The 2016 Northside Festival is upon us with shows happening all over Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick from June 9 – 12!
This is what’s happening!
Wolf Parade, Land of Talk @ McCarren Park (Thursday, June 9)
RSVP for this free show is still open.
Steve Gunn, Yonatan Gat, Cut Worms @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Thurdsay, June 9)
dälek, Tombs, Couch Slut, Yellow Eyes @ Saint Vitus (Thursday, June 9)
Yumi Zouma, TEEN, Prince Innocence, DJ Lemonade, CSLSX, Maria Usbeck @ Union Pool (Thursday, June 9)
D∆WN (Dawn Richard), Kingdom @ Rough Trade (Friday, June 10)
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Two Inch Astronaut, For Everest @ Palisades (Friday, June 10)
JEFF the Brotherhood, Flasher, Bombay @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Friday, June 10)
Colleen Green, Childbirth, Diet Cig @ Baby’s All Right (Friday, June 10)
Bichkraft, Posse, Honey, Cottaging (night) / SAVAK, Honey Radar, Big Quiet, “Special Guest” (day) @ Union Pool (Saturday, June 11)
Conor Oberst, Kacey Musgraves, The Felice Brothers @ McCarren Park (Saturday, June 11)
Grouper @ National Sawdust (two shows) (Saturday, June 11)
Psychic Ills, Weyes Blood, She-Devils @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Saturday, June 11)
Frankie Cosmos (playing Liz Phair), Ava Luna (playing Serge Gainsbourg), Deradoorian (playing Black Sabbath) @ Rough Trade (Saturday, June 11)
Brian Wilson (playing Pet Sounds), Rostam, Hinds @ McCarren Park (Sunday, June 12)
Omni, Malky, Yowler, She-Devils @ The Lyft Stage at Williamsburg Walks (Sunday, June 12)
Into It. Over It., Hurry, Clique @ Rough Trade (Sunday, June 12)
Oddisee & Good Compny, Lushlife + CSLSX @ Brooklyn Bowl (Sunday, June 12)
There are several ways to decrease the amount of stress a festival goer can have if they are overwhelmed by a large lineup like that of Northside. With over 400 acts announced, and potentially more to come, it’s a scary number for your ears to have to face. Here are some ways to decrease that sense of doom before the first day of the show.
Do your research.
This method of de-stressing starts with a question: How do you want to remember your experience at Northside?
This is a more intense, alternative method. If you are looking for a specific genre to surround yourself with all weekend (whether it be funk, punk, or whatever), it may not hurt to randomly select bands in the lineup to listen to a track or two. It seems a bit extensive, but if you are looking to specialize your experience at Northside, this is the best way to go. Besides, while researching you can learn a medley of other things. This can include what stages to avoid, or even in the most positive circumstances, new music you never thought you would enjoy. The festival website offers resources to help you decide what you need, so take advantage of it.
Create a custom schedule.
This goes along with the ideal of needing to do research. Check out the bands you want to see, and if you are able to create a custom schedule for yourself, you’ll be level-headed and less overwhelmed when you enter the venue. If you know you want to see Kacey Musgraves, you can mark off bands that are playing at the same time, or you can even mark off bands playing an hour or two before her if you are a determined listener. The idea with custom planning is to distill what’s necessary into a tangible timetable. Having that physical document will prove useful when you’re becoming euphoric off all the good music being played.
Figure out why you’re going to the festival.
This is the most important and significant way to decrease stress at a festival with such a large lineup. There are several types of festival goers. For example, there are drifters who float aimlessly between acts all weekend who are focused on socializing. There are people who are there to see just a handful of their favorite acts in particular and nothing else. There are people who go specifically to be introduced to new music. Once you figure out the distilled reason you’re going to Northside, the stress will be lifted.
For those who focus on socializing, smaller venues on the festival map would serve you best. Alternatively, one could go to the dance-based, electronic venues for more of a club vibe – just follow the sounds of synths and EDM to find your home. For those who want to see a few acts, and then have nothing else to do for the rest of the concert, the best suggestion is to go to those stages where your favorite bands are playing, and camp there. If a band is so important to you as a listener, sit and wait through two, three, maybe five acts prior so you are assured optimal seating/standing.
This way, you’ll get what you came, while also being exposed to new things. And for those who are seeking new tunes all week long, a shocking realization to have is you have nothing to be stressed about. You may not see every single act, but that is not what music is about. It is about enjoying what the festival’s variety has to offer. If you enjoy the variety, and come out one band stronger than you came in, you have succeeded in being a great festival attendee.
Northside has a wide set of artists, growing to grown, hip hop to progressive rock. The best way to enjoy a festival is to not feel like you have missed out on the good music by hindering yourself with the fear you’re missing out on what’s great. The festival is what you’ll make of it, and the experience each individual will cultivate will be a prized one if they choose to create it that way. Ultimately, enjoy the music you expose yourself to, and you will be fine!
Check out the intense lineup here.
