By Josh Ringler and Payton Muse
For the second year in a row, The Meadows Music & Arts Festival took over a surprisingly-sunny Queens, New York, for three days and nights of music, food and graffiti-styled artwork.
The Meadows uses a unique circular set-up with four stages around a center circle with food, drinks and activities lining the outer edge. The entirety of the festival is situated on a parking lot between Citi Field and the Billy Jean King USTA Tennis Center – the lack of grass to lay on is an inconvenience for some, while others keenly lay down on the cement.
Like Governor’s Ball, The Meadows (run by the same company) has food for any craving. From ramen burgers to all different kinds of pizza, there is something for even the pickiest of eaters. For those who will try anything, the festival offers plenty of options to satisfy taste buds. The Nugget Spot, Arancini Bros., Original Ramen Burger, Taiyaki Ice Cream and more were just some of the places to offer unique food options from unicorn, lactose-free milkshakes to cinnamon-sugar-crusted rice balls filled with Nutella.
The sound quality over the course of the weekend never disappointed and the crowds ran happily from performer to performer. The crowd at The Meadows was arguably one of the most diverse of any music festival. People of all ages were in attendance, from children younger than 10 to others well into their retirement. The wide range of music the lineups gave all different kinds of people plenty of reasons to show up.
Friday’s lineup included 21 Savage, Migos and Run the Jewels and was headlined by Jay-Z. With the backdrop of a metallic balloon animal, Jay-Z performed for over an hour and a half, spanning his entire musical career. He dedicated a song to Colin Kaepernick and his wife, Beyoncé, watched the show from the wings. 21 Savage thrilled a passionate fan base and nearly everyone from his set ran to see Migos right after.
Saturday featured a wide array of talent including Big Gigantic, Tory Lanz, Flatbush Zombies and Gorillaz. Future, who with a 4 p.m. set time matched the crowd the size of Jay-Z, brought Nicki Minaj on stage to the delight of the crowd. Big Gigantic and his saxophone bass drops attracted a large crowd shortly after. Tory Lanez brought out legend Busta Rhymes and then made his way into the crowd, losing his shirt in the process. Gorillaz closed down the second night with a massive crowd, delighting them with their interesting take on rock music. Even if you weren’t a fan, their music was somehow captivating, and the rhythm drew a lot of the crowd in.
Sunday was the “Californication” of Queens. The Red Hot Chili Peppers closed the entire weekend and the crowd was all there for it. The number of people with single day general admission passes far surpassed the two previous days, and the number of “RHCP” shirts outmatched the number of basketball jerseys worn by way too many people throughout the weekend.
With a sensory overload of flashing lights and psychedelic animations on the screen, the crowd rocked out to every drum beat and guitar strum. Technical difficulties made guitarist Flea declare the noise in his ear was like “sandpaper on my brain from Satan” but the jam band sounded perfect to the fans regardless of the audio issues.
The festival grounds were busiest on Sunday, and supporting acts like Nas, Weezer and Foster the People were probably the reason why. Foster the People said, “Music is one of the most unifying things on Earth … if not the most.” Then they went into their closer of “Pumped Up Kicks,” a song about the troubled minds of homicidal kids.
Overall, the weekend was one of mixing cultures, ideas and a good way to end NYC’s festival season. It’ll start up all over again in June for Governor’s Ball and if this year is any indication, the festival goers should be in for another yearly treat.
