The first-ever All Points West Music and Arts Festival at Liberty State Park took place this weekend. Attendees of this three-day festival enjoyed a rock-star lineup with incredible views of Lady Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the Blue Comet stage. Headlining bands included Radiohead and Jack Johnson. Other performances by Kings of Leon, The Virgins and a dozen other bands were also well received by high-spirited fans.

I attended the second day of the festival. Tickets were sold out to a crowd of 30,000+. The weather was fantastic and the music was rocking. There was an intense security check before entering the festival grounds so leave your drugs and weapons, but more importantly food and drink, at home. Aside from the three music stages, there was a Play Station tent, various food options including pizza, gyros and funnel cake, three beer gardens and a water mist station to cool off from the heat.

Radiohead, by far, was the star performance of the day with a spectacular psychedelic LED light show synchronized to Thom Yorke’s angelic voice and funky instrumental extras for each song. Their set included songs mostly from their latest album, In Rainbows. Reckoner, Fifteen Steps, House of Cards and others hits kept their fans mesmerized throughout the evening.

If you missed this year’s festival, there are plans of making All Points West an annual event. See you next August!

Cow Tip #1: Don’t forget your sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and beach towel. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday and without these items I would not have lasted all day in the sun

Cow Tip #2: Attendees 21 years and over with valid photo identification are limited to five alcoholic beverages in designated beer garden areas. It was a shame that adults are held to these restrictions, but could understand why when I saw many youngsters unsuccessfully attempt to get served with cancelled Passports and driver licenses that were expired or duplicated

Cow Tip #3: Aside from carpool with parking pass options, transportation options to and from the festival included ferry from Manhattan or light rail service from PATH stations. I took the light rail one way and the ferry another. The light rail is by far the fastest, but more expensive option. Although it is a three-day festival, no camping is permitted on the park grounds

Cow Tip #4: If going with a large group of people, set a meeting place as the festival grounds can be vast and crowded. My fully charged cell phone battery drained rather quickly and calls/text messaging were delayed allowing for zero communication when away from the group