SIDEPIECE Brings Miami Energy to Brooklyn Waterfront With a Massive We Belong Here New York Set
As the sun dipped behind the Manhattan skyline and thousands of dance music fans packed Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Waterfront, SIDEPIECE delivered exactly what the crowd came for: 90 minutes of relentless tech house, nostalgic sing alongs, and basslines powerful enough to shake the East River.
The set, performed during We Belong Here: New York 2025, showcased why SIDEPIECE has become one of the most recognizable names in modern house music. Blending festival anthems, underground grooves, and clever remixes of songs everyone knows, the duo transformed one of New York City’s most picturesque waterfront locations into a full scale dance floor.
It was the kind of performance that perfectly captured where electronic music stands in 2025 less concerned with genre purity and more focused on creating unforgettable moments.
A Supergroup Built for Festival Stages
SIDEPIECE is not your typical dance music duo. The project was formed in 2019 by two artists who had already established themselves as major names in electronic music.
Nitti, formerly known as Nitti Gritti, built his reputation through an ability to jump effortlessly between trap, bass music, house, and festival oriented productions. Party Favor, meanwhile, became a staple of the EDM world through years of high- nergy performances and massive bass driven releases.
Together, they discovered a shared love for house music and quickly found success by combining their diverse production backgrounds into something uniquely their own. That chemistry became impossible to ignore following the success of “On My Mind,” their Grammy nominated collaboration with Diplo that helped launch SIDEPIECE from an experimental side project into one of dance music’s hottest acts.
Since then, the duo has become a regular fixture at major festivals including EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Electric Forest, and countless international events.
The Perfect New York Backdrop
Part of what made this performance special had nothing to do with the music. We Belong Here has quietly become one of the most respected boutique festival brands in North America by focusing on premium locations and carefully curated experiences rather than overwhelming scale.
The festival’s Miami events at Virginia Key have developed a devoted following by pairing world class electronic music with breathtaking waterfront views. The Greenpoint Waterfront offered a similar formula for New York. With the Manhattan skyline serving as the backdrop and the East River reflecting the city lights, the setting created an atmosphere that felt distinctly different from the massive fields and speedways that typically host electronic music festivals. As daylight faded into darkness, the environment became part of the performance itself.
A Masterclass in Modern Tech House
From the opening moments, SIDEPIECE made it clear they weren’t interested in easing the audience into the night. The duo immediately leaned into heavy basslines, rolling percussion, and vocal-driven hooks designed to keep energy levels elevated from start to finish.
One of the earliest highlights came with a tech house reimagining of Khia’s infamous “My Neck, My Back.” The remix demonstrated one of SIDEPIECE’s greatest strengths: taking familiar cultural touchstones and transforming them into weapons for the dance floor.
Moments later, the crowd erupted when the duo dropped “On My Mind,” the Grammy-nominated track that helped define their rise to prominence. Even years after its release, the song remains one of the most recognizable records in modern house music and continues to generate huge reactions wherever it’s played.
Nostalgia Meets the Underground
One of the defining characteristics of the set was its ability to balance underground club culture with mainstream familiarity. A dark, driving edit of New Order’s classic “Blue Monday” injected a dose of electronic music history into the performance while maintaining the momentum of a modern festival set. Later, crowd favorites such as Roxe’s “Coke Diet” reminded listeners why tech house continues to dominate dance floors around the world.
Rather than relying solely on original productions, SIDEPIECE expertly curated a musical journey that constantly rewarded listeners with moments of recognition. Every few minutes another familiar vocal, melody, or sample emerged from the mix, creating a steady stream of crowd reactions.
Peak-Time Festival Chaos
By the halfway point, the set had fully entered festival mode. One of the biggest surprises arrived through a heavy electronic rework of the iconic “Space Jam” theme song. What could have felt gimmicky instead landed as one of the most energetic moments of the night. The track perfectly encapsulated the SIDEPIECE formula. Take something nostalgic. Add a crushing bassline. Increase the tempo. Watch thousands of people lose their minds. That approach continued throughout the final portion of the performance as the duo delivered a series of increasingly aggressive house cuts that pushed the audience deeper into the night.
The Sing Along Moment
Every great festival set has a defining crowd moment. For SIDEPIECE, that moment arrived with a high-energy house flip of Kesha’s “Die Young.” As the familiar vocals filled the waterfront venue, the crowd instantly took over. Phones came out. Hands went into the air. Thousands of voices sang along. For a few minutes, the distinction between DJ and audience disappeared entirely. Those moments are increasingly rare in modern electronic music, which often prioritizes production over connection. SIDEPIECE managed to deliver both.
Why SIDEPIECE Continues to Thrive
The secret behind SIDEPIECE’s success is surprisingly simple. They understand what modern dance music audiences want. Fans today don’t necessarily care whether a track is strictly house, techno, bass, pop, or hip-hop. They care about how it feels. They want familiar moments mixed with unexpected twists. They want underground credibility without sacrificing fun. They want a soundtrack that works equally well at a festival, in a club, at the gym, or during a pregame with friends.
Few artists currently bridge those worlds as effectively as SIDEPIECE. Their We Belong Here New York performance served as a reminder that electronic music doesn’t always need to be complicated to be effective. Sometimes all it takes is a great setting, a crowd ready to dance, and two DJs who understand exactly how to keep the energy moving. On the Brooklyn waterfront, with Manhattan glowing in the background and bass reverberating across the river, SIDEPIECE delivered exactly that.
