By Amoni Haynes | October 11, 2021
Over the past year, large gatherings were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you want to enjoy the festival atmosphere now that venues have reopened and artists are back on tour, here are some upcoming events in the New York area.
Governor’s Ball 2021: Queens, NY
This year’s star-studded Governors Ball music festival took off over the weekend of Sept. 24th at Citi Field in Queens, New York. Gov Ball, as the show is more widely known, is hosted by Founders Entertainment, a musical promotion company, and was first launched in 2011. For the past decade, the festival has been known for showcasing superstars, as well as up and coming, artists in various genres including hip hop, alternative, rock, pop, folk, and more.
This year’s Gov Ball headliners included Billie Eilish, A$AP Rocky, J Balvin, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Kehlani, and Phoebe Bridgers, with smaller artists such as Tate McRae, 99 Neighbors, Bankroll Hayden, Duck Sauce, Mazie, and more. With great weather and awesome food truck options, the festival was a great event to attend for the weekend. Some notable performances were Kehlani's Friday set, where she dedicated the performance of her new single “Altar” to individuals who lost their friends and family due to COVID-19. At one point in Billie Eilish’s performance, she sang a song on a floating platform. And although he performed only half a show due to a set delay, 21 Savage ignited the crowd with a few of his hit singles “Bank Account”, “Mr. Right Now”, and “Knife Talk”, his hit feature on Drake’s new album “Certified Lover Boy”. Post Malone closed out the three-day festival as the Sunday headliner. He played hit singles “White Iverson”, “Wow”, and “Psycho”, and brought out a number of guests to share the spotlight. Roddy Rich played his smash hit single “The Box”, 21 Savage came out to help him perform “Rockstar”, and Young Thug got on stage for their song “Goodbyes”. He finished the night with his hit song “Congratulations”. Unlike the rain delay and cancellations that occurred at the 2019 Gov Ball festival, this year was filled with excitement and amazing performances.
40th Anniversary Asbury Short Film Concert: Albany, New York
After being held virtually due to the coronavirus last year, the Asbury Short Film Concert is back in person, at the Linda WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio for its 40th Anniversary. For 40 years, their films have been presented in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. The purpose of the film “concerts” is to showcase world-renowned, award-winning short films in cinemas, performing arts centers, museums, and outdoor locations. This film concert gives audience members a theatre environment of short films ranging from different genres such as animation, comedy, drama, documentary, and more. This year’s concert is Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. with a $15 general admission ticket price.
Homecoming 2021: Albany, New York
A Little Booking Agency LLC and Live Nation, two music promotion agencies, have partnered to bring a concert to the Times Union Center. With Lil Durk and Toosi headlining and supporting acts like Fivio Foreign, Dusty Locane, DJ JP, and others, this is the perfect event for rap fans. The concert is on Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m with tickets starting at $55 and floor seats at $75.
The Found Footage Festival: Albany, New York
The Found Footage Festival is a film and live comedy festival founded by Joe Pickett, Nick Prueher, and Geoff Haas in 2004 in Wisconsin and Minnesota. While in college, Pickett, Prueher, and Haas collected old videos, ranging from normal films to unusual and odd job training videos. They pieced together certain segments of these videos in a humorous manner and showed them at parties. The three friends then turned their production into a tour. Their films have appeared in the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, and the New York Comedy Festival. The festival will be coming to Linda WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in Albany, New York on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m with tickets at $15. If you have an interest in vintage films and love a good laugh, this festival is great for you.
Rolling Loud New York 2021: Queens, NY
Rolling Loud is back in New York once again with new headliners for a three-day hip-hop festival. It begins with Queens' own 50 Cent as the Thursday headliner, J. Cole on Friday, and Travis Scott bringing it to a close on Saturday. There is a range of supporting acts performing throughout the three days including the likes of Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Durk, Lil Baby, Playboi Carti, Roddy Rich, Megan Thee Stallion, Moneybagg Yo, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, 42 Dugg, Trippie Redd, Nav, $not, Rico Nasty, to name a few. From Oct. 28 through Oct. 30, General Admission three-day tickets are priced at $399 with limited availability, so get them before they’re gone.