Photos courtesy of aLIVE Coverage, Banfy & DA BLACK SWAN // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Skyline feat. Duke Dumont, Miike Snow, Lido, EDEN, Michl, ELOHIM, Jason Bentley //
LA State Historic Park – Los Angeles
May 20th, 2017 //

Memorial Day weekend is often considered the unofficial start to summer, but for those of us living in the City of Angels, last weekend might as well have been.

With temperatures in downtown LA reaching the low 90’s, Radio Hill Events and KCRW made history on a hot and sunny day as they hosted the inaugural Skyline festival at the brand-new LA State Historic Park, which closed for renovation more than three years ago.

Though not all of the 32-acre open space just north of Chinatown was used for the single-day event, it felt nice to be back at the much-improved park taking in live music as an electronic-leaning lineup that consisted of Duke Dumont, Miike Snow, Lido, EDEN, Michl, ELOHIM and Jason Bentley all shared the somewhat diminutive stage over a nine-hour span.

Miike Snow

In many ways, Skyline felt like a trial run for potentially larger music festivals to eventually make their way back to the park, which was used for FYF Fest and HARD’s LA-based events prior to its closure. And after a reported attendance of 5,500, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see FYF Fest return to its former home next year after occupying Exposition Park for what soon will be four straight summers following its latest edition this July.

What might be best about LA State Historic Park, though, is the view. Particularly on a clear day, it’s hard to beat the sight lines of downtown LA’s skyline when you look south from the park. And lucky for us, that was the case this time around.

As day turned to night and the crowd’s energy gradually started to build thanks to a hit-laden set from Scandinavian indie-pop trio Miike Snow, it felt like a perfect way to spend a Saturday night in LA in mid-May. So, when English DJ/producer Duke Dumont took the baton and gave the festival’s final performance, he made sure to send us home with some deep-house vibes — deep enough to put us right to bed after what proved to be, all in all, a successful day.