From The Straits Times    |
st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

With a hit list of 18 indie acts, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Singapore is still the biggest event of the year for alternative music fans in Singapore.

Held at the Meadow in Gardens by the Bay on January 25, 2014, the indie music festival drew a crowd of over 10,000 music lovers for its fourth edition in Singapore, before moving on to complete the seven-city Laneway tour in Australia and New Zealand.

Laneway Singapore 2014 at Gardens by the Bay
The St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Singapore 2014 at The Meadow – Gardens by the Bay. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ LIONEL BOON

Best of all, the windy, cloudy weather this year meant that fans got a more enjoyable respite on the grass, compared to the scorching sun of the 2013 edition or the pouring rain in 2011.   

It was also refreshing to see homegrown acts included for the first time ever at Laneway Singapore 2014. Singapore music stalwart The Observatory, along with Vandetta (stage moniker of singer and former deejay Vanessa Fernandez) as well as deejay Gema took to the stage alongside a bumper line-up headlined by international names the likes of James Blake, CHVRCHES and Haim.

The festival atmosphere was keenly felt at Laneway this year, thanks to the myriad of fringe activities and freebies too. From the complimentary kacang puteh (a variety of nuts were given away in those nostalgic paper cones) stall by Airbnb to H&M’s photo booth and candy floss stand, festival goers had plenty to munch on, while standing in line for the snaking queues for food and drinks.

If like us, you’re missing the buzz you got from the indie music festival, then relive the top moments with us, as we remember the highlights from Laneway Singapore 2014:

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

Hayley Mary on stage at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ ALVIN HO

The Jezabels
Back with their second album, the Australian four-piece band returned to Singapore for the fourth time for the Laneway gig this year. The riveting, albeit short, set scored with the crowd with hits like “Endless Summer”, “Easy to Love” and “Catch Me”.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

Frightened Rabbit vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchinson at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ AFIQ OMAR 

Frightened Rabbit
The laid-back crowd started warming up with hands in the air, clapping along when Frightened Rabbit took to the stage. While this Scottish five-man band may have been little known in Singapore prior to Laneway, its debut appearance here definitely won it more than a few fans with its rock-solid tunes.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

Singapore art-rock band The Observatory on stage at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ LIONEL BOON

The Observatory
We were chuffed to see the influential Singapore art-rock band on the stage, easing us into the evening with its industrial set playing pulsing, echoing tracks including “Accidentagram” and “Subterfuge”. The quintet may have had just a small crowd at the front of the stage but no matter: The band and its ardent fans were clearly in the zone with the music.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

Savages frontwoman Camille Berthomier at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ ALVIN HO

Savages
The almost-manic yet controlled intensity of the all-woman post-punk band more than lived up to the critical praise heaped on its live performances. Lead singer Camille Berthomier (better known as Jehnny Beth) truly commanded the stage with her presence, while wailing hit tracks like “Shut Up” and “I am Here”. There’s no love songs here, nor any letting up from the furiously fast beats, which is also where the band excels with much fitnesse.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

Haim on stage at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/ GLENN YONG

Haim
Crowds surged towards the stage for Haim’s bluesy-rock performance, as the much-hyped Los Angeles sister trio belted out “Falling”, “The Wire”, “Let Me Go” and more of their hit tracks. Often dubbed the “talented sister” by the band, lead singer and guitarist Danielle showed off her guitar prowess with her cover of “Oh Well” from rock band Fleetwood Mac, while bassist Este chatted with the crowd throughout the set, proclaiming her love for synthpop band CHVRCHES, which was playing right after them.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/  AFIQ OMAR

CHVRCHES
The Glaswegian band may have been hit by a few technical bugs in the sound system but it had the audience readily lapping up each of its rave-worthy tunes from start to end. Petite frontwoman Lauren Mayberry also kept the banter with fans light and hilarious as she quipped about her daydreams, imagining herself in the news headlines as the “small, really strong” girl who saves fellow band member Martin Doherty from tripping over the wires.

st jerome’s laneway festival 2014 Singapore

James Blake at Laneway Festival Singapore 2014. IMAGE: LANEWAY SINGAPORE/  AFIQ OMAR

James Blake
The jazzy, introspective tunes of James Blake ended the night on a subdued yet truly mesmerising note. Lucky Singapore fans got to catch the live performance of the Grammy-nominated star, who serenaded the Laneway audience with over 10 tracks including “I Never Learnt to Share”, “Limit to Your Love” and “Retrograde”.

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Singapore was held at The Meadow – Gardens by the Bay on January 25, 2014.

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