【Gary Eberhart Archives】

Nothing ever goes according to plan,Gary Eberhart Archives and sometimes that means you get to spend the weekend with Chance the Rapper — not the Weeknd, though. He was busy.

After Governors Ball canceled the third day of the festival and enraged Kanye West fans earlier this year, organizers made it up by creating the Meadows Festival to bring West and friends back to New York City.

Here are all the best moments of the fest's inaugural year:

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SEE ALSO: Everyone's a Kardashian at Kanye West's Saint Pablo tour

1. GRIMES [HANDCLAP EMOJI] WAS [HANDCLAP EMOJI] A [HANDCLAP EMOJI] HEADLINER

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No women at all were included in the bulk of the marketing for the festival, which focused on Kanye West, The Weeknd, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper and Kygo, despite Grimes taking the main stage at 6:45 on Saturday night to a packed crowd.

But if your feminist rage needed an outlet this weekend, Grimes' vibrant, furious set — complete with sword-wielding dancers — was an hour of jubilant catharsis.

With Art Angels, Claire Boucher has completed her metamorphosis into a full pop star, booming through the festival grounds. She lamented that Janelle Monae wasn't there to join her for their collaboration, "Venus Fly," but was psyched to play it anyway because, "we like banging on stuff." We hear you loud and clear, Grimes.

2. J. Cole Saves the Night

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The Weeknd trolled his fans' emotions over the past week — by cancelling, rescheduling and again cancelling his set — but J. Cole came to the rescue with a standout performance at The Meadows festival. The rapper acknowledged that he wasn’t originally supposed to be there, but that didn’t stop him from breezing through a set that spanned his entire discography, including early hits like “Crooked Teeth” and more. His most recent release, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, arrived in 2014. He’s been touring since its release and took some time on stage to reveal a bit of sad news to his fans. “This is my last show for a very long time,” he said. And while some people moped, most were just glad to have seen his electric performance before he begins his hibernation.

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3. Ilana Glazer repped us hard

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Nothing is better than an electrifying set from Bob Marley’s son, Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley, but seeing Broad City's Ilana Glazer having a blast and enjoying the reggae from the sidelines in a velour tracksuit is pretty damn close.

4. Sylvan Esso is having a moment

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Despite playing earlier in the day, Sylvan Esso drew in a large crowd for a standout Saturday performance. Singer Amelia Meath was especially pumped to be playing in the festival’s first year, telling the crowd that they had awesome the power of setting the tone for years to come. The duo mesmerized the crowd with songs from their self-titled debut album, but also treated the audience to new songs. Fans might not have known the words, but that did not stop them from swaying and smiling.

5. Chance the Rapper's unrelenting brightness

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Puppets are no strangers to hip hop artists. During his colorful set at The Meadows, Chance the Rapper added to the long history of using puppets, interacting with characters like Carlos the lion who helped narrate the show with transitions between songs. He played a large selection of hits from his album, Coloring Book,which he is currently touring nationwide. Chance surprised the audience — attendees included Chris Rock and Zac Efron — and brought out Francis Farewell Starlite from the band Francis And The Lights, who performed “Friends.” The two recreated the dance from the music video as confetti burst from the stage. All in all, a pretty magnificent moment.

6. The 1975's fans are the future, and Matty's cool, too.

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Matty Healy is a perfect frontman, and he knows it. The 1975 singer, his hair in the mohawk version of whatever goes on on top of Robert Smith's head, took drags from his cigarette during saxophone breaks and flopped around like a startlingly confident deflating balloon.

But Healy also knows that he's nothing without the teenage girls who make up the majority of his fiercely devoted fanbase. The crowd of young women bonding in a state of unfettered enthusiasm was a thing of joy, with aspiring photographers swapping Instagram handles and promising to stay in touch online.

"I have college interviews this week and I just shot my voice," said one girl after their grand finale — "Sex" — grinning ear to ear without a trace of regret.

7. The Passion of Yeezus

When fans waited for Kanye West to take the stage, the eerie music of "Wolves" played softly as the crew tried their damnedest to fill all of Queens with fog. When Yeezy hit the stage, the sky lit up with fireworks.

Shortly before Kanye's performance was cut short, he played the track, which served as the emotional centerpiece of his set. The song is West's most vulnerable Pabloera song, detailing his fierce devotion to his wife and the necessity of protecting his family. It was dramatic in the moment, but it was especially chilling knowing West's wife, Kim Kardashian, had just been held at gunpoint across the globe.

During "Heartless," West was pulled to the side of the stage, after some initial resistance to pause the set, and got the news, abruptly ending the festival under mysterious circumstances.

Topics Music