Enter Laneway! This festival takes place in Singapore annually and brings together musicians from all over the world.
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| Singapore by night |
My fellow music lover friend and I started plotting our reunion in
Singapore to attend the festival in fall 2016. I had never visited Singapore
before and I knew this wouldn't be the trip to take in the whole city because I
only had one weekend. However, I did meet up with my friend G, who lives in
Singapore and get a taste for the city. I definitely want to see more!
Singapore is clean, modern, historic, organized, friendly
and safe.
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A
floating baby and a boat in the sky... Why not?
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We
booked in at a hostel... Singapore is an expensive city! Our tiny closet room,
with only a bunkbed and locker cost $50 a night. I would probably look for a
different option if I went to Singapore again, but this place was clean and the
rate included coffee and breakfast.
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Showing
off our festival wristbands in the hostel lobby
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The
day of the festival was sunny with puffy white clouds. J and I navigated the subway,
giddy with excitement. It's one of my favorite feelings to know that all I have
to focus on all day is music.
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We
arrived early! No crowds yet!
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Bottlesmoker
and me! This is a fun blend of electronic pop from Indonesia.
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The
skies started clouding... but that didn't stop this artist!
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J
making a custom blend of Oo La perfume.
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Selfie
during Sampa the Great
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And
the rains came... and stayed for about 3 hours.
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Even
though rain showers are common in Singapore this time of year, the venue didn't
have any shelter. Some huddled under raincoats and others just got wet.
It's south east Asia, so at least it's not too cold!
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Still
smiling.
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By
evening the rain had stopped and we were glad that we had hung in there! Despite
the rain, we stayed in high spirits and it was an interesting cultural
experience to attend a music festival in Singapore.
We noticed that people were quite polite; there was very little pushing and it was easy to make your way close to the stage at any time. One singer tried to crowdsurf, but it didn't really work... the crowd didn't know how to gather together to hold him up.
The main stage was so organized - they actually had two stages right next to each other, so one side was being set up while the other one was used for a performance. This made wait time between artists minimal and kept the music playing!
We noticed that people were quite polite; there was very little pushing and it was easy to make your way close to the stage at any time. One singer tried to crowdsurf, but it didn't really work... the crowd didn't know how to gather together to hold him up.
The main stage was so organized - they actually had two stages right next to each other, so one side was being set up while the other one was used for a performance. This made wait time between artists minimal and kept the music playing!
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Bob
Moses performs
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Victory
shot! We survived the rain!
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So,
what were our takeways?
Our
favorite artists were (in order of appearance; I'm not playing favorites!):
- Bottlesmoker - electronic, fun and very danceable (Indonesia)
- Tash Sultana - sultry female vocals + self-taught singer/songwriter + guitar (Australia)
- Gang of Youths - just what rock should be (Australia)
- Jagwar Ma - reminiscent of 90's alternative (Australia/London)
- Bob Moses - a little indie, a little electronica, poppy at times... Tearing Me Up catches you and won't let go! (Canada)
- Tycho - the side project of a San Francisco visual artist, this is relaxing electronic music with all the details considered (USA)
- Glass Animals - these guys were our surprise of the festival... we really liked this indie group's stage presence, music, pineapples and style! (UK)
And, yes, we would go again! Laneway also visits Australia and New Zealand. Hmmm....
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| Late night bands... yes, these festivals do tire you out. |
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| Happy Lunar New Year! Year of the Rooster! |
Just finished reading:
Euphoria by Lily King - A mostly fictional tale inspired by the lives of Margaret Mead and fellow anthropologists. This one is for February book club! I'm curious as to how the author got her ideas and why she fictionalized the story...and how she decided to keep some fact here.
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez - An intense historical fiction young adult novel about the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Yes, you should read it.
Euphoria by Lily King - A mostly fictional tale inspired by the lives of Margaret Mead and fellow anthropologists. This one is for February book club! I'm curious as to how the author got her ideas and why she fictionalized the story...and how she decided to keep some fact here.
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez - An intense historical fiction young adult novel about the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Yes, you should read it.
Do you want to visit Myanmar?
CNN's top 10 list of things to do here. I'm working on it. ;) More Myanmar posts coming soon!
CNN's top 10 list of things to do here. I'm working on it. ;) More Myanmar posts coming soon!
Just finished making:
This simple tofu quiche has become a favorite! It is easy and you can sub in any veggies you like! Makes a great breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Chewy peanut buttery gluten free vegan cookies! And simple! I threw some mini chocolate chips in my second batch... yummm. Next time I make them I am going to try subbing less honey for the sugar... to make them a little healthier.
This simple tofu quiche has become a favorite! It is easy and you can sub in any veggies you like! Makes a great breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Chewy peanut buttery gluten free vegan cookies! And simple! I threw some mini chocolate chips in my second batch... yummm. Next time I make them I am going to try subbing less honey for the sugar... to make them a little healthier.
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