Festival Review: OZY Fusion Fest Solidifies Itself As My Fave Festival (Part 1)
From the minute I entered OZY Fusion Fest, which happened at Rumsey Playfield on July 21 and 22, I was greeted with a handkerchief and a water bottle. I thought they had confused me for VIP, but they were giving every patron these little “knick knacks” to brave through the heat: from ponchos to Insomnia cookies. These are the details that warm my heart, and build an ambiance where people are not just paying to see artist, but also enter an atmosphere of ease, pure discussion, and overall humanity. Yet, if you are going to build a weekend on the idea that people should treat each other better then you have to set an example, which OZY did.
Compared to previous years, this OZY was the one with the least musical acts, but it was also the best one. In perspective, you would think that a ”music fest” without much music seems crazy or boring. While there were musical acts, like Passion Pit playing their electro soundscapes as if candy had been thrown unto the stage or Common busting through verses and personal stories, OZY Fusion Fest felt like the funnest version of Ted Talks. Instead of being stuck in an auditorium, you were outside getting good eats, drinks, and friends, and happily waltzing to every stage according to your mood. Panel after panel shined in offering the crowd a banquet of food for thought, and explained why the audience has grown so much throughout its 3 years; people want to think!
Divided into three stages, you had fashion discussions with Cristiano Siriano, cooking lessons with Marcus Samuelsson, and a concert by Young The Giant. Each forum felt intimate yet casual. Here you had the “creme de la creme” of so many worlds trying to convey to audience how human their journey has been. They all discusses how they struggled, failed, and rose again. From Alex Rodriguez on Major League Baseball to Cynthia Nixon on New York/ Congress, not background was saved from feeling like the world was in crisis, and that there had to be a revamping of how we approach our society/ species. It was a recurring theme that felt lightened by funny moments like, RuPaul Drag Race’s Eureka’s live dating show. Still, you could not deny OZY was a strange world where party lines really did cross.
In one tent, you could hear NRA supporter Grover Norquist argue how guns are not the problem, but the next day, in another stage, you had Sen. Gillibrand talking about the need to empower people over corporations. How OZY managed to combine worlds that utterly clash is fascinating because, despite tension, nothing got out of hand. People were really there to experience both the panels’ thoughts on current issues but also their fellow audience members. Throughout each day, I always heard conversations breaking out amongst the crowd; with even strangers introducing themselves to each other to discuss topics like, prison reform, the education system, and immigration. The ingrained calm of the atmosphere felt solidified in moments such as, Karl Rove, Chelsea Handler, and Tom Steyer’s discussion on Impeachment. For More Information On OZY Fusion Fest Click Here.
Part 2 Click Here.
