‘Live music is the new status symbol’: can New York’s C2C beat festival burnout by embracing the niche?

With performers Arca, Los Thuthanaka and YHWH Nailgun, New York’s C2C proved the thrills – and limits – of staying independent amid a festival boomGrowling, flailing, kicking, screaming, the experimental British musician Aya clutched a microphone and ranted about her hormones. “If anything, the progesterone is doing wonders right now,” she cackled in her Yorkshire accent as she triggered an unpredictable minefield of bone-rattling bass and clattering breakbeats. The crowd in New York City’s Knoc...