Summer 2016 has done for music festivals what the big bang has done for life on earth. That's a bit far-fetched, sure, but seriously; it's like there's a new festival every weekend. With their increasing success and popularity - it would only make sense that NYC has given its festival roster a steroid shot. Festivals like Governors Ball, Panorama Music Festival, and AfroPunk all have their parking spot in the city's musical gridlock, but there is one festival that stands out. The Global Citizen Festival is idiosyncratic in the music festival world due to its charitable mission. The festival, in its fifth year of production, aims to spark action and raise funds in an effort to further the United Nations’ global poverty eradication initiative through sheer star power. The goal is an ambitious one, but with a star-studded lineup consisting of musical acts like Kendrick Lamar, Major Lazer, Metallica and others, the festival makes the dream seem more like an achievable reality than a utopian fantasy.
The stage is being set on September 24th on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Global Citizen 2016 plays host to a bevy of celebrities, musical artists, and a veritable who's-who of public figures - all sharing a common goal of trying to eradicate global poverty by 2030. In past years, celebrity hosts and appearances by the likes of Leo DiCaprio, Joe Biden, Michelle Obama and Seth Meyers have contributed to a fun and good-natured experience complete with musical accompaniment and killer food. It sucks how expensive the tickets are, but then you remember how dope the lineup is. It'll soften the blow to dad's credit card when you tell him "it's for a good cause." If you feel like being a do-gooder while simultaneously saving some coin, there is a checklist on the Global Citizen website consisting of charitable tasks that, when completed, will result in free admission to the festival. Pretty stellar. The list mainly consists of hitting up global policy makers on Twitter with a request to support and propose education reform, so if you're already on your phone, might as well try and score some free shit. But for now, here's a peek at some of the big names headlining the 5th annual Global Citizen Festival.
[Photo via @glblctzn]
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