Dance.Here.Now. Festival

 THE DANCE.HERE.NOW. FESTIVAL

New York - You have your common sense reasons: It won’t be over 100 degrees; you’ll avoid spending half of the weekend stuck in traffic; you’ll get to fire up the grill. 

Now, the Dance.Here.Now. crew, in association with Pacha New York, Massive Event, Glo Fridays, and Cielo, is giving that devil on your shoulder his own motive for staying put in New York this July 4th weekend. 

The DANCE.HERE.NOW. FESTIVAL is taking over Governor’s Island for an unforgettable four days and nights of epic parties with the world’s top DJs, with a sonic and visual onslaught by festival specialists AG Light & Sound. 

From trance to glitch, big beat to electro-house, the roster features a huge span of styles and talents, all uniting under the blue skies of downtown NYC in a first-of-its-kind open-air festival in a historic venue. 

No rushing from stage to stage to catch 30 minutes of your favorite act: DHN is dedicating entire days/nights to individual talents and their hand-picked support staffs. With big names like this, the DHN crew couldn’t imagine doing anything different. 

- Friday July 1: Paul van Dyk exclusive 6-hour set 

Creating the right atmosphere has always been a major part of presentation at a Paul van Dyk (PvD) show, and for his appearance at Dance.Here.Now, festival-goers will get to experience selections from EVOLUTION—his new artist album in the works for release later this year enhanced by its complementing live show he debuted this past April at Coachella. 

- Saturday July 2: Fatboy Slim along with James Zabiela and Sleepy & Boo 

You’re not from Brighton! The king of big beat, Fatboy Slim returns to New York to replicate the seaside feel of his original UK beachfront parties (which drew over 250,000 people at a time!) at Governor’s Island. Joining him is the ever-inventive James Zabiela, who has taken to spinning with an iPad. You need to see it to believe it. 

- Sunday July 3: Benny Benassi & Laidback Luke 

Already familiar with how to rock Governor’s Island (the New York Times raved the last time he took the decks at Water Taxi Beach last summer), Benny Benassi returns. This time he’s joined on the bill by Laidback Luke, mastermind of that chunky, funky, electro-rocking sound. This mutually-admiring pair will inevitably drop their latest bombs: Benny, with selections from his new album Electroman including his destined-for-classic-status new anthem, “Cinema” and the irresistible “Beautiful People” featuring Chris Brown. Luke, his tornado-powered “Turbulence” with Lil’ Jon and Steve Aoki). Opening set by JDH and Dave P. 

- Monday July 4: Victor Calderone in association with Cielo w/ guests Nicole Moudaber & Nicolas Matar 

Victor’s making a new July 4th tradition! For the second year in a row, New York’s favorite son in celebrating the patriotic holiday on Governor’s Island. Join him for an inspiring set of drums, bass and rhythm under the watchful eye of Lady Liberty. 

ABOUT DANCE.HERE.NOW. 

DANCE.HERE.NOW. was founded by Rob Fernandez and Benny Soto, two veteran NYC promoters who were usually associated with different scenes: Rob, the big-room and after-hours crowd, and Benny, the dedicated deep house crew. But the two friends were united by a shared belief that no matter the trend, the audience, the time, or the venue, the most important thing was always the same: the music. 

As a regular Thursday nighter at Cielo in New York, a beachfront part at Long Island City’s Water Taxi Beach, and numerous other incarnations, DHN has become a beloved staple of the New York party scene. 

ABOUT GOVERNORS ISLAND 

For almost two centuries, Governors Island was a military base, home to the US Army and Coast Guard. It was closed in 1996 due to changing operational needs. But New York political leaders recognized the historic venue’s potential, and in 2003 the federal government sold most of the Island to the people of New York for one dollar. 

The 172-acre Island is about 22 city-blocks long from tip to tip. The northern 92 acres of the Island are the Governors Island Historic District, and are open to the public for picnics, tours, concerts, car-free biking, and more. The 2.2 mile Promenade and Picnic Point are also open to the public. 

PACHA NEW YORK is the much-lauded North American outpost of the fabled Pacha nightlife brand. Since opened by co-owners Eddie Dean and Erick Morillo in 2005, the four-level club has become THE place for any visiting DJ worth his salt to play in the Big Apple. With visits from David Guetta, the Black Eyed Peas, and the Swedish House Mafia, Pacha is dance music’s home in NYC. 

MASSIVE EVENT is a New York-based production company that hosts electronic music events in some of the finest clubs New York City has to offer. The artist-friendly company prides itself on pushing the boundaries of promotion, production, and execution for each and every event. 

GLO FRIDAYS has brought world-class dance music to Long Island. Every Friday night, the party hosts another internationally renowned DJ at state-of-the-art nightclub Glo. The suburbs will never be the same. 

CIELO is a multi-award-winning nightclub in New York’s Meatpacking District. The inventively designed is beloved throughout the world for its dancefloor-centric layout, internationally renowned system, and primary focus on music. 

AG LIGHT & SOUND is a New York-based production company that specializes in epic events. Since 1998, the team has supplied lighting, sound and video equipment for the top dance festivals in the country, like Ultra Music Festival and Nocturnal. Using a combination of high-quality Italian lighting fixtures, state-of-the-art video screens, lasers, fog and effects machines, color-changing LEDs, and custom-fabricated staging, AG turns giant empty tents into pulsating supersized temporary nightclubs.