Launched in 2016 in Cikole, Bandung, West Java, LaLaLa built its identity around the novelty of combining music with the outdoors. The setting was as important as the lineup: trees, mist, installations and the feeling that you had temporarily escaped the usual festival circuit. A decade later, the forest is gone, but the idea has proved surprisingly durable.

After moving to Jakarta in 2024, LaLaLa has gradually transformed itself from a local festival into something more ambitious. The 2026 edition, taking place Aug. 22-23 at the Jakarta International Expo in Central Jakarta, features four stages alongside installations and festival attractions. Its expansion into the Philippines marks another step toward becoming a regional festival brand.

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The lineup reflects that ambition. The Flaming Lips, Steve Lacy, Rex Orange County, Two Door Cinema Club, Kodaline, Flo, Jordan Rakei and others give the festival considerable international weight while maintaining the alternative-pop sensibility that has defined it.

But for Moura Saffanah, marketing specialist at LaLaLa Festival, the festival’s identity isn’t simply about collecting big names. “Our curation isn’t only about how big an artist’s name is or how strong their commercial appeal might be,” she said.

Emerging musicians remain an important part of the lineup because LaLaLa wants to give artists with strong character and international potential the opportunity to reach wider audiences.

That philosophy also points to one thing festivals can still offer that streaming algorithms cannot: surprise.

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