEG Live, Qudos Bank Arena, Eventopia, TEG Dainty, Van Egmond Group and more.

In recent years, the group announced a string of executive hires and promotions, another plank in its long-term strategy for international expansion. Among the new hires was Chief Technology Officer Cameron Stone, formerly with Virgin Australia, and Chief Operating Officer Ian Ball, who joined the company from ASX-listed global professional services company Cardno.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.