The Meadows Festival to Bring Gorillaz, M.I.A., Run the Jewels and More to NYC

The Governors Ball sister festival, The Meadows Music and Arts Festival is returning to the Citi Field complex in Queens for its second year. Over three days (September 15-17th), The Meadows will host a carefully curated lineup of musicians, food vendors and more as it closes out the festival season in NYC (Electric Zoo is the final one on Randall’s Island of the year and it happens this weekend). This year, the fest leans a bit towards hip-hop and rap with artists like Jay-Z, Run the Jewels and Migos holding the top billing on Friday, while Future, LL Cool J, Swet Shop Boys, Action Bronson, Nas and more are packed in over the weekend.

Photo credit: Carl Timone

Swet Shop Boys, the collaboration between Heems, Riz Ahmed, and Redinho, have become one of my favorite acts to catch live given their politics and their vibe, so I am looking forward to their set. But I’m also excited for Tegan and Sara, who are touring The Con‘s 10th anniversary, Erykah Badu, always a thrill to see perform, and M.I.A., who surely will have a lot on her mind. Including Jay-Z, the other headliners are also must-sees, including Gorillaz, here for their only NYC show of the year, and Red Hot Chili Peppers who remain incredible performers. Unfortunately, like all great festivals, conflicts between set times will arise. Badu butts up against LL Cool J, M.I.A. is (basically) at the same time as Gorillaz and Nas is slotted during Weezer. But fans will make the best of it.

Photo credit: Sam Alive

Attendees who are into Instagramming the festival experience will find many food vendors on site, including a multitude of variations on ice cream (fried, in waffles), lobster rolls (are the prices lower off season?), ramen burgers, a special tasting called the FEASTival of Queens, and DŌ, the raw cookie dough stand that was the trendiest booth at GovBall. Other photographic opportunities (beyond music) may include meet and greets with artists and something called the “food fight pit” which may be unique to this fest.

Photo credit: Carl Timone

The full lineup by day is below. Scheduling, transit options and ticket information for The Meadows can be found here. GA and VIP tickets are still available for all three days.