After my experience with Steve Angello‘s label show Size In The Park last year, I knew the second it was announced to return to Central Park this year, I would have to attend again. Expanding to two days this year, the event, Steve brought along his Size Records friends Third Party, AN21 & Max Vangeli, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tim Mason and others to play the singular stage over the two days. I was only able to attend the second day, which took place this past Saturday in the shadow of the heavily attended Global Citizens Festival just blocks away.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day to spend watching music in Central Park to start with, as we came upon the scene in the midst of Trent Cantrelle‘s opening set. The crowd was agreeable and mature – a far departure from my last concert experience in NYC, which I don’t think I need to name. As the afternoon progressed and the sun went down, the Summerstage area began to fill up to a large but manageable size and the big guns started to come out. Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano put on a fantastic set, although it was a little more on the mainstream side than I remember compared with their set last year.
The main event was clearly just that when Steve Angello lit up the stage. He has remarked on several occasions that NYC is one of his favorite places in the world to play and he always displays it when he plays to a NYC crowd. While I am not a huge Steve Angello fan, I know that he can always be counted on for a great show, and he gets a bad rap from many for his association with the Mafia. He is in fact a very well-versed DJ with many, many years of experience under his belt. Getting to see him really open up and play at Size was such a departure from the clearly choreographed and generic set that SHM ended up leaving their legacy on this past March in Miami.
Whatever your thoughts are on Angello, his music, or his legacy, I highly recommend you check him out next time he comes to play near you and, if you have the opportunity, come to see him play in beautiful Central Park, should he host Size in the Park again next year. Check out his set from Friday night below for a taste of what you missed…