Warm Up at MoMA PS1
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib at Warm Up in 2019, photo by Ryan Muir for MoMA PS1

Warm Up 2019 began with Freddie Gibbs/Madlib, Kelly Lee Owens & more (pics)

The 2019 season of Warm Up at MoMA PS1 kicked off with a bang this past weekend with a headlining set from Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, who were fresh off releasing their great new album Bandana. The rest of the lineup was stacked too, with electronic/art pop musician Kelly Lee Owens, Cardi B collaborator Pardison Fontaine, Russian ambient/electronic musician Kedr Livanskiy, rising Queens neo-soul singer duendita, fellow Queens act JOY, and Like That Records. Pictures of the first Warm Up of the season are in the gallery above, and a video of MadGibbs playing “Flat Tummy Tea” below.

Meanwhile, VICE’s i-D did a new profile on Warm Up and here’s an excerpt:

Led by a committee of music industry influencers with one of the best barometers in pop music, the summer-long series has a reputation for recognizing exceptional talent long before other festival promoters do. Solange, Grimes, Lizzo and Cardi B are among Warm Up’s alumni, having all graced the stage at PS1 before finding critical acclaim elsewhere. This year, like every other, there’s a lineup of artists destined for bigger things, including St. Louis rapper Smino, Jamaican dancehall sensation Shenseea, Catalan MC Bad Gyal and LA house-head Channel Tres. They’ll join established acts — unofficial headliners — like Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Annie Mac and The Martinez Brothers.

“We want to make it feel like a special series and not like we’re regurgitating the same few acts that every festival has,” says MoMA PS1 Warm Up curator Taja Cheek, who, along with Eliza Ryan, Naomi Zeichner, Dean Bein, Isabelia Herrera, Jonas Leon and Matt Werth, put together this year’s eclectic lineup. “First and foremost, we’re music nerds,” Cheek says of her colleagues. “We all have different interests.” Their ability to find common threads among the artists they individually adore is key to the fluidity of Warm Up. “The balance that we’re trying to have is that you feel the throughlines, but that it’s not super obvious,” explains Cheek.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib were in also in conversation for Interview Magazine, and the pair gave their thoughts on Beyond Burgers, country music, autotune, zebras, wine, cellphones, the perfect sandwich, and black holes. You can read it here.

Warm Up continues this Saturday (7/13) with DJ Blass, Equiknoxx, Mark Ernestus, Santi, Mina, Bad Gyal, Ms. Nina, and Lil C (tickets). Other upcoming Warm Ups include Smino, Shenseea, Boogie, The Marias, and more on 7/20; Flohio, Black Noi$e, and more on 8/3; Channel Tres and more on 8/10; Sho Madjozi, Deem Spencer, MIKE, and more on 8/17; The Martinez Brothers, Shigeto, and more on 8/24; Annie Mac, Floorplan and more on 8/31; and still more. All lineups and tickets here.

photos by Ryan Muir for MoMA PS1