September 15–17, 2017, Queens, NY- Three days of amazement from start to finish; if you’re a music lover you were in attendance for the 2017 Meadows Music Festival. Words can not describe this year’s festival. The Meadows featured an array of amazing performers Jay- Z, Nas, LL Cool J, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Nicki Minaj, Gorillaz, Big Boi and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to name a few. With so many top artists in one place over three days its hard to pick your favorite moment of the show every performance was amazing and entertaining.
On day one Jay-Z gave an amazing opening day headlining performance. For nearly two hours JAY went in on stage, going through hit after hit of his very extensive catalog, giving a flawless performance. If the festival ended that day you would have gotten more than your money’s worth. Throughout Jay’s performance, there were a lot of key memorable moments but in my opinion none more memorable that when he brought out Damian Marley, the set’s only guest performer for the song “Bam” their collaboration on Jay-Z’s recently released 4:44 LP. Jay-Z not only a true artist but also a true music fan switched it up going into the role of Hype Man and allowing Damian Marley to perform his signature track ” Welcome to Jamrock”. Jay-Z ended his set with one of his most inspiring tracks “Forever Young”, which was the perfect song to end the day. As always Jay-Z’s performance was nothing short of perfect.
After such an awesome opening day you didn’t think that day two would have been able to compare especially with Jay-Z closing out the first day, but day two was just as good as day one. The second day of the festival featured many great performances and a host of guest appearances, such as Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, and A Tribe Called Quest to name a few.
All the performances on day two were amazing, and it’s very hard to choose one performance over another, but I can’t help but highlight the performance of a music legend such as LL Cool J. The Rap icon gave the audience a history lesson bring out other legends of the Rap game, Q-Tip and Jarobi White of A Tribe Called Quest, D.M.C of Run D.M.C and none other than Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. LL’s performance was filled with high energy giving the audience classic LL; he hasn’t lost a step. He embodied the meaning of timeless preforming now just as good as he did in his prime. The Queens M.C. ended his set with one of his most notable signature tracks” Rock the Bells”.
Day two featured other amazing performances from De La Soul, Erykah Badu, A-Trak, Big Gigantic, Future, M.I.A., Tv on the Radio, Gorillaz, Mos Def, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.
The final day of the festival brought a change of pace, where the first two days were dominated mostly by Hip Hop acts, day three was filled with rock and dance artists. Fantastic Negrito kicked off the day with his passionate soulful music. As it drew you in, you got lost in the crowd forgetting that soon the epic event would come to an end.
The rest of the day featured performances from the Dreamers, Wild Belle, GTA, Broods, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Foster the People, Action Bronson, Broken Social Scene, NAS, Weezer, Lido, Sleigh Bells, Bassnectar, and the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers. Day three was just as exciting as the previous two days, so much so you didn’t want it to end.
Unfortunately, the festival had to come to an end and there was no better choice than to end with the world famous Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of the most successful rock acts in history, the Red Hot Chili Peppers came out and gave a mind-blowing performance to end the day; despite some minor technical difficulties. Delivering 90 minutes of straight hits the Peppers had you in music heaven, there was no doubt why they were chosen to end the festival.
The Meadows has been one of the most exciting events so far this year in the NYC Tristate area. If you had the misfortune of not making it this year make sure you get your tickets early for next year’s festival. Check out some of the shots from this amazing three-day event below.
