This past weekend, New York City welcomed a new, major music festival: Panorama, the latest venture from Goldenvoice, the company behind the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Situated on Randall’s Island, the three-day event offered a mixture of staggering musical talent, interactive installations focused on art and technology, and top-notch food and drink from local outlets. To recap and take stock of the showcase’s inaugural run,SPIN presents this brief roundtable featuring Senior Editor Kyle McGovern, Associate Editor Rachel Brodsky, and Contributor Brennan Carley. Forgive them if they’re still a little dazed — it was a lot to take in.
Kyle McGovern: Let’s start with an obvious question: Did you have a good time at Panorama this past weekend?
Rachel Brodsky: I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the festival was organized and how much attention was paid to amenities. I have no real basis for a comparison toGovernors Ball — I’ve never gone to that festival — but over the course of the weekend I heard from multiple people how much more pleasant of an experience Panorama was compared to GovBall. The sets were tight and on-time, the sound was clear, no one’s set bled into the neighboring stage, there was plenty of food and water, the lineup was impressive and relevant, the technology-meets-art theme was clear but not visually overbearing.
Brennan Carley: First: Getting into Panorama was a drag. They made me walk around the entire perimeter of the island, on a pretty unattended path, only to find out later that I could’ve actually checked in at either entrance. Communications issues on the first day were, to be expected of a baby festival, clunky. It got better, though. Shot for shot, I’d rather go back to Panorama ten times in a row rather than hitting Governors Ball once. It was quieter, more spacious (or so it felt based on their layout), and calmer. The bands soundedbetter. The screens looked crisper. I loved it, and I’m burned all-the-way-out on festivals for the year.
KM: Yeah, on the whole, I really enjoyed myself. Hiking over to Randall’s Island three days in a row (and dealing with numerous subway delays) wasn’t a treat, but once I made it into the festival, the commute felt worth it. The various water refilling stations and shade set-ups provided necessary heat-relief; the various food and craft beer options kept luring me over (prices be damned); the bathrooms didn’t turn into disaster areas until the second half of the final day; and the lineup consistently held my attention throughout the whole experience.
BC: Governors Ball and Panorama’s ultimate flaw-in-common is definitely Randall’s Island. Is it beautiful once you get there? Absolutely. Is it worth the trek? I’d say no — had Panorama been first to run this year, I would’ve handed in my GovBall passes and skipped a festival I’ve gone to every year since its beginning. Ferries are expensive and take time; buses are the same. Sure, you can bike to the island, but in sweltering, shirt-drenching heat, it’s not worth the toll. That leaves walking, which leaves you exhausted and dehydrated by the time you get to the festival grounds. There has to be a better solution here. Even setting up free water stations along the bridges would soften the blow.
RB: Yeah, walking over the bridge takes long, too, it and leaves you sweaty — and the shuttle costs extra money and usually comes with a giant line. Next year, let’s just have this thing in Central or Prospect Park and call it a day. The food was also pricey and given in too-small portions. (I accidentally spent $10 on one piece of sushi thinking I’d get an entire roll. What the hell?)
KM: All right, well, let’s get back to some of the positives. We touched on a few of them quickly, but more specifically, what stood out to you guys as wins for the Panorama organizers?
RB: Like you said, the water-refilling stations for sure, and there were a few “misting” areas, where concertgoers could literally get cold water sprayed on them, and actual trailer bathrooms — a huge step up from most festivals, which force you to regularly degrade yourself in a smelly, worn-down Port-A-Potty. The fact that even the general populace — not just the VIP ticket-holders — got to use trailer bathrooms is huge. Also, there were plenty of food stations lining each stage, the Pavilion stage had a giant tent overhead to provide shade, and the Parlor enclosure had air conditioning. Music-wise, Sufjan Stevens, Broken Social Scene, Kendrick Lamar, FKA twigs, Arcade Fire, Sia, and LCD Soundsystem all were standouts. Panorama really brought it for anyone who attended college between 2004 and 2012.
KM: Right, the music. In terms of the performances, Sufjan completely blew me away — I’ve heard that his shows can be eccentric and prop-filled, but I was not prepared for how much energy and joy his songs could have. This was also my first time seeing Arcade Fire ever (I know, I know), and that absolutely lived up to expectations. They cherrypicked from all of their records, they didn’t lay it on too thick, and it was honestly amazing to just hear thousands of people chanting along with “Wake Up.” I’m not even a huge fan of that song, but that moment made for one of the best concert-going experiences of my life.
As for other highlights: Sia delivered a headline-worthy set (so much so that for a few minutes I wasn’t sure how LCD were going to follow her); it was incredible watching Kendrick Lamar carry a 90-minute set on such a big stage and have so many people hanging on his every rap; Anderson .Paak’s live set was surprisingly heavy and loud and vibrant and, I thought, had a completely different appeal from his most recent album.
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