With 2017 coming to a close, year-end lists are pouring forth, and everyone is wondering what were some of the hottest albums or tracks they overlooked. But, even with winter fast approaching, there is still a chance to catch some great artists in a unique festival environment.
The third annual Day for Night festival comes to Houston this weekend (Dec 16-18th, totally not summer time) and attendees will be lucky enough to see several artists with notable albums in 2017, like St. Vincent, Cardi B, and Perfume Genius,, as well as other tremendous performers like Solange, Thom Yorke (who played a new song in LA), Tyler, The Creator, Jamie XX, Laurie Anderson and Nine Inch Nails over the course of the three days. There are many other notable acts including, but not limited to, Pussy Riot, Kaytranada, Justice, Nina Kraviz and Phantogram. The full lineup is available here.
But if you think music is the main draw, you would be wrong. Day for Night offers up a surreal slate on the first day. The Friday lineup, dubbed a summit, “examines the intersection of art, technology, and activism with talks by Chelsea Manning, Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot)” and a “Soul Cleansing” featuring Solange. I don’t even know what that latter could be! (Sadly I don’t anticipate being at the fest until Saturday so I may never find out…)
On top of that, the festival has unique visual experiences, as performances and as installations, running throughout the grounds. Their press release notes, “a roster of world-renowned visual artists including Ryoji Ikeda, Matthew Schreiber, Conditional Studio + Processing Foundation, and a dozen more” will be on site immersing attendees in an artistic experience like few others.
I’m mainly drawn to Day for Night because of the broad scope of the festival. Summer festivals in the Northeast often do include art, but those are often limited to graffiti or street art. Day for Night promises an audio-visual experience like none that I am familiar with. I look forward to sharing images from the festival with PopMatters readers.