Live Review: Laneway Festival 2026 @ Southport Sharks, Gold Coast

There wasn’t a cloud in sight at the Gold Coast on Saturday, where Laneway Festival debuted for the first time, pinching the slot from Brisbane, which was preparing the previously hallowed sight for the 2032 Olympics.

Brisbane’s loss was undeniably the Gold Coast’s gain, with Southport Sharks crawling with festivalgoers from gates open until the closers had packed it in. With an enthusiasm that only Queenslanders could muster for a February summer day, each of the packed four stages was teeming with energy, anticipation, and yes – sweat. 

French musician Oklou set the pace at the start of the day with a haunting, intimate performance featuring a set list spanning over 10 years of music. Perched at the edge of decks that they covered with a white sheet, she strummed her guitar with only one other bandmate on stage, a bassist, as she thanked the audience throughout her set and spoke of her most recent album, Choke Enough.

It’s not often that you see music performed at a festival with a range of soundscape, so to duck into the Everything Ecstatic tent stage acting as an escape from the sun and be met with a connected audience and surround sonic experience – Oklou definitely has her live performances down, even when far from their home country.

Lucy Dacus was such an underrated get for Laneway, and based on the feverish reception she received when she took to the stage in her all-black outfit and cap that read AGRICULTURE, there were many who were there to see her.

The US-born artist was no match for a summer day Down Under and continued to joke about the heat with the audience, saying, “I’ve been watching every artist come back after their set totally sunburnt. And I’m next. You’re seeing it happen, aren’t you?”

Dacus played a selection of slow and pacey hits, with Ankles being a clear favourite, with the chorus “Pull me by the ankles to the edge of the bed, and take me like you do in your dreams” rippling through the crowd. Showing off her musical chops, Dacus used a different guitar for every song, and her band rotated on stage depending on the song. At one time, three violinists were accompanying her for Ankles.

The Dare was quite literally life-giving with an unforgettable set that channelled Client Liason, but substantially more unhinged. Rocking a full piece suit, tie and sunglasses on the stage thick with a smoke machine, Harrison Patrick Smith committed to the role. He gave a full body performance, throwing his body around the stage and eventually marching around with a drum crash cymbal over his head as he belted it with a drum stick.

The Dare played a selection of music from his three records, with Sex a clear standout with the boppy beat and easy, earworm lyrics striking a chord with the heaving audience. Girls was another hit, which is a track previously praised by Charli xcx, who said it “goes off at parties”, which proved to be true at Laneway. The comment from Charli xcx led to the two collaborating on her single, Guess, and earned him a support act spot on her North American Brat tour.

Role Model, one of the bigger drawcards of the day, bagged an earlier slot and his energetic appearance on stage was met with genuine squeals from a heavily female-skewed audience. He opened his set with Writings On The Wall with the fast-paced, lyric-heavy hit parrotted back to him from start to finish, with Tucker Harrington Pillsbury letting the audience take the lead on more than one occasion.

Famous for being playful with the crowd, after a few songs, he said, “Oh, I love it here. It’s going to be the best summer of our lives, everyone. We’re so happy to be here, thank you!”

Scumbag was a highlight of the set, with the chorus ‘Stand by me’ being absolutely belted across the open Southport stadium. Look At That Woman and Old Recliners brought the fever of the crowd down, only to have it erupt again for Sally, When The Wine Runs Out.

The idea of Sally has become synonymous with Role Model, with Pillsbury choosing a Sally at every single show to dance with him for the duration of the song. Often, Sally is selected from the crowd by him and his team via their headphones, or sometimes it is preselected and sprung on the audience as a surprise.

That’s exactly what it was at Gold Coast Laneway, as when Role Model yelled, “Who’s my Sally tonight?” Malcolm Todd joined Role Model on stage. Todd, also playing at Laneway and closing out the Joccy’s Stage, danced on stage as he chugged a drink, throwing it out to the audience, blowing kisses and singing every word back at Role Model.

The following day at Sydney’s Laneway festival, The Wiggles made an appearance on stage as Sally – fundamentally adding to the mystery of who Sally embodies and why Role Model chooses who he does. 

Throughout the day at Laneway, there seemed to be an unofficial dresscode where many hundreds of punters were dressed either as Chappell Roan or in outfits with the same vibe as the artist. As evening fell over the festival grounds, the surge you could feel towards the Good Better Best stage was palpable, as the anticipation grew for the singer’s 8:25 pm set.

Roan did not disappoint with a full band, and her rotating loud, vibrant outfits were a standout, with the jester costume and her two-piece set, complemented by her famous bright, colourful makeup.

At one point, the audience, desperate to initiate Roan and make them one of us, started a chant of “Shoey” that gained momentum in the crowd. Catching on, Roan said, “Oh, that’s what you’re saying – drink a beer out of the shoe? No, no, no. I want to talk about being gay.” The response elicited a stronger response from the audience, as Roan had frequent, candid chats with the audience between her loud set and an seemingly endless supply of props.

HOT TO GO went down an absolute treat, with the audience spelling the chorus in perfect unison, but Pink Pony Club was, of course, the crescendo of the set. It was punctuated with pyrotechnics, creating a firework waterfall effect behind Roan.

Closing out the festival in Gold Coast was made sweeter by the fact that this was Roan’s first show in Australia since 2023, and we suspect that many audience members were ticket holders to the shows that Roan cancelled in recent years. As we watched her on stage, there was a sea of punters with hairstyles, headgear and outfits that were exclusively for Roan.

In a time where music festivals are sadly folding, the Gold Coast’s instalment of Laneway went off without a hitch, except for when the festival ended. Exiting Southport Sharks was nightmarish, although the good vibes that were accrued throughout the day seemed to lighten the chaos, and there were even sing-alongs rolling through the crowds like a Mexican wave.