Fun times at the first Panorama NYC music festival

The 1st Panorama NYC music festival took place on the weekend of July 22nd-24th.  We happened to be in NY that weekend so we decided to go to the festival for one day on Saturday. Luckily, single day passes were available. I think all festivals should offer single day passes because let’s be honest, sometimes you don’t want to commit to a full weekend. It’s tiring, expensive and what if it sucks? This festival is organized by Goldenvoice, the same group as Coachella,  Panorama takes place on Randalls’s Island Park. The same location that hosts Governors Ball.

In an Uber on our way to Randall’s Island

Getting There

First of all, getting into Randall’s Island was a pain, at least by way of Uber. There was tons of traffic getting off the bridge to the festival. We had to get out and walk about 4 blocks. It was fine but considering the festival wasn’t super busy, I think this can pose a problem as the festival gets bigger. It looked like that there was some sort of construction going on as well maybe that caused the bottle neck by the entrance. Later we spoke to a local who mentioned that taking some sort of train combination there works better, go figure its NY.

Panorama Festival

Panorama

Panorama NYC

Panorama Layout

Panorama was a nice compact festival that included 1 main stage (Panorama), 1 large tent (Pavilion), a closed dance tent (Parlor), the Lab (interactive art tent) and the Despacio (premiered at Coachella this year). Upon entry, there is a laundry list of items you couldn’t bring in. Bags were checked but they barely looked in my bag just on the surface. We had VIP tickets so we went in through the VIP entrance around 5pm, right on time to catch the amazing Anderson Paak-easy peasy no hassles.

Drinking the Bai Watermelon cocktail in the VIP

VIP Section

The main VIP section was nice with multiple bars, local NY food and cool patio-like seating areas. It was separated into two sections one of which you had to show your over 21 wristband to get into. This was a bit annoying and could cause a line once more people attend the festival. Both sections had food but the one with alcohol was larger.

In the “alcoholic section” there were a few bars offering beer, wine and cocktails. The watermelon cocktail, a mixture of vodka and watermelon Bai, was pretty good and went down fast. The drinks ran about 10-14 bucks however the wine serving was a total shaft for the price. The best drinks were, surprisingly, at the Absolut Bar. I don’t usually drink Absolut but this drink was amazing (can’t remember the name!). It was delicious, refreshing and strong, I believe it included cucumber. The VIP section offered 4, air conditioned bathroom trailers- 2 for men and 2 for women. It was pretty empty most of Saturday making it the perfect place to sit and eat, maybe even nap.

Anderson Paak

Anderson Paak

Anderson Paak

Navigating the Festival

Outside of the VIP, the festival was easy to navigate and not too crowded as most new festivals are the first few years. Our first stop was the Pavilion tent for Anderson Paak. We got there a few songs into the set and found it easy to make our way up to the center. The crowd was pleasant, dancing and really into the music.

There was a VIP section on the right of the Pavilion stage but there was a line, yep a line for VIP! We hit the Despacio on the way to see The National. It was cool but a little dark, the place wasn’t bright the whole time we were there. At Coachella, I remember the Despacio being brighter for long periods at a time. Conveniently, the VIP section at the main Panorama stage was easy to access to see The National. Their set was amazing, even better than I expected.

In the Despacio

In the Despacio

The National

The National

The National

The National

The National

Matt Berninger

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

We were able to catch Sufjan Stevens in the VIP section of the Pavilion tent. We waited about 10 minutes to get in. I think it needs to be a bit larger and not an afterthought. If you pay for VIP you shouldn’t have to wait. That’s the whole point. There was a small beer and wine bar there. The bartender at that bar made sure to not pass the line on the glass when pouring my wine. Yes the wine cups were lined to indicate the level of the pour, ugh really?

Projection Cube

The Lab

The Art

The art at Panorama was quite impressive. The subway film installation was appropriately very NY, featuring different graffiti painted subway cars flowing along the wall. A large movie screen cube in the center of the festival displayed artists on stage, cool graphics and people in the crowd, something I haven’t seen at other festivals. A plus, there weren’t any fair rides especially the token ferris wheel every festival thinks is cool to have.

Panorama NYC

Panorama NYC music festival

Kendrick Lamar on stage at Panorama

The Panorama music festival offered a great experience overall. It was manageable due to its size although there were lines for most everything. We weren’t able to see the LAB or go in to the American Express Lounge. We decided to leave a couple of songs into Kendrick Lamar,  who was headlining that night, because we were afraid of getting caught in a traffic nightmare. I would like to see what next year brings for Panorama in terms of line-up, attendance and growth. I would definitely go again.

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