Kanye West and The 1975 are just some of the acts expected this weekend at the Meadows Festival, but it's not only about the big names. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.
The hip-hop collective World's Fair has played in front of many big crowds, but Saturday will be a first for the seven-member group: a huge audience in their home borough of Queens.
"It's like performing for your family," said Remy Banks of World's Fair. "Can't explain. It's like when you're at a Thanksgiving dinner and you are doing a little song for the family. That's what it feels like."
And the group's name is perfect for the first ever Meadows music and arts festival. Performers will play on four stages in the Citi Field parking lot, adjacent to the site of the two World's Fairs held in Queens.
The same folks who put together the popular Governors Ball festival are producing this weekend's event.
"For us, even though it's a parking lot, given our production expertise and our creativity, we really think we've made a really compelling awesome venue, in a really unique layout, that music fans will really enjoy," said Tom Russell of Founders Entertainment.
Eighty thousand people are expected over the two-day festival. Among the big names appearing include Kanye West, whose performance at this year's Governor's Ball was rained out. There's also The 1975, J. Cole and Chance the Rapper.
The Weeknd was originally scheduled to perform, but the festival announced Friday night that he was forced to cancel his set.
The Weeknd has been forced to cancel his set at The Meadows due to scheduling conflicts.
— The Meadows NYC (@themeadowsnyc) September 30, 2016
due to the new curfew changes and scheduling I can no longer perform at meadows. New York I'll make it up to you 🤘🏾
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 30, 2016
The promoters say they are working with local organizations, like the Queens Public Library and Rockaway RBI, in order to help the community that is hosting the festival.
"If we can touch the local community and benefit them, everybody wins," Russell said.
And food lovers win, too. Queens-based food writer Joe DiStefano has curated the FEASTival of Queens, a chance to sample the diverse borough's many culinary options.
"A lot of these operators are mom and pop people that if you didn't take one of my food tours or you weren't a local, you might not know about these places," DiStefano said.
No need to tell that to the guys in World's Fair, who are well aware of what the borough has to offer and ready to be part of it all at The Meadows.
"I just want to do this and just knock it out, knock it out of the ballpark," said Lansky Jones of World's Fair.
For details on the festival, head to www.themeadowsnyc.com.