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[title]NYC’s homegrown summer music festival dedicated to electronic dance music, Electric Zoo (madeevent.com/electriczoo; Aug 30–Sept 1, 11am–11pm; one-day $139–$159, three-day pass $359–$1,199), returns to Randalls Island on Labor Day weekend to close out summer in New York. Unless you’re some sort of time-shifting wizard, it’s impossible to check out all 140 or so acts playing across five stages over three days. A bit of preplanning might come in handy—and we’re here to help.
RECOMMENDED: Complete Electric Zoo guide
Electric Zoo: Friday, August 30, 2013
Don’t forget to call in sick to work. Then make for the fest’s Sunday School Grove section, where a trio of exceptionally creative producers—dubstep doyen Scuba, bass-music maestro Joy Orbison and techno experimentalist Four Tet—kick off the proceedings. Zip on over to the Riverside area to catch the deck-wrecking antics of French turntablists Birdy Nam Nam. Finally, return to the Grove, as the gorgeous deep house of Dixon paves the way for the gut-punching stylings of the city’s prog-tech king, Danny Tenaglia.
Electric Zoo: Saturday, August 31, 2013
When Electric Zoo first hit the scene in 2009, the current EDM megacraze was just a glint in the eye of the party’s promoters, Made Event. Now the sound is so massive you’ll want to pay tribute by ending up at Main Stage West, where a pair of very different pioneers—trance king Tiësto and glitter-house honcho David Guetta—will cap off the day. Chill first (“chill” being a very relative term here) by spreading out a blanket for some horizontal raving near the Hilltop Arena, where electronic-rock unit Noisia and moombahton mutilator Bro Safari will clear your sonic palate for the sublime melodies of the Moderat trio.
Electric Zoo: Sunday, September 1, 2013
It’s a race to the finish! Be sure to hit Main Stage West with Walden, a young Australian phenom whose four-to-the-floor beats have found favor with big-room-house kingpins worldwide. Then book it to Riverside for Jacques Lu Cont, the nom de musique of onetime Madonna collaborator (and producer of the Pet Shop Boys’ latest LP) Stuart Price; later, it’s off to Main Stage East for a dose of low-end wobble, courtesy of brostep creator (and, more recently, detractor) Rusko. Wind up with a techno smile at the Grove, as Victor Calderone and Adam Beyer lay down their hugely effective machine-tooled rhythms. Oh, one more thing: Don’t forget to preemptively call in sick for Tuesday.