Electric Zoo
Electric Zoo is an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City 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.
| Electric Zoo Festival | |
|---|---|
 Electric Zoo Festival | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Music festival |
| Frequency | Annually, Labor Day Weekend |
| Venue | Randall's Island Park NYC |
| Location(s) | New York City, USA, Cancun, Mexico, Campinas, Brazil, Tokyo, Japan, Beijing, China |
| Country | United States Mexico Brazil Japan China |
| Years active | 11 |
| Inaugurated | September 5, 2009 |
| Founder | Made Event |
| Most recent | August 28-30, 2020 |
| Previous event | August 30–September 1, 2019 |
| Next event | September 4-6, 2021 |
| Website | www |
In its 2009 inaugural year, 26,000 people attended to see artists Armin van Buuren, Deadmau5, David Guetta and Ferry Corsten. In 2011, Electric Zoo expanded to a 3-day festival and with 85,000 attendees. Electric Zoo received International Dance Music Awards nominations in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 for "Best Music Event".[1]
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.
2009 Lineup:
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Source: Last.fm
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.
2010 Lineup:
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Source: Plexi PR
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.[2]
2011 Lineup:
Source: Heavy
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, Laidback Luke, Dada Life, Tiësto, Porter Robinson and Skrillex.[3] Made Event offered free water refill stations, designated help points and employed security staff.[4]
2012 Lineup:
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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 and an overdose of MDMA during the festival, and four others had fallen ill.[5] 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 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."[6][7] On September 3, 2013, Bloomberg made a statement on the matter, lauding organizers for being "nothing but cooperative" in the wake of the tragedy.[8]
2013 Lineup:
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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 to conduct a review of Electric Zoo's health and safety practices.[9] 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 to activate their wristbands 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.[9][10]
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.[11][12]
2014 Lineup:
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Electric Zoo 2015
In December 2014, it was announced that ID&T, organizers of the Tomorrowland festival and a fellow SFX subsidiary, would serve as a "creative partner" for Electric Zoo 2015.[13] The festival was revamped with an "immersive" 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.[14][15] Alesso, Above & Beyond, and The Chemical Brothers 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.[16]
The concert was held over the Labor Day weekend, September 4, 5, 6, 2015.
2015 Lineup:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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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.[17] 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, Elrow, and Sunday School.
2016 Lineup[18]:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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Electric Zoo 2017
Electric Zoo 2017 was held during Labor Day weekend on September 1–3. Named "Electric Zoo: The 6th Boro"
2017 Lineup:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
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| Main Stage |
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| Hilltop Arena
(Elrow Sunday) |
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| Riverside |
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| Awakenings |
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| 6 Pointz |
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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.
2018 Lineup:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
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| Main Stage |
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| Hilltop Arena |
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| Riverside |
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| Sunday School Grove |
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| Treehouse |
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Electric Zoo 2019
Electric Zoo 2019 was held during Labor Day weekend on August 30–September 1.
2019 Lineup:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
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| Main Stage |
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| Hilltop Arena |
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| Riverside |
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| All My Friends |
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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.[19]
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.[20] 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.[21]
Awards and nominations
DJ Magazine's top 50 Festivals
| Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | World's Best Festival | Electric Zoo – New York City, USA | 41st | [22] |
Pre-2016
| Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Best Music Event | Electric Zoo - New York City, New York | Nominated | [23] |
| 2011 | Nominated | [24] | ||
| 2012 | Nominated | [25] | ||
| 2013 | Nominated | [26] | ||
| 2014 | Nominated | [27] | ||
2018–present[upper-alpha 1]
| Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Best Festival | Electric Zoo | Nominated | [29] |
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Electric Zoo Festival. |
Notes
- No award ceremony was held in 2017. In 2018 winners were chosen by the Winter Music Conference themselves. 2019 marks the first year of public voting since the Winter Music Conference's restructure.[28]
References
- "28th Annual International Dance Music Awards - Winter Music Conference 2013 - WMC 2013". Archived from the original on 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- "Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic Music Fans Attend 3-Day Festival + Gallery of Photos". Plexi PR. 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
- "Official EDM Lounge Electric Zoo Preview - Blog - EDM Lounge - Electronic Dance Music, News, and Reviews". www.edmlounge.com.
- Electric Zoo Marks The Perfect End To The Summer of Electronic Dance Music in America, WhiteRaverRafting
- Mckinley Jr, James C. (September 12, 2013). "Overdoses of 'Molly' Led to Electric Zoo Deaths". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- Yee, Vivian; Rashbaum, William K. (September 1, 2013). "Weekend Revelry Cut Short After 2 Die at Electronic Music Festival". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- "Electric Zoo Festival Canceled After Two Deaths". Billboard. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- "Mayor Lauds Electric Zoo's Record". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- "A Bit of Caution Beneath the Thump". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Electric Zoo to Clamp Down on Drugs This Year". Wall Street Journal. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Electric Zoo Festival Canceled Due to Severe Weather". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Storms in Northeast Shut Down Concerts, Delay Flights". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- "Electric Zoo Partners With ID&T For 2015 'Transformation'; Pre-sale Tickets Announced". Music Times. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- "Can Electric Zoo Bounce Back After Tragedy?". Billboard. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- "Electric Zoo reveals new stage designs for Transformed festival". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- "Exclusive: Chemical Brothers, Alesso, Above & Beyond to Headline 2015 Electric Zoo". Billboard. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- "Electric Zoo 2016 Announces Phase One Headliners: Exclusive". Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- "Lineup | Electric Zoo". Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- "Electric Zoo makes the move to Mexico, May 3rd and 4th".
- "Electric Zoo Gives Randall's Island a Positive Charge". 19 August 2011.
- "Electric Zoo is Going Green!". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- https://djmag.com/longreads/dj-mags-top-50-festivals-2019
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2018-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2018-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2018-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2018-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- https://www.decodedmagazine.com/the-33rd-annual-international-dance-music-awards-idma-announces-nominees/
- https://wintermusicconference.com/idma/