How to get to the All Points West Festival at Liberty State Park
The 2009 All Points West festival names Jay-Z to replace the Beastie Boys
Follow the NY Coastal Travel Examiner 7/31 -8/1 on location at the All Points West Festival here and on Twitter @BiancaCS.
About the All Points West Festival: This is the second year the massive All Points West Music and Arts Festival will play the banks of the Hudson River, with the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. Before this festival landed last year, the New York City area hadn’t hosted a huge multi-act, multi-day outdoor festival like this. Sure there were fantastic single day performances that filled up Central Park and festivals that were spread out around city clubs. But the All Points West festival is bringing the excitement of an enormous 65 band, 30,000 person per day outdoor festival right to the shores around New York City—a feat that seemed almost impossible given the lack of space around the city. There's high hope that the three-day festival can become "Coachella East" as it takes over Liberty State Park, New Jersey, July 31- August 2. The kickoff event is right in the middle of Times Square at the Nokia Theather on July 30th.
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All Points West in the shadow of Lady Liberty by said and done
The location at Liberty State Park in Jersey City is the thing. It's a short 15-30 minute commute from Manhattan with a spectacular view over New York Harbor and it’s absolutely urban. There’s no five hour trek into the desert, no bumpy ride out to a Tennessee farm and no swimming against the current across the Great Lakes. All Points West is right here around New York City. Gothamist and the New York Times interviewed a producer of All Points West during last year’s launch on the challenges and possiblities of mounting a festival of this scale around New York City.
Two of last year's three days were sold out with Radiohead headlining. As thrilling as that was for their many fans, it left some asking for more variety. So All Points West answered with diverse headliners for 2009: Jay-Z on July 31, Tool on August 1 and Coldplay on August 2. There will be plenty more well-known bands like the now iconic Echo and the Bunnymen, the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Silversun Pickups, The Ting-Tings and MGMT (see the complete lineup). There’s even some local New York favorites like The Postelles and Vampire Weekend. The line-up has a good mix of artists, it’s not all rock or indie bands. It has alternative, indie, mainstream, uncategorized, hip-hop, electronic and jam band rock. The All Points West Examiners have updates and profiles on many of the artists.
In the air at the All Points West festival with Manhattan to the East by pennington
In true mega-festival fashion, there will be much more than music. A big tent called “Queen of the Valley,” like the one at Coachella, will be hosting comedy, DJs and electronica. The large Renegade Craft Fair will be showcasing handmade art, jewelry, clothes, and other items. All Points West organizers and New Jersey officials seem to have agreed on an enhanced beer garden setup that promises a less restrictive and time-consuming beer experience. Additionally, there will be some on-site parking this year and free rides on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail down to Liberty State Park. Details on transportation are here.
This is only the beginning for this festival. The producers seem to be listening and acting on what fans want and New York and New Jersey are happy to have it. With the growing success and longevity of destination festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza and the bang for the buck that a packaged festival offers in a rough economy, the All Points West Music and Arts Festival seems to have all its stars aligned for success.
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All Points West Music Festival
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