Bright green billboards with a ‘brat font’ are popping up in Australia and New Zealand, fueling speculation that Charli will bring XCX Brat Summer Down Under and headline Laneway Festival in 2025.
The music festival announced the dates, locations and prizes on Wednesday, and coincidentally, several slime-green billboards appeared in the alleys.
The ads show one word of text in the now iconic Aerial Black font: laneway.
The long-running music festival announced last week that it would return in 2025, and some eagle-eyed fans noticed that the official poster features a cartoon apple circa “2025.”
Charli XCX is currently on the Sweat World Tour with Australian hitmaker and Apple collaborator Troye Sivan.
The dynamic duo dedicated a large portion of their sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in New York City to the song last week.
A cartoon apple isn’t a convincing theory, but Sydneysiders spotted two men installing the billboard on Edgeware Road in Enmore on Wednesday morning and shared the video on TikTok.
Australian music festivals have been hit incredibly hard over the past twelve months, with many of the country’s tentpole events postponed or canceled due to poor ticket sales amid cost-of-living concerns.
Bright green billboards with a ‘brat font’ are popping up in Australia and New Zealand, fueling speculation that Charli will bring XCX Brat Summer Down Under and headline Laneway Festival in 2025
The ads show one word of text in the now iconic Aerial Black font: laneway
So it was no surprise that Aussies were thrown into pandemonium when Triple J also shared a teaser video on their social channels.
It shows cars driving past the billboard along the lane with Charli XCX’s song Von Dutch in the background.
The youth broadcaster, who is presenting the upcoming festival, shared the clip on Instagram and TikTok, tagging the festival and the British singer.
They captioned the post ‘what is @laneway festival cooking?’
“Don’t play,” one excited fan responded on Instagram.
“STOP IT,” wrote another.
“First Charli’s TikTok and now this?” added a third.
On Tuesday, Charli XCX uploaded a TikTok of herself all dressed up for her Chicago concert, lip-syncing with Kath and Kim.
Charli XCX is currently on the Sweat World Tour with Australian hitmaker and Apple collaborator Troye Sivan
Charli XCX and Lorde are in double trouble in their matching ensembles for the Brat tour
Additionally, Charlie XCX also toured with New Zealand superstar Lorde, with whom she collaborated on the song.
The Queen of Brat Summer previously headlined Laneway Festival in 2020 alongside pop rock band The 1975.
The 32-year-old’s joint North American concert tour with Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan ends on October 23, 2024.
It would stand to reason that if any international chart topper could play a series of six festivals in Australia and New Zealand, it would have to be the festival currently on tour with a globally renowned musical export from each country.
Now Australian fans of the British artist are convinced it means we’re in for a great summer.
The Laneway festival kicks off in Aotearoa, New Zealand, on February 6, before heading to Brisbane Showgrounds on February 8, Sydney Showgrounds on February 9, Flemington Park in Melbourne on February 14, Bonython Park in Adelaide on February 15 and Wellington Square in Perth on February 15. February 16.
To throw an extra dose of optimism into the mix, Billie Eilish is currently on her Hit Me Hard and Soft World Tour, which brings the Birds of a Feather hitmaker to Australia in mid-February.
Billie Eilish is pictured performing the Guess remix of Charli XCX’s Brat album during her Hit Me Hard and Soft World Tour on September 29
Billie’s first Australian stop on the tour is in Brisbane on February 18.
With a small but doable two-day window in the middle of Laneway’s final festival in Perth on the 16th, there’s a slim chance the stars will come together to perform Guess live together in Australia.
The full Laneway lineup will be announced next Wednesday, October 9.
Festival-goers over the age of 16 can attend, with ticket prices starting at $189.90 for the October 15 pre-sale (plus fees).
The second release costs an increased rate of $204.90, while the third and fourth cost $219.90 and $229.90 respectively.
VIP tickets are also available for $289.90.
“We wanted to announce the ticket prices for Laneway 2025 earlier than usual, so that you can prepare well in advance,” the organizers said in a press release on Wednesday.