Australia’s appetite for Rex Orange County was confirmed today after his Laneway Festival sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne sold out in minutes.
Rex Orange County, aka 20-year-old Alexander O’Connor, has been making waves ever since he featured on Tyler the Creator’s Flower Boy album. But his fans have been singing his praises since the release of his singles ‘Loving Is Easy’ and ‘Best Friend’, on which he plays every instrument and produced them as well.
Watch the video for ‘Loving Is Easy’ below:
Now, the runner-up for BBC’s Sound of 2018 is making his debut Australian performance at Laneway Sydney on February 3, alongside heavyweights like Courtney Barnett, Jon Hopkins and Parquet Courts.
He’s also locked in for two sideshows, an all ages show at Sydney’s Metro Theatre on Tuesday February 5, plus Melbourne’s 170 Russell on Wednesday February 6.
Laneway Presents made tickets available for Rex Orange’s sideshows at 10am this morning and shortly after (meaning, minutes after) they sold out, all hell broke loose.
One fan who missed out on tickets wrote on The Metro’s Facebook page: “Did anyone actually get tickets?”
Another said: “This is more disappointing than my dad walking out”.
One mother of a fan said: “Son’s crying thanks”.
Another said: “MOVE IT TO A BIGGER VENUE PLEASE. A lot of people didn’t get their tickets and are disappointed.”
It would make sense to upgrade the venue to Enmore Theatre in order to cope with demand. But, alas, Lily Allen is hosting her sold-out Sydney leg at the venue on the same night in support of her fourth record No Shame.
One fan even started a Facebook Event for the very same night titled ‘Stand outside Rex and cry cause you didn’t get a ticket’.
It should be said that secondary resale sites are literally crippling our music industry. Despite numerous attempts to stand up to resale sites like Viagogo, with campaigners urging Google to sever advertising ties, and the New Zealand Commerce Commission taking Viagogo to court, fans still find themselves in a bind as they try and get tickets to their dream gig.
In any case, with the demand clearly feverish, this might not be the end for Rex Orange County fans. The Adelaide leg of Laneway Festival isn’t until February 8 so we’re hoping for a two-night run at The Metro.
Stay tuned.
Watch Rex Orange County perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNpgwz8wvE8
