Inside New York’s Cityfox Halloween House and Techno Music Festival

By wazup on December 1, 2021 Comments Closed / 75 views

Inside New York’s Cityfox Halloween House and Techno Music Festival

Cityfox Halloween took an unexpected turn this year.

Featuring prominent artists like Dubfire, Lee Burridge, and John Digweed, the event was set to take over Brooklyn’s Avant Gardner for a two-day house and techno music festival. However, citing electrical issues, event organizers canceled the second day right around the start of the show.

The first day, which took place on October 29th, welcomed swarms of party-goers to the urban music festival with Nora En Pure, Hot Since 82, and Vintage Culture among the lineup.

Avant Gardner’s sprawling, 80,000-square foot event space was transformed into a five-stage, Halloween-themed extravaganza.

The Great Hall, Avant Gardner’s largest indoor space, was morphed into “The Great Hell” with skull-adorned chandeliers, a dazzling array of LED lighting fixtures, sharp lasers, and creative pyrotechnics. Stellar sets from Wassu, Cassian, Nora En Pure, and WhoMadeWho rocked The Great Hell.

Pyrotechnics blaze from skull-adorned chandeliers at The Great Hell stage. — The Great Hell stage at Cityfox Halloween 2021

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The Temple Of Aeon—a gargantuan shed with lights affixed across the ceiling and visual panels lining the walls—was dominated by tech house with a peak-time performance by Hot Since 82 and an extended three-and-a-half-hour set from Vintage Culture.

Red lights glow on a sprawling crowd at The Temple of Aeon — *The Temple of Aeon stage at Cityfox Halloween 2021*

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“Selling out with 7,000 Tickets at Avant Gardner was a career highlight for me,” Vintage Culture told EDM.com. “The energy of the Brooklyn audience was contagious and made me want to perform all night. I love New York now and forever.”

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Detroit techno graced The Unending, a stage tucked away in the corner of the event grounds. Carl Craig and Moodymann played individual sets before closing the night with a special back-to-back performance.

Backed by shimmering columns of lights and skulls, The Immortal Circus was home to Stephan Jolk and Ida Engberg, both of whom played emphatic three-hour sets.

Warm lights shimmer from The Lost Circus stage. — *The Lost Circus stage at Cityfox Halloween 2021*

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Despite a sterling lineup Cityfox Halloween unfortunately was marred by logistical issues.

Lengthy entry lines had patrons standing for over two hours in the rain to enter the venue. Once inside, the layout of the stages was ambiguous. Limited walkways guided attendees through a mesh of warehouses and tents, leading to overcrowding at the stages closest to the entrance.

The Kings Hall, a staple stage for multi-room Cityfox shows at Avant Gardner, was regrettably absent. Avid Avant Gardner patrons also noted that The Lost Circus lacked the charm of the circus tent used to house the stage in previous years.

The last-minute cancellation also left a bitter taste for attendees who were already in line to enter the venue for the second night, and others who received marketing promotions to purchase tickets throughout the day leading up to the cancelation.

Though this year’s edition of Cityfox Halloween had a few missteps, the event’s prized position among New York City’s plethora of Halloweekend house and techno events still holds. It’s been a staple for the past few years, and surely, next year will bring forth another world-class lineup alongside improvements to this year’s obstacles.