I didn’t know I’d be living through a historic festival moment while I was on the festival grounds of Electric Zoo. This was my first time attending Electric Zoo after hearing about it for years and years so I decided to make the trip. This festival recap will be different than most because it was history in the making of what a poorly managed festival looks like. EDM Maniac giving this year’s Electric Zoo an “F” grade should tell you all you need to know to start. You’ve seen all the news about it so I’m here to share what we can take away from this festival experience based on my own reflections.
Leading Up to Electric Zoo
Leading up to Electric Zoo the typical feedback I heard about this festival was that it was always oversold, the sound bleed was terrible, and the crowd wasn’t always the nicest. Despite this feedback, I was hopeful about attending because the festival promoted an expanded festival layout, 5 brand-new stages, and a lineup featuring some of my favorite artists. I felt like they were hoping to fix sound bleed issues and create more spaciousness for the festival to improve the festival experience for attendees. This made me more willing to check it out and see this festival for myself. I also have lots of friends in NYC who were attending or had been before and I was excited to experience it with them.
As someone who was traveling from Austin, Texas, one thing I was unaware of was the role that Avant Gardner played in the NYC EDM scene as well as Electric Zoo. It was reported last year that Avant Gardner acquired Made Event and Electric Zoo for $15 million ahead of Electric Zoo 2022. This acquisition has been reflected in the NYC scene at venues like Brooklyn Mirage which have been oversold and unenjoyable for attendees. I’ve heard this from a lot of my friends and I didn’t even attend Brooklyn Mirage while in town for Electric Zoo because of capacity and crowd concerns.
Knowing this info about Avant Gardner’s acquisition definitely made me understand how that played a huge role in how Electric Zoo 2023 would turn out. You could begin to see the changes made as Electric Zoo was stripped of any “zoo” like branding/experience as the festival was themed “Hyperspace”. Making the festival come across as a more futuristic and tech-looking festival so it was already losing its original charm of the festival. Other than that there were no red flags leading up to the event, many attendees and I were hoping it would be a great weekend ahead of what was marketed.
My Impressions of the Weekend
My time at Electric Zoo was fun as I made the most of it, but seeing the domino effect of issues that occurred clouded my time there. I felt guilty that my experience was vastly different from many who experienced disappointment, health risks, and safety concerns. It all started with the day 1 cancellation that then began the slew of issues which then illuminated Avant Gardner’s ability to plan and run a successful festival weekend. Had the main stage been completed on time (aka permits approved from the city), the will call lines, the capacity statement, and the storming of the gates may not have happened (but other things could have occurred). It doesn’t even feel right to share my full weekend experience because of the many issues that occurred over the weekend.
What We Can Learn from Electric Zoo
As someone who has attended festivals since 2015, been a content creator in the space in 2017, and has also worked on the other side, it can be disheartening to watch a festival fail. Unfortunately, with the state of the world and our economy, this is something we could continue to see in our post-COVID world.
From a Festival Perspective
Festival promoters and companies have been playing the catchup game since the world opened back up. Playing this game while also feeling the effects of prices inflating has put organizers in a tricky spot: raising prices, cutting corners, overselling, increasing risks for attendees such as their health and safety, and more. These factors are clearly showing who can rise to ensure a fun and safe experience for all attendees in a post-COVID world.
Needless to say, it should be the bare minimum to have a festival that prioritizes the attendee experience from beginning to end and aligns with the proper resources to make that happen. All of which Avant Gardner failed to do with Electric Zoo. With a lineup filled with top-tier artists and promises of new festival production (which I can imagine took away from other parts of their budget), it attracted the crowd, but ultimately failed to follow through on providing for that crowd.
We could continue to see festivals not meet attendee expectations, more festival issues and cancellations, and more festivals going to the festival graveyard. Not to mention Mother Nature has also made her presence known with various weather has impacted and cancelled festivals. It’ll be interesting to see how Electric Zoo and Avant Gardner play out in the coming months.
From an Attendee Perspective
The state of the world hasn’t just been impacting the festival organizers, but also festival attendees. With the cost of living rising everywhere, attendees are putting their hard-earned money towards festivals with the hope that it will fulfill their need for a weekend of fun, escape, music, connection, etc. Festivals are really now becoming a luxury experience where you’re lucky if you can attend more than one festival a year especially if you live somewhere without nearby festivals.
A friend of mine reminded me that attendees could be showing up to a festival with scarcity in mind because of rising costs everywhere. People are really wanting to get their money’s worth out of an experience so when a festival doesn’t deliver at any level, the mob mentality ensues. This fuels the “Fyre Fest” commentary whenever a festival is not living up to expectations. It also was really shown during Electric Zoo, the power (or consequence) of misinformation being spread. The moment day 1 was canceled, the rumor mill began and spread like wildfire throughout social media. It really is imperative that festivals deliver a top-tier experience (though I can name a few “perfect” festival weekends in my eight years of attending them); however, attendees are also looking at any festival they attend with a critical lens because they essentially invested their money and time into the festival.
I’ve seen discourse across social media that some are considering no longer attending festivals or only attending festivals they know can guarantee a solid experience. Some are also keeping to local shows or events so they can still enjoy the music and save money, time, and energy from attending a big festival. It’s important as an attendee to be mindful of where your money is going. Your money is your biggest power and influence with these festival organizers and promoters. If you were upset by how Avant Gardner managed Electric Zoo, then don’t attend any of their future shows and events just to share as an example. Knowing where your money is going and who it’s supporting is key.
The Future of Festivals
It does beg the question of whether we have surpassed the golden age of festivals. It’s been two years since the return of festivals and it will be interesting to see who continues to rise and how festivals meet attendee expectations. I know for myself I’m starting to stick with festivals that I know will deliver the experience I desire. I’m leaning more towards attending festivals I already have attended prior knowing that they’ll meet and exceed expectations as they have in the past. I don’t regret attending Electric Zoo, but I am being mindful about trying new festivals moving forward. I did attend Electric Zoo for the plot and I do believe my attending happened for a reason. Going to festivals has been a big part of my life so my hope is that we can see some improvements made for the future of the festival industry and culture overall.
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