Every country has its iconic festivals, from Coachella to Glastonbury, but there’s one thing Australia does better than anywhere else: a good ol’ travelling festival. None come bigger than Laneway, which has been winding its way around Australia – including a visit to Auckland in New Zealand – since February 3rd.
There are two stops left – in Melbourne on Friday, February 10th and Perth on Saturday, February 11th – and the former date will have a very special fifth stage that will pay homage to the cultural institution that spawned the music festival in the first place.
Jameson’s House of Rounds at St Jerome’s Bar will bring The Buoys, These New South Whales, The Belair Lip Bombs, CIVIC, and dust to Laneway Melbourne at a revamped version of the OG St Jerome’s Bar.
“You can take the festival out of the bar, but you can’t take the bar out of the festival. The original St Jerome’s Bar was the heart of Laneway Festival. It had a rebellious spirit, a wild energy and welcomed creative people from all walks of life. Jameson House of Rounds will reflect the original essence of the bar with its incredible lineup and we’re looking forward to it being an ongoing part of Laneway Festival,” as Laneway Festival Co-Founder Jerome Borazio explains.
Befitting a travelling festival, Tone Deaf favourites The Buoys decided to embark on a proper Aussie road trip before their performance, going from Laneway Sydney to Laneway Melbourne on the Jameson ‘Always on Tour’ bus.
The atmosphere on the Jameson bus was probably pretty raucous: The Buoys just released the music video (check out their Tone Deaf Video of the Week from last year) for their first single of the year, “Guard My Heart”, which you watch below.
To celebrate their Sydney to Melbourne journey, Tone Deaf asked each member of The Buoys to list their road trip essentials, from podcasts to snacks to even more podcasts. Check out their picks below!
More information about Laneway 2024 can be found here.
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The Buoys Road Trip Essentials
Zoe
Snacks! – I want to say pistachio nuts but affording those is a different story. I’m a sucker for popcorn, and a servo meat pie and coffee combination. One time I made it my mission to try a different chicken sandwich/burger in every town we visited when we did a regional tour with Eliza & the Delusionals – I was meant to document the whole thing but would remember that I was meant to film it when I’d finished eating (got a one-track mind for food).
The Good Weekend Quiz – I love nothing more than doing the Good Weekend Quiz on a road trip, she loves trivia! With our four brains combined we usually do a pretty good job. We were so stoked (but not at all surprised) to learn when touring with Ball Park Music that they are also big fans of the Quiz, and luckily for us, that tour was called ‘Get The F**cking Nerds Back On’.
Hilary
Podcasts – Sometimes it can be tricky to keep the energy up when it’s late after a show and it’s a long drive back to Sydney or our accommodation. A gripping podcast generally does the trick for keeping us awake. (For me, [I’m] sometimes quite stressed about what’s going to happen next if it’s a scary one…) Heavy Medals, which follows the coaches Béla and Márta Károlyi and the US gymnastics team, is a must-listen.
Sunnies – Road tripping can be a glare-y business! Sunnies are my must-have: good for both keeping it dark when you’re trying to nap in the back, and also for stopping my eyes from self-combusting thanks to the sun boring its UV rays into my very soul when it’s my turn behind the wheel.
Tess
The collaborative playlist game – We pick a theme and we each queue a song to that theme. Example themes include a formative song, song that makes you cry, best duet, best guitar solo, song you wish you wrote, literally any theme – then as it plays each person unpacks their choice. Usually [it] leads to a lot of reminiscing! We did this on our regional tour last year, and you can add an extra level of fun where you have to guess each band member’s song!
Downloaded true crime podcasts (in case you are running low on reception) – I feel dirty listening to them because these are real lives, BUT it’s hard to fall asleep at the wheel on a long drive when you are scared of murderers. But we can’t pick one that is too scary (or supernatural) because Hilary is a big ‘ol scaredy cat.
Courtney
Clean underwear – Personally I sweat a lot on stage and there is nothing more satisfying than putting on a nice clean pair of underwear.
An HDMI cable for Nintendo Switch – Because who doesn’t like Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers, seriously?
