Having more or less recovered from Day 1 of Budweiser’s Made in America festival, I took an early bus to New York City to attend Electric Zoo for the first time. An ardent fan of EDM, I was particularly excited to finally get the chance to attend the festival, so having press and photo access was just an additional perk.
After arriving at Randall’s Island Park, I had an early interview with Australian DJ duo Peking Duk. Despite there being some press check-in delays, the guys of Peking Duk were cool with doing the interview out by the gates instead of at the main press area.
After I finally received my press wristband and photo pass, I headed over to the backstage press area, which boasted park benches as well as a wide assortment of cabana seating and beanbag chairs, to prep for my interview with electronic pop band Five Knives. The press area was adjacent to the artists’ lounge, where many of the DJs and performers would hang out in between sets. After my interview, which was my last one for the day, I caught up with some of the other reporters and photographers and bonded over our mutual love for electronic music. I stuck around in the press area since they mentioned that Dutch DJ and producer Oliver Heldens, my favorite deep house artist, would be coming by shortly before his set…
Armed with my camera and photo pass, I then made it over to the main stage to photograph Heldens in action.
I then met up with a few friends to watch RAC, Deorro, and Thomas Jack before gearing up for photographing the grand finale: Alesso. Although the sun had set and photographers were prohibited from using flash in the pit, the lighting on the main stage was more than enough to capture some epic shots of the performance.
As my first time at Electric Zoo (and any electronic music festival in general), the day had lived up to my expectations and more. Looking forward to coming back next year!
Be sure to also check out my interviews with Peking Duk and Five Knives as well as my coverage of Made in America. A post-festival interview with Dutch DJ and producer Sam Feldt, who performed at the Electric Zoo Riverside stage, will also be coming soon.
