Kendrick Lamar to headline fresh New York festival
Grammy winners Kendrick Lamar and Alabama Shakes were announced Tuesday as performers for New York's inaugural Panorama festival, the latest addition to the fast-growing US live music calendar.
AEG, the Los Angeles company behind Coachella, generally considered the most prominent US festival, is launching the July 22-24 event on the city's Randalls Island.
The festival is going ahead despite objections from organizers of homegrown Governors Ball, which will take place on June 3-5 on Randalls Island. They fear the city can't support two major festivals so close to one another.
The reflective rapper Kendrick Lamar was the biggest winner at last month's Grammys. Indie rock sensations Alabama Shakes tied for second place at the music industry's awards.
Panorama's other major acts will include leading indie rock bands Arcade Fire and The National, anonymity-obsessed Australian singer Sia and Major Lazer, one of the biggest names in electronic dance music.
LCD Soundsystem, the influential New York electronic outfit that is reuniting for Coachella, will also play Panorama.
Emphasizing the New York location, the festival will kick off with an event including figures from the art, fashion and technology worlds and will feature food from all five city boroughs.
Summer festivals are becoming a vital revenue stream for the music industry, with the number and size of events soaring in recent years, especially in North America.
Governors Ball earlier announced its lineup will include rap superstar Kanye West, alternative rock icon Beck and The Strokes, a key force in the New York punk revival in the 2000s.