Headlining act James Blake will miss Laneway Festival to attend the Grammys.
Blake is nominated for Best New Artist and the Los Angeles-based ceremony is the same weekend as Laneway.
He is the second Laneway act to choose the Grammys over Laneway after Lorde also pulled out in December.
The organisers of Laneway have enlisted the Presets and Cat Power to make up for Blake's absence, and will both surely be welcomed by the festival crowd.
Both acts are popular in New Zealand and have visited our shores multiple times, with The Presets at Big Day Out 2007 and Rhythm and Vines 2012, while Cat Power performed in Wellington and Auckland last February and in 2008.
PRESS RELEASE:
St Jerome's Laneway Festival announce the Presets and Cat Power will perform at Silo Park. St Jerome’s Laneway Festival are thrilled to announce two exciting additions to the Auckland festival later this month. The Presets and Cat Power will join the massive line-up alongside twenty five other artists in Auckland’s Silo Park on Monday, 27th January 2014.
Due to the time clash with the 56th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, James Blake will not be performing at Laneway Festival in Auckland. After an impressive rise on the global stage in 2013, UK’s talented James Blake has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
"Laneway supports James Blake’s decision to go to the Grammys. We are totally gutted that he is unable to make it, however we appreciate this is a huge achievement for James Blake and his career. Due to James Blake’s tight tour schedule it is not possible for us to schedule replacement dates” says Laneway Festival co-promoter, Mark Kneebone.
“We worked right through the Christmas break to secure the best replacements we could. After multiple attempts over the years, we are very happy to announce that Cat Power and The Presets wil be joining us for Laneway Festival 2014.”
Refund requests willl be accepted from tomorrow through till 5pm NZDT on Thursday, 16th January 2014. Laneway Festival's standard event terms and conditions will apply to any refund requests received after that date.
Tickets to Laneway Festivals are selling fast across New Zealand, Australia and Singapore, with Melbourne and Sydney Festivals both sold out.
Smoky vocals and moody ruminations are what Cat Power does best. Leaving audiences mesmerized within the intricate soulful world she conjures, the Georgian-born singer-songwriter is an indie-rock goddess when it comes to provocative vocals and haunting guitar. With a musical career spanning over two decades, the Cat Power sound has been a constant evolution from punk, folk and blues to soul and even electronica on her latest works. Cat Power’s album of 2012, Sun, with the singles "Ruin" and "Cherokee", was the most successful of her career, debuting at #10 on the US mainstream Billboard charts and #2 in Billboard’s Alternative and Independent charts. NZ Herald note, "She manages to mix her feminine allure with the other-worldliness of a reckless rock star, and fans love it."
Spinning electro-pop beats with bite, The Presets are kings when it comes to cultivating the perfect festival vibe. Rocketing onto the scene in the late 2000’s, Julian Hamilton (vocals, programming and keys) and Kim Moyes (drums, programming and keys) have worked their way up and out though the musical quagmire of Australia to receive extensive global critical acclaim. Laneway-ers will all know and love killer track "My People" from Apocalypso, which went double platinum in Australia and spent more than 75 weeks on ARIA’s Top 100 chart. Their latest album, Pacifica (2012) delivers clean hits of emotive techno through to synth-laden, anthemic pop, which UK website backs up, “The Presets have remained for years one of the most beguiling and downright irresistible electronic acts.” With a splash of avant-garde, prepare yourself for some dance floor monsters from this dynamic duo this Laneway Festival.
Ticketing Information:
Laneway Festival tickets are on sale from the Laneway Festival website.
If you would like to request a refund of your ticket purchase, you may do so for a limited time. Ticket refunds will be available from 9am NZDT Tuesday, 7th January 2014 until 5pm NZDT Thursday, 16th January 2014. Please contact David by email davidb@lanewayfestival.com.au with your full ticket details including quantity and barcode numbers. Further details regarding ticket refunds will be advised once your request is received.