This year at Electric Zoo was another wild adventure! Electric Zoo took place on Randall’s Island Park right in the bustling city of New York City and took place over Labor Day weekend. This was the third year that I’ve gone and it keeps getting better and better every year. This year, their theme was “Electric Zoo: Evolved”. There were lots of changes to many parts of the festival but it made for an even better experience this year! One of my favorite parts of this year’s Electric Zoo was all the artist hosted stages such as Pryda Arena, Ophelia Records, Gud Vibrations, Brownies and Lemonade, and All My Friends.
I thought this year’s headliners and closing acts were amazing as well; the lineup was so good that there were so many sets that I was able to check out! I also got to explore lots of stages since they had all of the artists spread throughout different stages. Two of the stages were in tents: the All My Friends tent and Hilltop. Both of these tents had amazing vibes and it was great to see so many fans of the artists that hosted those stages. The AMF stage had great house music playing all weekend long and it was crazy to see how many shuffle circles there were outside the tent.
The other side stage was Riverside, which was an open stage but had a really cool production and look to the stage.
Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for ElectricZoo.com
My favorite part of this stage was day three when Ophelia Records, record label for Seven Lions, did a stage takeover here. I was able to get in my feels at the stage with Said the Sky, Jason Ross, Seven Lions and more. The lineup was absolutely stacked even at this small stage but the crowd was packed, yet lively and fun all day.
And of course, there’s the last stage, which is the main stage! Previously, main stage used to have a huge animal as the base for the stage. With many changes to the festival, this meant that the main stage was getting better and bigger and this year definitely did not disappoint.
Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for ElectricZoo.com
There were so many screens on this year’s stage, which meant more space for crazy, trippy visuals. On top of that, there were tons of lasers at mainstage that spanned the entire festival grounds at night. One of my favorite set of the weekend was Eric Prydz at the main stage closing day one on Friday. His visuals, combined with the lasers and amazing buildups and drops, gave for an amazing set that blew my mind as well as the entire crowds’.
At Electric Zoo there are lots of art installments and decorations to take photos, even performers walking around as if animals on the loose!
Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for ElectricZoo.com
Another great thing that I enjoyed about this festival was all the lounges that were free to guests such as T-Mobile customers as well as alcohol lounges. These lounges provided nice viewing platforms, freebies, and dope places to lounge around and chill with your friends! It definitely enhanced my festival experience for the weekend and gave me more to explore, which is always a fun part.
Overall, the lineup for Electric Zoo was what captured my interest. I had many favorite sets after a weekend at the Zoo. Some of my favorite acts included the Pryda set at the Pryda Arena, Dog Blood who closed out the weekend, Above & Beyond, Joris Voorn, and so many more. I was jumping from stage to stage all weekend and there were so many different styles of EDM that I got to see.
And even after the festival ended, there were tons of afterparties with stacked lineups as well all across NYC. Even when the festival stops, the party never stops in the city that never sleeps.
With so many people dressed up animal themed and the whole vibe of the festival like that of a zoo, Electric Zoo feels like one exciting, wild experience! It’s a festival that has the lineup, production, and crowd top-notch. I definitely recommend all ravers take a trip to NYC for Labor Day weekend for Electric Zoo! This is the festival to let your inner party animal out and go wild out in the Zoo!
