The Meadows Music & Arts Festival @ Citi Field (Queens, NY) on September 15-17, 2017 [Show Review]

There is no shortage of concert festivals, but the New York City metro area rarely has more than a handful of worthwhile outdoor festivals to check out each year. September 15 through 17, 2017 brought the third annual edition of The Meadows Music & Arts Festival. Taking place in the parking lot of Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, prior editions of The Meadows included The 1975, Kanye West, Chance The Rapper, and Cage The Elephant. 2017’s headliners were Jay-Z, Gorillaz, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Weezer, Run The Jewels, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, and Tegan & Sara were among the other major artists who performed.

Also unique to The Meadows its inclusion of top-tier food vendors. Much like its sister festival Governors Ball — as also produced by Founders Entertainment — The Meadows has a curated food lineup. This year’s food vendors were selected by The Infatuation, aside from the Feastival Of Queens. The Feastival was overseen by Queens-based food writer Joe DiStefano, as featuring local vendors. Simply put, no matter your dietary preferences or restrictions, there was something for you to eat and/or drink at The Meadows. Also a photo booth by Infatuation Village.

While my photo pass didn’t get me into all of the needed photo pits — let’s just say that some artists have restrictions, and some security guards don’t honor photo passes — below are some of the highlights from Day 3 of the Flushing, Queens extravaganza.

Russell Simmons made a surprise appearance and announced that a film was being shot during the set of Ghostface Killah:

An under-the-stage view from one of the photo pits:

The inflatables were flying before Weezer took the stage:

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo in action:

Weezer’s Scott Shriner sings the chorus during “Hash Pipe”:

Broken Social Scene during its mid-day set:

Check out a video showcasing the festival’s 2017 line-up.