In the season of festival line-up announcements, New York City’s Panorama Festival contrarily confirms a hiatus in 2019. Denied by NYC Parks for a permit, this ill-fortune music festival will not be returning to Randall’s Island. Organizers can’t seem to catch a break as they remain scrambling for a new home. This comes after a string of unfortunate events. Most notably, Panorama was under scrutiny last year for evacuating Day-1 due to a severe storm. This came only a year after a stage floor collapsed in 2017.
They don’t exactly have the best rap sheet, having only been founded in 2016. Regardless, Panorama spent the first three years on Randall’s Island hosting countless high profile performances. This festival stage has been graced by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, The Killers, Janet Jackson, Frank Ocean, Odesza, and Tame Impala. All encompassing, this multi-genre music festival was truly suitable for attendees of all ages and for the entire family.
With this new issue at hand, parent company AEG hopes to seek a permanent home at Flushing Meadows, Queens.
“PANORAMA WILL BE TAKING A HIATUS IN 2019 WHILE WE CONTINUE DISCUSSIONS WITH NYC PARKS TO BRING THE FESTIVAL TO FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK IN QUEENS, WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED…WHILE WE ENJOYED OUR TIME ON RANDALL’S ISLAND AND ITS GREAT FACILITIES, WE FEEL THAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED ALL THAT WE CAN AT THIS SITE…”
There’s no denying the difficulty sustaining a music festival in NYC. With stringent permit requirements and gambling weather conditions, it always seems like an uphill battle. Having already lost EDC NY, and The Meadows Music & Arts Festival, NYC will definitely feel the emptiness this summer. Hopefully Panorama returns in 2020 with a better run in luck, until then – we’ll be waiting!
