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Nile Rodgers Is Bringing All The Disco Legends To NYC, And We Can’t Help But Freak Out!
by Justina Bakutyte
September 29, 2016
Dust off your mom’s high school platform shoes, iron your dad’s favorite flared pants, or, if you don’t have any of these babies lying around, go raid Beacon’s Closet and stat because the biggest disco festival is coming to town!
Next Saturday, October 8, the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY, will serve up a major dose of #TBT thanks to Nile Rodgers’ FOLD Festival.
FOLD, which initially translates into FreakOut! Let’s Dance, was born last year and took place in Martha Clara Vineyard with major stars such as Beck, Pharrell and Keith Urban headlining the event. This year, however, the festival comes back with even more power and a jaw-dropping list of performers including the Village People, Bette Midler, Earth, Wind & Fire, and, obviously, Rodgers himself accompanied by his iconic 70s band, Chic.
Check out this video about the festival and hear from the organizer himself:
Many reasons to Freak Out!
As a typical New Yorker, you’re probably wondering what makes this festival differ from all the other musical gatherings this vast city has to offer. Well, here are a few notable things to keep in mind”¦
DISCO LEGENDS
For one, the lineup itself is really impressive and will cater to various musical tastes. Lead by such disco heavyweights as the Village People best known for their hit tracks “YMCA,” “Macho Man,” and “In The Navy,” FOLD also features one of the greatest Broadway performers of all time who also had a knack for disco ”“ Bette Midler.
Midler, 70, who’s recently joined The Voice as Blake Shelton’s mentor, has been in the spotlight since 1970s, released 14 studio albums as a solo artist and starred in a bunch of well-known movies such asThe Stepford Wives and the Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus. With such a colorful career as Midler’s, you know her performance is going to be nothing short of spectacular.
Oh, and let’s not forget Earth, Wind & Fire ”“ a band that, according to Rolling Stone magazine “changed the sound of black pop.” Doesn’t ring a bell? What if we say that”¦ we find romance when we start to dance in Boogie Wonderland!!!
STUDIO 54
Let’s be honest, many of us youngsters have heard those dreamy stories about the legendary Manhattan nightclub Studio 54 ”“ you know, the ones about Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor and Freddie Mercury partying like there’s no tomorrow. The ones about gallons of glitter being dumped on the crowd on the New Year’s eve. The ones about people riding in on white horses. (Not a metaphor, btw.)
Makes you want to bite your nails off, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where FOLD comes in ”“ Nile Rodgers’ festival will feature the “disco pioneer” and former resident DJ at Studio 54, Nicky Siano.
Siano began spinning records at only 17 years old and, together with his brother, founded The Gallery, a disco nightclub that debuted such performers as Grace Jones and Loleatta Holloway. Dubbed as “genius behind the turntable,” Siano returns to New York together with FOLD festival and we can not but hope for a tirade of sensual tunes that’ll make us dance our feet off.
NILE RODGERS and CHIC
Now this one is simply a no-brainer.
Sure, if you’re only counting twentysomething years of existence on planet earth, you might not be the biggest fan of Nile Rodgers or even know his name. But believe us ”“ you know his music.
Conquering the big music scene since the early 70s, Nile has a mindblowing list of collaborations under his belt (or maybe under his beret, who knows): Duran Duran, Britney Spears, Madonna, Pharrell, Christina Aguilera are just a few names in Rodgers’ repertoire.
David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album ”“ written by Nile. Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” ”“ co-produced by Nile. Lady Gaga’s emotional Grammy’s tribute to David Bowie ”“ directed by Nile. We could go on and on because this guy has been involved with every funky song you know and love.
At the FOLD festival, Rodgers will be performing with his band Chic, creators of such earworms like “Everybody Dance,” “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” etc. You know you won’t be able to keep both feet on the ground when Nile starts riffing his guitar.
