Coachella Producers Bringing Panorama Fest To NYC In July
Back in September, rumors surfaced that the production company behind Coachella was planning on bringing a new music festival called Panorama, named for the 10,000 square-foot Panorama Of The City Of New York scale model in the Queens Museum, to Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park in June. The folks behind Governors Ball, which takes place on NYC’s Randall’s Island every year in June, understandably weren’t too happy about that, and they petitioned the city to block Panorama, arguing that “The timing of this proposed event is an aggressive, greedy attempt by AEG to push a small independent company of born and bred New Yorkers out of business and out of the market.”
Well, it looks like they weren’t totally successful — Panorama isn’t happening in June, but it’s still happening. And it’s not happening in Queens anymore, either. No, it’s happening in Randall’s Island Park, the same park that hosts Gov Ball, from July 22-24, a mere seven weeks later. Which probably means that Gov Ball is not long for this world, as it’s hard to see both festivals coexisting peacefully for more than a few years and Panorama has the full weight of Coachella organizers Goldenvoice behind it. “We look forward to bringing Panorama to New York City and introducing a new festival that showcases today’s top music acts,” said Panorama producer Mark Shulman in a press release. “We’re committed to creating an event that will provide significant benefits to New York City with the level of experience and meticulous attention to detail for which Goldenvoice is known.”
That proposed Queens festival isn’t out of the picture completely, though. In addition to bids for a festival in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park from Madison Square Garden and the Gov Ball organizers, Goldenvoice is still eyeing the area. “Goldenvoice has received tremendous support from the local community and elected officials who recognize the immense economic benefits these types of events deliver to their businesses and constituents,” Shulman says. “We look forward to continuing our discussions with NYC Parks to create an event to take place in Queens in the future.”