Elements: The Experience

And what an experience it is! Even though it’s just a one-day festival, Elements has so much character that it’s really fun and memorable. If you want to read about all the great music I heard that day, clickity click on over this way.

Check-in/Security The line to get in to Elements was lonnnnng. We waited for around 30 minutes to get up to security, though the actual security process itself was pretty brief. The ticket scanning seemed to also have a pretty short line, unless you were an artist/press/guest list (like myself), in which case you had to wait in line for about 10 minutes. It wasn’t terrible but it was a surprise considering last year’s nearly nonexistent line, although the success of 2015’s event should have cued me in to the fact that it would be busier this time around.

Crowd BangOn!NYC always throws these outlandish parties, and Elements was no different. Costumes and levity are always encouraged and the people who come out to their events are always pretty lively.

The Fun Stuff Elements had fun stuff galore! From wakeboarding demos to artists to dancers to art cars to vendors to body painters, it was a bit like being at an awesome carnival. Plus, the waterfront industrial setting and the set production were really top notch.

All photo credits: Jim Simonetti

Water I must admit, I completely failed to find the one water station that was supposedly on the grounds. Having access to the artists lounge because of my media pass allowed me to go in there and grab a botte of water when needed, but even that ran out towards the end of the day. I tried to get in the beer line to buy a bottle of water but didn’t have the patience for it, so for the last hour or so of the show I was just thirsty.

LayoutAs I always say, I love small festivals. How Elements managed to pack 5 stages in such a small space is positively miraculous, especially because it never felt cramped. From the open areas to the pier to the grain silo (which they used as an area to display art and for people to just hang out), BangOn maximized the space incredibly well.

Transportation Despite being just 1.5 miles from my house, this Red Hook location is actually kind of a pain to get to. The closest subway is far enough away that Elements ran shuttles back and forth, though I used Uber on the way there and my good ol’ legs on the way back. But on the bright side, there aren’t a ton of spaces in New York City where you can really be secluded, so the middle-of-nowhere-ness of it all is sort of a bonus.

Price Ticket prices varied depending how early (or late) you bought them, ranging from around $55 to $90. Even though the price was severely jacked up from last year (my Excel spreadsheet tells me I spent $32.64 on my 2015 ticket), it’s still completely worth it for what you get.

All in all, for the second year running Elements has proven to be one of the best NYC events of the summer, and definitely my favorite of any BangOn!NYC event I’ve attended. I hope they continue to put on this festival because I love having this awesome day of music so close to home.