Well, this is a tad strange.
Earlier this week, Laneway Festival announced its Block Party stage, curated in collaboration with tastemaker label I OH YOU. Among the new additions were Kevin Parker, Basenji, B Wise and plenty of other acts to have you extremely excited about the February festival – perhaps, you were so excited that you didn’t notice that one act was quietly removed from the 2018 lineup.
Curiously enough, Australia’s own Kirin J Callinan is no longer on Laneway Festival’s latest flyer – and while festival lineup re-shuffles are all too common, they’re rarely done with no word from the festival. Neither Laneway or Kirin J Callinan have spoken about the omission, but there is plenty of speculation about why he’s been axed from 2018’s festivities.
Recently, the singer found himself in hot water after flashing his genitals at the ARIA Awards, prompting an article titled ‘A Brief History Of Kirin J Callinan Being A Huge Dickhead‘ to be written last November. The same publication, Junkee goes on to speculate that this may be the reason for removal. “Over its 14 year history, Laneway has cultivated a reputation as Australia’s most progressive, forward-thinking major festival – and booking a dude who has a history of flashing his dick in public doesn’t quite gel with that brand,” they write.
While Callinan has a history of provocative art, it seems like he may have pushed the envelope a little too far this time. Or has Laneway’s graphic designer just made a major blunder on the latest flyer? Either way, the Laneway lineup includes the likes of Anderson.Paak, ODESZA, Amy Shark, Mac DeMarco and The Internet, so there’s still plenty to enjoy on the national run. See it all below, and cop your tickets here:
