Kick off of the Season for 88Rising’s Festival Series as a Success with Head in the Clouds NY 2024

Head in the Clouds NY 2024 was the second rendition of 88Rising’s festival series in New York City. With a successful run last year, excitement was brewing for round two. This year it was held on May 11th and 12th in Queens, New York at the Forest Hills Stadium. Regardless if planning this festival to take place during AANHPI month was intentional or not, having a festival to celebrate AANHPI talent and culture during this month is worth acknowledging!

Head in the Clouds- NY: 2024

Logistics for this festival changed slightly from the previous year. The two stage configuration from last year was slimmed down to one stage. This new setup guaranteed that festival attendees could watch every act through their entire set. To allow for easy setups between acts, the stage had a revolving stag! Some artists used this to their advantage and made charismatic entrances to their stages, notably thủy and Awich. Coincidentally, these two artists had possibly the best soloist stage presence of the weekend.

The food and beverage lineup included a wide range of offerings that we couldn’t name them all!

Personal weekend favorites included (in no particular order) thủy, (G)I-DLE, Lyn Lapid, Awich, Atarashii Gakko!, and BIBI.

HITC – NY: Day 1

Wang OK & Young Posse

The order of the lineup created an interesting cadence. There was an ebb and flow to the energy levels, moving between tranquil and energetic. Saturday afternoon began with Wang OK; her soothing set included “Go, Bye!” and “Before Spring Ends.” Following her up was K-pop group Young Posse. Their youthful spirit was infectious, opening up strong with “Posse Up!” and continuing their energy throughout their set.

Balming Tiger & Juliet Ivy

Balming Tiger (a South Korean music collective) was next, and their unique sound combined with abstract choreography made for an entertaining, delightful watch. Aside from tracks like “Sudden Attack” and “Sexy Nukim,” they performed unreleased track “Big Butt.” The stage was adorned with red bows for Juliet Ivy’s set, promising whimsy to come. The fresh-faced singer-songwriter, herself wearing red bows, performed with a smile gracing the audience throughout her set, which included some of her hits like “boytoy” and “bestfriend.”

thủy

thủy was one of the favorite darlings for the festival, especially after her stellar performance at Coachella. From the moment the stage rotated to reveal her entrance, she exuded absolute confidence. She started her set with her newest infectious single, “Hair Down,” and her energy never waivered. Included in her set was an unreleased single, “Cloud 11,” but thủy would be remiss if she didn’t perform her viral hit, “Girls Like Me Don’t Cry.”

Dhruv

Dhruv’s set brought a different vibe to the stage. He provided a calmer atmosphere in his performance, and while his set was enjoyable, it might have made more sense to shift his slot earlier in the day, given his mellow discography. The audience still enjoyed his set because how could you not? Songs in his set included “Moonlight” and “Double Take.”

Wave to Earth & Illenium/Dabin

Wave to Earth was another crowd-pleasing act. Performing songs including “Seasons,” “Calla,” and “Bad,” the band’s audience was audible even outside of the stadium (a feat, considering that the stadium was designed to minimize noise from traveling outside of it). Talking to several people afterwards, there was a general sentiment that Wave to Earth was one of the better sets of the day. Seasoned EDM artists Illenium and Dabin knew how to hype up a crowd. For the next hour, they electrified the audience with tracks like “Good Things Fall Apart.” Their set served as an energy accelerator to prime the audience for the headliner.

(G)I-DLE

(G)I-DLE started their set off with a bang, selecting their latest bold track, “Super Lady.” From there the energy on stage never waivered. Throughout their allotted time, the women showed off charisma and confidence that could only be established from six years of experience. Performing intense choreography, the 5 member group performed their discography hits, from older tracks like “Oh My God” to more recent songs like “Wife.” To end the night and Day 1 of the festival, the group selected their English track “I Do,” a bittersweet love song.

HITC- NY: Day 2

Due to unknown reasons, the finale was removed the day-of (Sunday), to many people’s disappointment. Despite the unfortunate development, Day 2 performers brought their A-game, and their stage presence was more notable.

Spence Lee

Sunday afternoon kicked off with Spence Lee. He provided a pleasant surprise when bringing out unexpected guest Slim Jxmmi for “SRT.” Lee also proved to be more creative with his stage by using a mic that he described as hanging from above. Though it could be difficult to observe this from certain places in the stadium, it was still great to see an opener be experimental with their stage set.

Warren Hue ft Chasu

Accompanied by friend and frequent collaborating, Chasu, Warren Hue took to the stage next. While maintaining a more nonchalant stage presence, Hue still managed to connect with his audience through his popular discography, including notable tracks “All Night,” “Tennessee,” and “In My Bag.”

Awich

Awich was an unexpected favorite of the weekend. She hit the ground running with “Gila Gila,” and the momentum only paused when she spoke about how meaningful it was for her and her family that she was performing where her late husband was from (this was a tear-jerker for some audience members). She resumed the momentum with her rendition of a “Tokyo Drift” freestyle and maintained the high energy up to the end of her set.

Deb Never

Deb Never starts off with “Momentary Sweetheart” with her acoustic guitar, before setting it aside to perform “Sweet and Spicy” and “Same.” She later returns to her acoustic guitar to perform an unreleased track, before trading it out with an electric guitar for the rest of her set. In between songs, she executed great crowd work, despite her songs being more melancholy. It’s quite an interesting contrast between her tracklist and her bubbly personality on stage.

Lyn Lapid

Lyn Lapid began her set with her latest single, “Cruise Control,” before mellowing out the set immediately with “the alternative.” Throughout her stage, she and her band appeared to have great chemistry (which was also evident from her instagram). The live band performance made even easy going songs like “east side” more upbeat and lively to watch. She finished her performance with “poster boy” (which, she recommends to first time listeners, according to our interview with her.)

Atarashii Gakko!

Atarashii Gakko! is a Head in the Clouds staple act at this point, and for a good reason. The quartet’s explosive energy and intricate choreography make for an enjoyable time. The fact that these animated women manage to trapeze across the stage while maintaining stabilized vocal performances is always a feat to admire, and they are just a delight to watch. Online footage doesn’t do them justice, and most people unfamiliar with the group leave their performances as new fans. Tracks performed include “Toryanse,” “Giri Giri,” and “Tokyo Calling.”

BIBI

Charming triple-threat BIBI enthralled the crowd the moment she appeared on stage. Whether she was performing choreography or not, she maintained a mesmerizing stage presence, and her crowd work was phenomenal – she even kissed a fan at the barricade, much to the excitement of the crowd. The Head in the Clouds alum was funny and charismatic throughout her time slot. Besides recent tracks like “Sugar Rush” she captivated the audience with older tracks like “BAD SAD AND MAD” and “KAZINO,” as well as fan favorites “The Weekend” and “BIBI Vengeance.” She finished her set with “Bam Yang Gang,” a nostalgic, tender note to end on.

Joji

As the headliner, Joji closed out the night with his set. To someone unfamiliar with Joji’s concerts, one might be expecting a time slot filled with melancholic vibes. However, despite his discography typically consisting of sad ballads, his set was anything but sad. Accompanied with a live band, Joji would joyfully hype up the crowd or crack some jokes before starting each song. Even as he closed his set with “Glimpse of Us,” arguably among his saddest songs, the crowd found joy and catharsis, belting out lyrics with him.

With the first Head in the Clouds of 2024 in the books, it is time to look forward to the lineup for LA being announced!

Photos and article by Rachel Bui
Edited by Diana/Mari