HEAD IN THE CLOUDS FESTIVAL: When 88rising Transformed Forest Hills Into an Asian Playground

Mixed Asian Media - May 28, 2023

By Jihyeon No

 
XG performs live in matching denim sets with neon green accents. The stage background is a rainbow coming out of clouds. Each girl wears a different crop top. Guests in front of the stage have their cell phones up recording.
 

May (or Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian Heritage Month) has become the month of Eastern visiblity. For one month, brands push to see how much goodwill they can build with the AsAm community. But what happens when the think tank behind this effort is a dynamic management and record label, highlighting all our current favorite Asian artists? You get 88rising’s Head in the Clouds Festival.

Head in the Clouds, or HITC, is a relatively new festival, with its most modest origins only going back to 2017. It has come a long way from a four artist lineup at a skatepark to the weekend-long “Asian Coachella” it is today. In every sense of the nickname, HITC brings more than music to the experience, with multiple activations and Instagrammable food — all in the image of Asian culture.

While Day 1 of HITC 2023 coincided with day-long rainfall, it did not prevent Asians from showing up for their people at Forest Hills Stadium.

 
Forest Hills Stadium’s VIP floor area. The sky is overcast and guests are wearing multicolored rain ponchos. The 88rising logo is illuminated on stage.
 

Day 2 featured the most perfectly sunny skies, with guests taking advantage of everything the festival grounds had to offer.

The first photo-op came in the form of a mural at the McDonald’s activation, featuring a skyline inspired by major Asian cities.

 
Mural with cartoon-inspired illustrations of buildings and themes from prominent Asian cities such as Indonesia, India, Saignon. The McDonald’s arch is included. An apple represents New York City.
 

The fast food chain brought more than just a mural. Thanks to the McDonald's branded claw machine, guests didn’t leave empty-handed either.

 
Claw machine with McDonald’s inspired paraphernalia. There are scrunchies with french fries on them, lanyards, tshirts, keychains, and more.
 

Honda presented a 360° photo booth with the HITC branding incorporated into the background. The car company also distributed small, handheld freebies like lip balm.

 
Three guests pose for the Honda photo booth. Their outfits are in various shades of white and sky blue, matching the branding of HITC’s sky aesthetic.
 

Spotify combined the efforts of McDonald’s and Honda to provide a two-punch activation. Inspired by Japanese purikura photo booths, K-Pop photocards, and Japanese gashapon, the company hosted an aesthetic stop for guests to gather freebies, get their photo taken, and leave with it printed on a portable photocard, complete with an acrylic keychain case.

A cloud-shaped sign hanging overhead that says “Enter.” Three green walls with the Spotify logo for different segments of the activation: the gashopon, the photobooth, and the keychain making area.
The wall of 14 gashopon machines stacked in rows of 2. A sign with a QR code and instructions to like the HITC playlist in exchange for a token to play the machines. Three guests partake in the promotion.

After the absolutely catnip-worthy combination of claw machines, gashapon, and purikura, HITC also absolutely delivered on the food front. Knowing its audience is highly food-motivated, the festival featured exclusively Asian street food vendors.

 
The food stalls at Forest Hills Stadium replaced their normal vendors for Asian inspired food. The vendors are Meat Asia, Rokstar Chicken, Kopitiam, Kitsby, and more. The lines for each business are at least thirty people deep.
 

Apart from food stalls, the festival also featured multiple bubble tea vendors.

The stall for Silk, a Hong Kong style milk tea vendor. Guests who received their drinks enjoy them while a line of people wait behind them.
Two girls enjoy their bubble tea. Behind them, two more girls take photos of each other. All guests are Asian.

While 88rising is an American company, it should be noted that key booking decisions were powerful enough to market to attendees outside of the U.S. The first night was headlined by K-Pop “monster” girl group ITZY. When fans in the first row were asked where they traveled from, one male fan in the dead center proudly answered he came from China to see the concert.

 
A live photo of ITZY taken from behind a full VIP floor section. The HITC logo is illuminated behind them.
 

The hype of K-Pop fans only grew for Day 2. The most anticipated girl group XG made their western debut to a sold-out stadium.

The fan dedication was once again apparent in the first row. While the brand-new girl group under Avex does not yet have a light stick, a fan project was initiated to distribute handmade cutouts of their logo on reflective card stock, attached to popsicle sticks.

 
The front row to see XG. Two girls pose for the photo. Two handmade XG “sticks” can be seen.
 

With 13,000 people singing along to XG’s songs, it was clear the Japanese girl group were the unofficial headliners for the evening and likely were not the closing act because they only have four songs in their discography.

 
XG perform live, the poses are consistent to the choreography for their song “MASCARA.” The formation is perfectly spaced, all 7 girls can be seen. They wear matching black suits with bedazzled collars and cuffs. The lining down their pants and vests
XG greet the crowd for a “ment” (Kpop term for “statement”). Hinata, Juria, and Jurin are visible and smiling.
live photo of XG and their formation is perfectly spaced. The point choreo includes referential moves where the girls mime checking their makeup for “MASCARA.”
 

HITC’s first touchdown to NYC was one for the books! For one weekend, Asians in NYC had their very own playground in their backyard of Forest Hills, Queens. Perhaps, someday, the festival could take place in another part of Queens, maybe a little closer to New York’s famous Asian neighborhood, Flushing. Could 88rising’s festival land at a site fit for the World’s Fair? If the company’s meteoric growth is anything to go by, it’s only a matter of time.

 
XG performs live in matching denim sets with neon green accents. Each girl wears a different crop top. The photo is taken from behind a filled VIP floor section. Every guest visible has their cell phone up recording.