It was a dream come true for Juliet Ivy.

The singer and songwriter performed at Forest Hills Stadium on May 11 at the Head in the Clouds Music and Arts Festival. Ivy was raised near the venue and attended many a show there over the years.

“I literally grew up a few blocks from here so, it was just so crazy, and growing up being like in these seats and then seeing the stadium from that view, it was just surreal,” said Ivy, who is on tour promoting her latest EP with her three-piece backing band. 

What You Need To Know

  • Forest Hills Stadium is hosting around 30 concerts this year from May through October

  • The historic stadium in Queens is 101 years old and was once home to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships

  • Operators of the stadium have installed new sound mitigation measures to respond to neighbors who complain the concerts are too loud

Ivy was part of another season of concerts at the 101-year-old venue. The stadium was once home to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The venue has hosted a slew of legendary performers like The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

The concert season of around 30 shows returns this year as the operators of the stadium are entangled in a legal battle with residents, who claim the concerts are too noisy and decrease the quality of life in the neighborhood.

Tiebreaker Productions has responded with additional sound mitigation measures within the main entrances to the ground level of the stadium, as residents have maintained more needs to be done.

The shows with acts like The Chainsmokers, Idles and Khruangbin will go on as planned. 

“I’m personally super excited to see the Marley Brothers come back. Pitbull is coming for the first time, a bunch of dance music. Hozier is going to be the first artist in 101 years to sell out four nights in a row,” Mike Luba, a partner in Tiebreaker Productions, said.

The Avett Brothers are also part of the Forest Hills lineup. The folk rock band from North Carolina said they don’t take for granted the history of the location and the many legends who graced the stage.

“We feel that we are very excited to be there. We count it as a very special and unique privilege of opportunity, for sure, for sure,” Scott and Seth Avett, founders of the group, said.

The same can be said for Ivy, a graduate of Hunter College High School in Manhattan, who is still thinking about her recent performance and looking forward to the next one.

“I just love the energy that the crowds always bring here and that the space cultivates,” she said.