Sunday September 4th unfortunately marked the last day of this season’s Electric Zoo, which visited Randall’s Island for its 8th consecutive year.
The curse of Sunday at Electric Zoo was broken this year! The two previous Sundays before 2016 were not meant to be and had to be cancelled, leaving ravers very skeptical about this year’s Sunday E-Zoo. At the beginning of the week, a tropical storm was announced by the weather channel, leaving attendees with low expectations that Sunday would happen. The weather proved us wrong and not only was there no storm but the weather was the opposite, with a big sun and no wind.
This day surpassed the attendees number of any previous year, bringing to the island a sold out day of around 33,000 attendees. The lines for food, bathroom, drinks and entry increased but that still didn’t stop music lovers from dancing on their waiting spot. One could see smiles and feel good vibes all around! It felt like a community that was gathered together to celebrate their passion!
Lucas De’ll Abate took over the welcoming Treehouse stage at 1 p.m. and so the party began. Many gathered for Guevara’s set which started 45 minutes later, setting the mood for Tre to come on at 2:45 p.m.. At 3:15 p.m. the duo Cheric & Amin took over with Steve Cox next at 4:15 p.m. Minutia’s great skills were shown off at 5:15 p.m. and Viviana Toscanini followed at 6:15 p.m. Salvione came on at 7:15 p.m. and last but not least Shahar went B2B with Pablo Romero, performing a great closing set for this year’s Treehouse stage.
This day’s Sunday School stage was curated by experimental party company ANTS. The stage was very nicely decorated and invited its guests to have a phenomenal time! Julia Govor took over this stage at 1 p.m., 2:15 p.m. &ME came on and Agoria at 3:30 p.m. Andrea Oliva killed it on his set at 5 p.m. and Davide Squillace took over at 6:30 p.m. Henrik Schwarz killed it and 8 p.m and Joris Voom was just mind blowing giving a madness of energy as he closed this year’s Sunday School Electric Zoo.
The set up of Hilltop stage was so appealing and special because the site created some cool in the hot environment. A coolness very needed for all the hot talent that stepped onto this stage. Styles & Complete began the day of mixes and drops at 1 p.m., followed by Valentino Khan’s awesomeness at 2:30 p.m.. Getter took over at 4 p.m. and Lil Dicky came on at 5 p.m.. The rebounded GTA overflowed the stage with their huge following this evening and Juicy J kept the entertainment going at 7 p.m. Finally Borgore’s closing set was to dream of, leaving everyone more than satisfied on this long day of tunes.
The Octopus came to life for a last time this day, but the DJs and producers who played at the Riverside stage gave more than life to the ocean animal, by bringing melodies and energy to its audience. One could never grow tired of seeing the great set up of the stage, the changing lights and of course, the unbelievable talent made it hard for one to stop moving. Luke Bond began the celebration at 1 p.m., with amazing KhoMha taking over at 2:15 p.m.. Jason Ross came on at 3:15 p.m., Pierce Fulton at 4:30 p.m., Ilan Bluestone at 5:45 p.m., leading to Andrew Bayer’s great set at 7 p.m. Gareth Emery closed the night at 8:15 p.m. and left ravers cured from dancing and raving.
A beautiful sun set upon this music temple and just when one thought Electric Zoo had reached it’s full level of greatness, the orange and pink colors of the sky highlighted all the stages. This combined with the incredible song playing all around made it an unforgettable moment and an unforgettable day.
During the last 7 years that Electric Zoo has taken place, the Main Stage has witnessed the biggest names in the industry and of course this year was no exception. The sets were not only mind blowing but the talent included legends and artists that have skyrocketed to the top by their incredible songs and hard work. This day of musical explosions began at 1 p.m. with Codeko. Vice came on the following hour and Zaxx the hour after. The rebounded Cedric Gervais killed it on his set at 4 p.m., Andrew Rayel at 5 p.m. and by the time Cash Cash came on at 6 p.m., the audience had reached its limit. They played songs from their newest album Sweat, Blood and 3 Years, including the hit “Millionaire” ft. Nelly, “Devil” ft. B.o.B, and “How To Love” ft. Sofia Reyes, amongst others. Blasterjaxx came on at 7 p.m. and the distinguished Chainsmokers filled the stage even when no room seemed to be available. They pleased their audience by playing all of their newly released songs, including a little a capella snippet of single “Closer”, which by the way just went platinum, as well as “Roses”, “Waterbed” and many others.
The pioneer of EDM Hardwell came on at 9:25 p.m. and absolutely blew everyone away. Goosebumps were present on the audience throughout his performances as he played all of his famous songs as well as remixed other known melodies. Right before parting ways with the attendees, he declared his farewell by playing “Empire State Of Mind” by Jay Z/Alicia Keys, a song that everyone in the audience knew and sang, almost overcoming the track itself. Fireworks burst into the air and lit up the audience, the sky and the stage, and finally the last day of this musical madness came to an end.
Electric Zoo said farewell this year but will be back next year for it’s 9th consecutive year, and there is no doubt that the bar will just keep raising and raising.
Electric Zoo was brought to you by SFX Entertainment, Inc.