The second annual Panorama Music Festival held in Randall’s Island, New York this past weekend was so much fun it left me slugging to work Monday morning on festival withdrawals. The venue packed thousands of people over three days and housed artists like Frank Ocean and Solange. Of the performances I saw, the most unexpectedly memorable one was definitely Sofi Tukker’s techno set. The dynamic duo, composed of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, put on such a fantastic show that I had forgotten I had only just heard their music for the first time a few days ago.
The duo’s music features dance beats, light bass and catchy vocals. It’s a good balance between hard techno and lyrical house. The combination is perfect for people to groove to, even if they didn’t know the song, or the band for that matter.
Highlights of the concert included a killer performance of their latest single “Fuck They”. The single has over a million streams on Spotify and has reached the Top 40 Global Viral Chart in 16 countries including the US. The crowd went wild as everyone put their hands up and rocked to the song. Then, when Sofi Tukker started singing “Awoo”, they taught the crowd their easy dance moves and the audience followed suit. Everyone in the tent was twirling in unison as the energy rose.
During the middle of the set, Sofi challenged the crowd to get more hyped up and even jumped offstage to jam with the people who were dancing the most. Despite their tall and lanky builds, the pair used their energetic and dynamic bodies to exude such a commanding stage presence. They would both sing at the front of the stage, cross sides to switch places, move to the back to bang on the drums, and jump on the side platforms to interact with the crowd. The audience could definitely tell Sofi Tukker was as excited as we were to be performing back in their home city.
Apart from their music, I was obsessed with the band’s look. Sofi, swinging her red hair high ponytail, sported white waist-high billowy pants paired with a white top adorned with red and black butterflies. Her bright red electric guitar completed her dainty rocker chick look. Tukker had on a black long-sleeved shirt with an MTV logo in the front. His almost-white blonde hair contrasted with his all-black outfit but it just made him look all the more striking.
Overall, it was a terrific performance by a band that definitely knows how to get the crowd going. The duo will be touring with Odesza for the next few months. Check out their music here and be sure to catch them on tour!
Awoo
Matadora
Overall, it was a terrific performance by a band that definitely knows how to get the crowd going. The duo will be touring with Odesza for the next few months. Check out their music here and be sure to catch them on tour!
Awoo
Matadora