[Event Review] Head in The Clouds NY Festival Celebrates 2nd Edition In Style

Nine years ago, founder Sean Miyashiro planted the seeds of 88rising in New York City. His vision was clear: to champion the voices of immigrants, both Asian and beyond. Fast forward to today, 88rising has blossomed into a global music powerhouse, renowned for its trendsetting curatorial style and groundbreaking collaborations. The media collective has become a champion of diversity and inclusivity, representing underrepresented artists and creating a platform where performers and fans can unite and celebrate Asian culture and music.  This growth has spawned various ventures, including the crown jewel, Head In The Clouds (HITC). This vibrant festival celebrates the music, culture, and cuisine of Asian culture.

This past weekend, HITC touched down in Forest Hills Queens on May 11th and May 12th, to celebrate AAPI month. NYC, especially Queens is known to be a melting pot of the world and that was reflected in not only the lineup but the diverse crowd in attendance. Over 10,000 fans flocked to the stadium over the weekend to see their favorite artists from across the world, including South Korea, Japan, the Philippians and more.

One big part of asian culture is the diverse food options. HITC did very well in bringing in local food vendors that truly represented a big part of how Asians grew up. Some of the vendors included 5ive Spice, Gai Chicken and Rice, OBAO Noodles & BBQ, Potluck Club, Silk., Tabetomo, and Tomokase.

On Saturday, the Korean group Balming Tiger came out strong with their irresistible charm and upbeat energy. They really knew how to work their stage with their intricate choreography which would constantly erupt cheers amongst the crowd. Next up, New York native Juliet Ivy has been a young star to watch seeing her meteoric rise through her viral social media videos. The 22 year old songstress is known for combining pop, indie, hyperpop, and R&B into one seamless sound. During her performance, she captured the heartstrings of all in attendance with her cheeky lyrics and playful melodies. Following directly after was Vietnamese American singer thuy. With a nostalgic R&B sound and stories of love and self-empowerment to tell, she has been making big noise in the industry. Songs like ‘playing tricks‘, ‘chances‘, and ‘no ties‘ were all the vibes throughout her performance. She went on to close with ‘girls like me don’t cry‘ which has over 67 million streams alone on Spotify.

Another sensation act that performed on day 1 was wave to earth, a three-member band consisting of singer-songwriter Daniel Kim, drummer Dong Kyu Shin, and bassist John Cha. The rock band’s soulful vocals and soothing compositions was a calming experience in attendance before the next act. Taking the stage at 7:45pm was ILLENIUM and Dabin who performed their first ever B2B set in history. It was at this point during the day in which the atmosphere changed up dramatically. Their performance was high strung peak energy, commanding the 10,000 in attendance with their melodic dubstep set. The production was spectacular as well, with no shortage of pyrotechnics and vibrant visuals. To close out day 1 was the five member South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE. Walking onto stage with a drumroll, the group opened with ‘Super Lady’ which was fitting for what they embody. Their whole performance was packed brim with electrifying energy as they sang out popular tracks such as ‘LION’, ‘LATATA‘, ‘Wife, and ‘Queencard‘. They then closed out in epic fashion with ‘I DO‘.

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Starting off day 2 was Chinese Vietnamese American rapper Spence Lee, who wowed the early attendees with his crowd pleasing rap bars. Next up was Indonesian rapper, singer, songwriter and producer, Warren Hue, who continued to hype up the crowds with his rap verses. American singer-songwriter Lyn Lapid took centerstage at 5pm, and this was when the venue was really filling up. Besides her intricate lyrics, what’s interesting is that her 2023 EP to love in the 21st century, is an ode to the messy 21st century love romances. She drew inspiration from Gen Z romantic comedies like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty to tell the story of falling in love. She went on to sing crowd favorites such as ‘In My Mind’, ‘Comatose’, all while wowing the crowd with her guitar riffs. Next up was the Japanese girl group ATARASHII GAKKO!. The group is known for eclectic-pop tracks, idiosyncratic choreography, and schoolgirl aesthetic. This was the first time I saw them perform live and their crowd presence is even more immense than what you see on videos online. Deafening cheers echoed through the venue throughout their whole performance. The group started off with ‘Toryanse‘ and ‘Omakase‘ which immediately got the crowd moving. Their intricate choreography is definitely one to applaud for as they performed perfectly in sync. They even utilized broomsticks in their performance for ‘Arigatou‘. Next up was South Korean singer Bibi who doesn’t need an introduction. She stuns in her performances with her unique sound that’s like a pop mix with contemporary. Some notable highlight of her performance was when she sang ‘City Love‘ and ‘Sugar Rush‘. To close out the festival was Joji who has become synonymous with Head in the Clouds, so much that he has a track called ‘Head In The Clouds‘ which has over 88 million streams on Spotify. It was a full hour of being serenaded with crowd favorites such as ‘Sanctuary‘, ‘Daylight‘, and ‘Pretty Boy’. He went on to close out the night with ‘Glimpse of Us‘, with everyone waving their phone flashlights in the air.