Empire of the Sun is one of the few electronic acts that treats a concert as theatre, with feathered headdresses, costumed dancers and a wardrobe budget that shows. Dropping that into Forest Hills Stadium, a 1923 concrete horseshoe seating 13,000 under open sky, gives the light show a backdrop nothing indoors can match. Polo & Pan and Midnight Generation warm it up first. If your feed rewards spectacle, this is the Queens night to book.
What to expect
Doors open into the West Side Tennis Club grounds and the seating bowl fills quickly for the headline set. Expect a heavily choreographed production with costumed dancers, lasers and sustained pyrotechnic-style lighting rather than a straight band performance. The crowd skews toward people who dress for it.
Good to know
- The E, F, M and R stop at 71st-Forest Hills; on the LIRR, board one of the first four cars to exit at Forest Hills
- The bowl is open-air with almost no cover, so plan for whatever the sky is doing
- The visual production reads best from the middle and upper horseshoe rather than the floor
- There is no venue parking and the surrounding streets close, so do not plan to drive
- A residential-neighborhood curfew keeps the set ending on time, so do not arrive late
- Austin Street nearby is the best pre-show option for food and drinks
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Common questions
What is the Ask That God: Afterlife tour?
It is Empire of the Sun's North American touring production supporting their Ask That God material, staged with the duo's signature costumes, dancers and large-scale lighting design.
Who is supporting Empire of the Sun?
French electronic duo Polo & Pan and Midnight Generation are both billed on the show, so there are two openers rather than one before the headline set.
How late do shows at Forest Hills Stadium run?
The stadium sits inside a residential neighborhood and operates under a firm curfew, so headline sets end on schedule rather than running long.
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