The Laneway 2014 lineup drops next Tuesday (24th September), and with the dates and (some new) venues already locked in for the annual indie music festival, its time to dive into the rumour mill and pick apart the predictions for the music festival.

Piecing together everything we already know about Laneway 2014 – from the teasing of the festival’s own promoters, to industry whispers and some previous lineup leaks – we speculate on who’s likely, very unlikely, and downright ‘fingers crossed prayers to the stars’ maybe ahead of next week’s reveal of the full list of bands that will be headed to Australia next summer for the annual festival, that Laneway promises will feature “tomorrow’s superstars alongside the best of the underground.”

CHRVCHES

The appearance of the Scottish synthpop trio appearing on the Laneway 2014 lineup is less of a badly kept secret, as it is pretty much all but confirmed. When the Glaswegians were in Australia earlier this year for a brief three-date stopover, they openly told many media – including Tone Deaf – that they would be back soon, very obviously pointing to Laneway as being the catalyst. Laneway organisers also offered a very unsubtle clue that CHRVCHES, one of the year’s most blogged about bands, would be making an imminent return Down under for those that missed their whirlwind August tour. Further cementing the likelihood is that the group also appeared at Laneway’s stage at London’s Field Day and on the lineup for the inaugural American debut of Laneway Detroit.

Washed Out

Another artist that played the recent Laneway Detroit was Ernest Greene, the electronic mastermind behind Washed Out, who recently confirmed in a Tone Deaf interview that he’d be in Australia “in the first couple of months of next year” as part of touring for his latest album, Paracosm. A Laneway 2014 lineup slot would make sense given that Washed Out were last in the country as part of the 2012 edition of the national music festival, where they also played co-headlined sideshows with fellow Laneway artist Toro Y Moi.

Savages

Australians are likely to get a taste of the all-female British post-punk group’s ferocious live show with Laneway 2014. Drummer Fay Milton has already let slip that the four-piece were “coming over in February next year,” for an unnamed music festival, but added, “I’ve been to the festival before, it should be good.” Its highly likely she was referring at the time to Savages’ appearance at the Laneway stage at London’s Field Day. Again, like Washed Out and CHRVCHES, the spiky rockers also formed part of the Laneway Detroit lineup. Detecting a pattern here?

HAERTS

If you haven’t heard of these spelling-adverse Brooklynites yet, that’s understandable, the indie rock group are one of the year’s ‘Breakthrough Bands of The Year’, in the words of Laneway Festival organisers, who included HAERTS in their Top 5 list of the same name, replicating last year’s similar breakthrough list. Considering the 2012 buzz list eventually roped in Japandroids and Jessie Ware for the Laneway 2013 lineup, it’s likely that at least one of the band’s mentioned in this year’s version will make the 2014 cut. HAERTS are more likely than most; not only are they a perfect fit for the “tomorrow’s superstars” tag – with two killer singles to their name (‘Wings‘ and ‘All The Days‘) but the quintet took their soaring Fleetwood Mac vocals and summery vibe to Laneway Detroit as well.

XXYYXX

Another from the Top 5 Breakthrough list rumour mill is XXYYXX, the obscure moniker for the prodigiously talented 17-year-old Marcel Everett. Why more so than the remaining three on the list? (namely, Factory Floor, Arthur Beatrice, and the Yum Dee Days) Call it a hunch, but Laneway just seems more enthusiastic about the electronic artist, having plugged his wares as part of the SXSW Laneway party in Austin, Texas this year. The original Laneway blog post also enthuses, “we can’t help but wonder about the avant-garde electronic goodness he’s got reserved for our collective eardrums.”

The National

While the prospect of a late-night festival closer with Matt Berninger and the double twin brothers of The National sounds divine – and exactly what Laneway Detroit was treated to – it’s just not happening for Australia. It doesn’t get more definitive than the words of Laneway co-promoter Danny Rogers, who told FasterLouder in May: “There’s some rumours going round that The National are playing Laneway; they’re definitely not playing Laneway.” Chin up, that was before the cathartic mood-makers announced their headline 2014 Australian Tour, which just so happens to weave in and out of Laneway’s dates. What considerate gentlemen!

Sigur Rós

Call us pessimists, but we don’t think the ethereal Icelandic group will be gracing the top of the Australian bill the way they did for Laneway Detroit. Firstly, it’s a little soon for an Australian return from the recently downsized trio. They were the headliners for Harvest (R.I.P.) just last year, giving audiences a taste of their heavier side on their then-unreleased Kveikur album, which at that point, the rest of the world was green with envy over. The group now have an extensive album tour through the US and Europe for the remainder of the year which means they’re probably due for a rest early 2014. That and Sigur Rós are probably just too big an act for Laneway in Australia, with co-promoter Danny Rogers noting in a recent interview that they (along with The National) were needed to give their American Detroit debut a boost. So no tears if they aren’t on next Tuesday’s lineup announcement.

Lorde

Stepping outside the Laneway Detroit connection, could the record-breaking New Zealand sensation be on the Laneway 2014 bill? The 16-year-old ‘Royals’ singer is actually touring Australia next month, which might make a return in early 2014 a bit soon, right? Wrong. Her four-date October run is in fact presented by Laneway Festival, which could be viewed as giving the singer a trial run in the country before another fully fledged festival appearance. Not that she needs it, the Kiwi star is already globally recognised and absolutely smashed her surprise Splendour In The Grass slot out of the park by all accounts. Plus, with the imminent release of her debut album Pure Heroine, the timing couldn’t be more ripe.

Chet Faker And/Or Flume

Speaking of ripe. The respective successes and international recognition for Melbourne’s bearded soultronica star Chet Faker and his Sydneysider counterpart, Flume, couldn’t be at a bigger peak. Following on from the musical mates repping the “Australian Sound” at the first-ever Laneway Detroit last weekend, the two have announced that their collaborative EP is out “in a few months.” Considering their working relationship with the indie festival – playing not only Detroit, but drawing huge crowds respectively at this year’s Aussie edition in February – we can’t be the only ones thinking that a crossover appearance from Chet Faker and Flume would make for a HUGE drawcard on the Laneway 2014 lineup. Chume Flaker for Laneway 2014, anyone? You heard it hear first.

King Krule

Perhaps an outside shot, but Triple J certainly think the ginger-haired British prodigy is a snug fit for Laneway’s musical tastes. Following on from the much-hyped release of his debut album 6 Feet Beneath The Moon – cheekily released the same day as King Krule (aka Archy Marshall)’s 19th birthday – Aussie audiences are ready and willing for a Down Under date with the rising star. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of investigating his music, imagine if The XX time travelled back and gave a young Billy Bragg a few songwriting tips. Yeah, that good.

HAIM

After their winning Australian run off the back of Splendour In The Grass, including two headline sideshows that sold out faster than you can say ‘sibling band!’, audiences will be gagging for a swift return from the sisters of HAIM. But then so does everybody else in the world right now. That being said, the girls’ tour commitments have them booked until December, trotting the globe in support of their soon-to-be-released debut album, Days Are Gone. It looks so far like their summer is free and if they had as much fun and productivity during the Aussie winter as they let on (even completing their LP in a Sydney studio), then they’d likely find it hard to turn down a chance to tour with some like-minded buzz bands next January and February with Laneway. Fingers crossed.

The Avalanches

Ok, we hate the endless rumour mongering surrounding the return of the mash-up maestros as much as anyone else, but in a recent interview about the festival’s international expansion, co-promoter Danny Rogers offered a juicy little tidbit too good to pass up. When asked about the mythically overdue new album from The Avalanches, the Laneway co-founder admits, “I’ve been waiting as long as you have… I’m hearing a very, very, very, very good rumour that it’s going to come out next year,” he teases. “I’ve heard people who’ve heard it and people were very positive about it.” Rogers also mentions that the group “were all friends of ours,” when they were booked to launch the first-ever Laneway in Melbourne, back in 2004. It’s pure speculation, but wouldn’t it be great if the release of one of Australia’s (if not music’s) most highly anticipated releases early next year, that just so happens to coincide with Laneway’s 10 year anniversary, happened to mean the live return of The Avalanches with the very festival they helped launch! We can dream…

Laneway 2014 Dates & Venues

Singapore: Saturday 25th January – The Meadow, Gardens By The Bay
Auckland: Monday 27th January – Silo Park
Brisbane: Friday 31st January – RNA, Fortitude Valley
Melbourne: Saturday 1st February – Footscray Community Arts Centre/River’s Edge
Sydney: Sunday 2nd February – Sydney College Of The Arts, Rozelle
Adelaide: Friday 7th February – Harts Mill, Port Adelaide
Perth: Saturday 8th February – Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle

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