Electric Zoo Festival
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Electric Zoo is an annual
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
held over Labor Day weekend in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on Randall's Island. The festival represents all genres of electronic music, bringing top international DJs and live acts from multiple countries to four stages. In its 2009 inaugural year, 26,000 people attended to see artists Armin van Buuren,
Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...
,
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
and
Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...
. In 2011, Electric Zoo expanded to a 3-day festival and with 85,000 attendees. Electric Zoo received
International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 e ...
nominations in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 for "Best Music Event".


History


Electric Zoo 2009

Electric Zoo 2009 was held during Labor Day weekend on September 5, 6, 2009. It featured 55 artists over the course of the 2 days the event spanned.


Electric Zoo 2010

Electric Zoo 2010 was held on Labor Day weekend on September 4, 5, 2010. There were 66 acts during the 2 day festival.


Electric Zoo 2011

Electric Zoo added one more day to the event from previous years, leading to the event being 3 days (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) instead of 2, which led to the performances of over 100 artists (expanding from the 66 of the previous year). The dates of the event were September 2, 3, 4, 2011. The overall attendance for all three days was 85,000.


Electric Zoo 2012

Electric Zoo 2012 was the largest festival yet as over 110,000 people attended over the three days (8/31/12 - 9/2/12) with sold out crowds on Saturday and Sunday. The event was headlined by Above & Beyond, Pretty Lights,
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
,
Laidback Luke Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen (born 22 October 1976), better known under his stage name Laidback Luke, is a Dutch DJ and music producer. He notably remixed the Robin S. song, " Show Me Love" which charted at No. 11 on the UK charts in 2009. He ...
,
Dada Life Dada Life are a Swedish DJ duo formed in 2006, which consists of Olle Cornéer and Stefan Engblom. They have released three albums, a number of singles and remixes and one compilation. The duo had early chart success in Belgium and the Netherla ...
,
Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...
, Porter Robinson and
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...
. Made Event offered free water refill stations, designated help points and employed security staff.


Electric Zoo 2013


Deaths and cancellation

The final day of Electric Zoo 2013 on September 1, 2013 was cancelled after two attendees, Jeffery Russ and Olivia Rotondo, died from
hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme ...
and an overdose of
MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desire ...
during the festival, and four others had fallen ill. The organizers of the event and a number of performers provided their condolences to the victims. In response to concerns that the incident could affect future music events in the city,
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Michael Bloomberg's press secretary Marc LaVorgna stated that while the city would investigate the incident, live music events "have been part of the fabric of New York City for decades." On September 3, 2013, Bloomberg made a statement on the matter, lauding organizers for being "nothing but cooperative" in the wake of the tragedy.


Electric Zoo 2014

In response to the incidents that occurred at the 2013 edition, festival organizers worked with the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
to conduct a review of Electric Zoo's health and safety practices. A stronger security and medical presence was present at Electric Zoo 2014, with a particular focus on preventing illegal drugs from being brought into the festival grounds, and providing additional medical services to attendees. All attendees were required to watch a two-minute-long, anti-drug
public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...
to activate their
wristbands Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist or lower forearm. The term can be used to refer to a bracelet-like band, similar to that of a wristwatch, to the cuff or other part of a sleeve that covers the wrist, or decorative or function ...
before they entered the festival. Additionally, to minimize sun exposure, the festival's daily start time was pushed forward to 1:00 p.m. ET from 11:00 a.m. ET. The festival was cancelled part-way through its final day, this time due to severe thunderstorms hitting New York City and the United States northeast.


Electric Zoo 2015

In December 2014, it was announced that
ID&T ID&T is a Dutch entertainment and medium enterprise that was founded in the early 1990s. Their event Mysteryland is named the oldest electronic festival in the Netherlands, with later events like Trance Energy and Sensation. It operates many o ...
, organizers of the
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
festival and a fellow SFX subsidiary, would serve as a "creative partner" for Electric Zoo 2015. The festival was revamped with an "immersive"
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
-themed atmosphere patterned off ID&T's other franchises, featuring new animal-themed stage designs. The revamp was headed by ID&T creative director Jeroen Jansen, who assisted in launching ID&T's other festival brands in the United States. The partnership came as part of an effort to re-launch the festival in the aftermath of the 2013 deaths; steps were also taken to address comments and complaints received via a survey after the 2014 edition, such as entry times and the number of washrooms available. Alesso, Above & Beyond, and
The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat gen ...
were announced on May 1, 2015 as the first headliners of the festival, with the remainder of the festival's lineup revealed throughout the month. The concert was held over the Labor Day weekend, September 4, 5, 6, 2015.


Electric Zoo 2016

Electric Zoo 2016 took place for its eighth year at Randall's Island during Labor Day weekend, 2–4 September 2016. Billboard worked with the event to announce the headliners for the 2016 festival, which included Tiesto, Hardwell, and Bassnectar. Other artists began getting announced on 28 April 2016 via Electric Zoo's social media pages. Stages for the 2016 festival were curated by Anjunadeep, ANTS, Buygore,
Dim Mak The touch of death (or death-point striking) refers to any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body. The concept known as ''dim mak'' (), alternatively ' () traces its ...
, Elrow, and Sunday School.


Electric Zoo 2018

Electric Zoo 2018 was held during Labor Day weekend on August 31–September 2. It was called "The Big 10," in honor of the festival's 10th anniversary.


Electric Zoo 2019

Electric Zoo 2019 was held during Labor Day weekend on August 30–September 1.


Electric Zoo 2021

The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The event returned in 2021, with safety protocols including all stages being open-air,, and requiring
proof of vaccination A vaccine passport or proof of vaccination is an immunity passport employed as a credential in countries and jurisdictions as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic via vaccination. A vaccine passport is typically issued by a governm ...
in order to attend. The stages featured a new theme, "Supernaturals", including "The Den" (house and techno), "The Gateway" (melodic trance and melodic bass), "The Teleporter", and the main stage "The Hive". The festival was nearly hampered by rains from
Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...
. Electric Zoo 2022 Electric Zoo 2022 was held during Labor Day weekend on September 2–September 4.


Electric Zoo Mexico

On December 15, 2013, Made Event announced the first edition of Electric Zoo outside the United States. Electric Zoo Mexico took place May 3 and 4, 2014 in Mexico City.


Initiatives

In 2010, Made Event donated $42,000 to FLOW, an outdoor art exhibition project in coordination with The Randall's Island Park Alliance, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Fund. The organizers of Electric Zoo also donated $2 from every ticket sale in 2011 to the project. In 2011, Electric Zoo also partnered with Music Unites, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, to auction off a Pioneer CDJ-2000 signed by Electric Zoo artists, and helped bring music education to underprivileged children in innercity school systems. In 2011, Electric Zoo introduced an on-site recycling program for all trash, water in cardboard containers, compostable plates and utensils, began using 100% biodiesel alternative fuel from NYC fryer grease, and required that all food vendors source only organic, hormone-free, humanely raised animals.


Awards and nominations


DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...
azine's top 50 Festivals


International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 e ...


Pre-2016


2018–present


See also

*
List of electronic music festivals The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (E ...


Notes


References


External links

*
About Electric Zoo Festival on russian
{{Electronic music festival Music festivals established in 2009 Electronic music festivals in the United States Electronic music festivals in Mexico Festivals in Mexico City Music festivals in New York City