As an angel with a ‘brat’ tattoo that I did myself the day after the album’s release, I felt qualified to get some coverage for Nexus of Laneway 2025. I definitely wasn’t going for Charli anyway, and my priority was certainly journalism and not club classics. Walking around the festival, you would’ve thought you were at a camping store with the men camper than G.A.Y. on a Saturday, and more gear circulating than anyone’s jaw seemed capable of concealing. I missed beabadoobee and Clairo because a friend of mine was hiding from security. Two disguises deeper and behind a port-a-loo, I could faintly make out the reverb of Clairo’s Echo.

After having decided our outfits the previous year, the day of Laneway consisted of pre-drinking $10 wine in a car while our astrology writer Lex drove us up.


When we finally arrived at the venue, some phenomenal crowd control left tens of thousands of festival-goers melting under our lovely ozone hole. If anyone had cigs hiding in their shoes or bra, they now have tobacco-stained sweat paper. This congestion cleared up the moment you walked around the corner, so felt really pointless but probably served the purpose of keeping the flow through the gates manageable. Bags were checked but pockets weren’t patted down. 2hollis was super tall and ethereal to see perform. My mate Jack even threw a gold swag hat at him, which he took and handed to his crew. I genuinely can’t attempt to accurately describe seeing Charli performed without bothering myself at how far it falls short, so I asked some festival vets for their takes. All I’ll say is angelic, surreal, unapologetic, fierce, it girl, 365 party girl, so Julia, and of course, brat.

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HOW WAS LANEWAY 2025?

Hannah Tobeck: Besides the hot flashes and awkward half assed high school reunions, so much fun. Certainly didn’t help the parasocial relationship that I’m in with beabadoobee.

Nina Pacheco: Life-changing.

Natalie Brown: Solid 8/10.

WERE YOU BUMPIN’ THAT?

HT: Being in the same general area as Charli, I fear I legally had to be.

NP: Yes, I bumped into lots of people I knew from school, work, etc.

NB: Maybe.

CHARLI OR BICEP?

HT: I will forever regret leaving the Charli mosh early – the collective body heat from the crowd and my level of intoxication did not mesh well – but I do wish that instead of focusing on my survival, I had gone and seen Bicep while they were still performing.

NP: Charli is the only right answer.

NB: Charlotte Aitchison.

DOES YOUR JAW STILL HURT?

HT: My gua sha was left untouched for a week. I think that’s self-explanatory.

NP: No, I didn’t chew gum (gum helping is a myth; it makes it worse)

NB: Well not from pinging 😉

DID 2HOLLIS LOOK AT YOU?

HT: I have willingly created a false memory for myself that he did, and am so dedicated to this delusion that I unapologetically tweeted about it (or is it X’d?).

NP: This is niche but no, not directly – or at least I didn’t catch him 😉

NB: no 🙁

beeabadobee, Clairo, or 2hollis?

HT: Tough choice, but in the end beabadoobee always. One day she will be mine.

NP: beabadoobee, I feel like I betrayed her by not being able to be inside her crowd.

NB: beabadoobee.

KICK-ONS OR SLEEP?

HT: I’ll give you an anecdote one better – kick-ons that were initially planned in the group chat to be a crazy night of further inebriation that ended up just being one big sleepover. Fun!

NP: Sleep, sorry!

NB: Honestly sleep.

ANY AUCKLAND SHOPPING AND IF SO, WHERE?

HT: Fever Vintage, Smoove (if you have a spare $120 to buy Rock Revival booty shorts) and $3 Nutella breadsticks from the dairy for breakfast.

NP: We went to a vintage shop and left empty-handed with tears in our eyes.

NB: No, I’m broke.

BEST FOOD AT LANEWAY?

HT: I was far too hot to stand in line. Looking back, going to a music festival on an empty stomach and in a state of severe dehydration was probably a big factor in my lack of temperature regulation and explains the dissociative state I was in for 3 days afterwards.

NP: I only ate from one truck, but the nuggets, chips and a hotdog were banging.

NB: Chippies.

BEST SONG TO SEE PERFORMED?

HT: Seeing Von Dutch live had me on the brink of tears.

NP: Probably Charli’s whole set.

NB: 365 party girl.

MOSH OR SHADE?

HT: Sorry to be that girl but shade. nothing better than sitting on a cool patch of grass with whoever is left in the initial group, commenting on every cool outfit you see and wishing you had thought of it. If the sun wasn’t so unforgiving that day, then the moshes would have been easier to survive in.

NP: Mosh. I don’t feel heat.

NB: is that Clairo shade?

GO-TO FESTIVAL ACCESSORY?

HT: Bracelets. If you don’t jingle every time you make a vague hand gesture, you aren’t doing it right.

NP: Sticky bra.

NB: Sunnies.

FESTIVAL ACCESSORY  YOU WISH U HAD?

HT: In hindsight, a fan. But I’m a shameless accessory lover, so I layered almost every necklace and bracelet that I own.

NP: A bag of sorts.

NB: Boots that didn’t break.

ANY TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME FESTIVAL GOERS?

HT: Again, a handheld fan. I feel I would have lasted longer than 45 minutes during Charli’s performance had I brought one.

NP: Don’t chew gum; it doesn’t help, and don’t drink alcohol because it makes u so tired by the end of the night.

NB: Stay hydrated.

FINALLY…
WAS LANEWAY THE BEST OF THE FESTIVAL SEASON?

HT: Just take one look at the lineup, and you have your question answered. The universe presented me with the opportunity to see a generous number of my celebrity crushes perform, and suddenly $212.90 was gone from my bank account.

NP: Hell yes.

NB: Idk, I’m English so festival season hasn’t started yet.

These answers paint such a vivid, glittery image, even if you weren’t at Laneway; now you were. I think it’s fair to say my twink death has begun as I immediately went to sleep when we arrived back at our shitty international hotel. Laneway was fucking awesome. See you sweating in the mosh next year <3