The first annual High Line Festival will occur from May 9 to 19, when more than a dozen of David Bowie’s favorite artists will perform at venues from the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea to larger venues like Radio City Music Hall.
The lineup includes bands the Arcade Fire, Air, the Secret Machines and Deerhoof. But it also includes comedy, visual art, film and performance art, including shows by well-known Downtown performance artist Laurie Anderson.
Each year, the festival will anoint a different curator who then picks his or her favorite acts from the hodgepodge of artistic mediums.
The festival will take place in venues near the High Line, the elevated rail structure that’s soon to open as a public space running through the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. A portion of ticket sales will go to Friends of the High Line, the organization working to transform the 1930s elevated railway into a park, which is set to open in 2008. More information is available at highlinefestival.com.
