Photos & Article Written by Logan Bykofsky
The Greatest Day Ever Music Festival & Carnival returned for its 6th year with a blazing hot lineup; mashing together the biggest names in rap, hip hop and EDM. While remaining a small festival with only one stage, The Greatest Day Ever holds true by bringing the atmosphere and energy to match any bigger fest. A mere two weeks after Coney Island is flooded with hot dog eating mayhem, the energy in town is right back up trading in buns and dogs for beats and eats. Sponsored by Adidas, the festival creates their own mini carnival complete with funnel cake, ferris wheels, carnival games and prizes. Lets break it down:
The Beats
Anchored by Zeds Dead & Carnage, The Greatest Day Ever touts a fire lineup with artists such as Party Favor, City Girls, and Danileigh. While only having a single stage, it gave the crowd a chance to see some new artists and experience some music they may have never heard before. It also allowed you to settle into a great viewing spot with your squad and establish a home base which is stark contrast from hopping around stage to stage like other festivals.
Jungle took the cake on Saturday putting on one of the best live shows I’ve seen in months, dropping classic tracks like “Casio” and “Busy Earnin’.” Sunday followed suit with Lil’ Baby bringing out Offset to the big stage to drop “Bad & Boujee.” Zeds Dead of course didn’t disappoint as they delivered a heavy set complete with some new tracks featuring Ganja White Night.
The Venue
For what they had to work with, The Greatest Day Ever did a great job creating space and utilizing the limited area they had. The fest has moved venue every year since it started, but if they’re going to keep it single stage, Coney Island is the place to be. Ford Amphitheater was cleared out of its usual seats creating a ton of standing room for the main stage, and gave everyone plenty of space to get down. They also had a path to a second outdoor area where the carnival was held. They brought in great carnival rides including a ferris wheel, swing ride, and a high speed twister; all for free which was a great value add to the reasonable ticket price.
Sponsors also brought in some cool set ups with Red Bull bringing through a DJ car that had local DJ’s playing all day. In addition, Mikes Hard Lemonade brought in a mechanical disco shark and was giving out tasters of some new flavors. Adidas stole the show by bringing in an AIR CONDITIONED hub and gave out Adidas shoulder bags for anyone who signed up for their platform newsletter.
Overall, The Greatest Day Ever was a great experience and was great value for a single stage 2-day fest. The music was loud, the venue spacious, and the energy palpable. I’ll be back next year for sure, and I’ll be bringing the whole crew with me. If you’re in New York, come on out to hopefully Coney Island again and get down with your squad.
PS. Someone figure out the laser situation in New York. We NEED more lasers.
