New York is getting a new hard techno and hard groove festival this weekend, and organizers just dropped the stage designs to prove it. ÄGAPĒ Festival touches down at Industry City in Brooklyn this Saturday and Sunday, September 5th and 6th, marking the event’s first-ever edition, and the team has released renderings of both the outdoor courtyard stage and the indoor warehouse room ahead of doors opening.
The renderings give a look at what attendees can expect from the two-stage setup — an open-air courtyard build paired with a warehouse-style indoor room, the kind of dual environment that’s become a signature of hard dance events looking to balance daytime energy with late-night intensity.
For those unfamiliar, ÄGAPĒ is positioning itself around the harder end of the techno spectrum — hard bounce, hard groove, hard techno, and hypnotic techno — genres that have seen a resurgence in North America over the past couple years as European imports like Kobosil and the 44 Label Group roster build stateside followings.
The debut runs two days, two stages, and 18 hours of music per day, with a 34-artist lineup. Headlining duties fall to Kobosil, Somewhen, Clara Cuvé, Volvox, O.B.I., Bad Boombox, and Adrián Mills.
Sunday brings a full indoor takeover courtesy of Berlin’s 44 Label Group, the hard techno imprint co-run by Kobosil that’s become one of the genre’s most recognizable brands in recent years. That takeover closes out with a rare Kobosil b2b Somewhen b2b Ueberrest set, a three-way back-to-back that alone is reason enough for hard techno heads to make the trip to Industry City.
Saturday, meanwhile, marks the New York festival debut of the Face 2 Face format — a head-to-head DJ setup that’s gained traction on the European hard dance circuit as a way to pit artists against each other in real time rather than the standard back-to-back trade-off.
Industry City itself has become a regular host for dance music events in Brooklyn thanks to its mix of indoor warehouse space and open courtyards, giving promoters room to build out multi-stage productions without leaving the borough.
“Tickets for ÄGAPĒ Festival’s Industry City debut are available now through the festival’s official channels, with single-day and weekend passes on sale for the September 5th and 6th event.
