Picture this: it’s July 27, 2018. It’s 80 degrees and sunny, you put the last of your winter clothing in storage months ago, and now you’re walking through the festival gates on Randall’s Island with all your closest friends. The Weeknd is playing. You head towards the stage and suddenly, the crowd parts, thousands of people clear to make unobstructed path to the front of the stage. The “Starboy” mastermind plays the rest of his set looking directly at you.
Pretty sweet, right? This is how you could end your July at Panorama Music Festival. Well, almost like that.
If you’ve been to Panorama before, you already know how rad it is. If you haven’t, prepare to be enlightened. The lineup for the third annual, larger-than-life festival boasts an unreal mix of genres and new artists, meaning you’ll be discovering new acts all weekend in-between catching sets from your forever favorites. Migos, Cardi B, Gucci Mane, and The War On Drugs will all be there, and so will rising stars Dua Lipa, Sigrid, and Greta Van Fleet. The Killers performance will make all of your middle school dreams come true (fingers crossed they play Mr. Brightside), and David Byrne and Janet Jackson will round out the weekend in legendary fashion.
If all that wasn’t enough to convince you, Panorama also earns its spot on our rankings of best fests because of everything happening onsite in "The Lab".
What is The Lab, you ask? Located on Panorama’s festival grounds, The Lab houses an expansive collection of art installations by NYC’s up-and-coming artists. All of the exhibits explore the concept of sensation, whether it be through sight, smell, touch, or sound. The Lab’s pièce de résistance is the Ark Dome Show by Dirt Empire, accompanied by music from Danny Bensi.
Panorama 2018 is not a weekend to miss this summer. Get hyped for the weekend by checking out our complete playlist below, then make sure to track all of the artists on Bandsintown. Let’s groove, people!