Laneway Festival settles into Singapore with female figureheads FKA Twigs, Courtney Barnett and St Vincent

Silver streak: Perth band Pond's frontman Nick Allbrook at Laneway Singapore. Photo: Nor Asyraf

Five years into its Singapore experiment, St Jerome's Laneway Festival now appears a truly local fixture. Under looming thunderstorms that never quite broke, a sold out crowd of 13,000 showed up to The Meadows at Gardens By The Bay on Saturday to cheer on an eclectic array of artists from across the globe.

Wandering around the lush surrounds, culture shock came in waves. Though laneways are mostly absent from The Meadows' sprawling gardens, seeing the familiar festival signage draped against the dazzling Singapore skyline prompted a dissonant shock of recognition. So too the many Australian bands on the bill.

While Melbourne's reigning R&B crooner Chet Faker would draw one of the biggest crowds on the day to his evening slot, Perth act Pond introduced themselves early. Resplendent in tiny silver shorts, singer Nick Allbrook turned himself in knots throughout a raw set of psychedelic pop, with the band's loose larrikinism wildly exotic in the humid afternoon. "We're so happy to be playing in Singapore in this beautiful setting" said drummer Jay Watson by way of introduction. "This next song's called Heroic Shart."

Warm welcome: Courtney Barnett on stage at the Singapore leg of the 2015 Laneway Festival. Photo: Rueven Tan

While many fans brought their own blankets to lay out on the grass, even the unsettled climate was catered for. Fat drops of rain come down at Pond's finale, prompting the audience to don the free ponchos that were distributed upon entry. Unpacked they revealed an array of vivid hues that turned the domain into an exotic petri dish of colour. "That was intentional, believe it or not," claimed Laneway's Jerome Borazio. Along with Danny Rogers and in league with promoter Michael Chugg, as well as a local contingent organisers have worked hard to adapt the domestic event to Singapore. Singapore acts are dotted throughout the lineup. The foray seems to be working, with the festival now drawing thousands, up from hundreds, when it began.

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Bratty US pop-punk Mac Demarco was good accompaniment to the fading drizzle, his sunny, scratchy guitar tunes and hilarious banter an inviting counterpoint to the clouds. Demarco and band freely tested the country's harsh view on swearing, dropping several F-bombs on their way to a boisterous set that included a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek cover of Coldplay's Yellow. Later, Demarco would look down the camera in the Media Tent and state his fondness for fellatio.

Melbourne's Courtney Barnett found a warm welcome on the main stage, her staunchly Aussie accent serving as an Antipodean entree for Angus & Julia Stone's set of Americana-infused guitar twang. Loud UK rock duo Royal Blood attracted one of the biggest crowds of the day, eager to jump up and down to the band's riff-reimagining of Queens of the Stone Age and The White Stripes. On the smaller Cloud Stage local act Hanging Up The Moon came on like a fey Augie March, complete with technical issues and moments of transcendental beauty.

Dark minimalism: FKA Twigs' Laneway Singapore set left some in tears. Photo: Alvin Ho

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Laneway Festival settles into Singapore with female figureheads FKA Twigs, Courtney Barnett and St Vincent