Beloved record label and party series Akumandra, founded by Sainte Vie, has announced its inaugural festival after eleven years of throwing beloved underground events in New York City. The Akumandra Festival will take place Saturday, July 4, 2026 at Knockdown Center in Brooklyn — a 14-hour program across two of the venue’s signature spaces, with custom lighting design built for both.
Founded in Mexico City in 2013, Akumandra played its first New York show two years later to a 75-person room and never looked back. Over the last eleven years, the brand has grown into one of the city’s most enduring underground institutions, hosting bi-annual showcases at Knockdown Center. Akumandra’s community spans far beyond New York, with label showcases everywhere from Istanbul, Berlin, and Mexico City, to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami. The party has become a vital New York home for melodic dance music’s leading voices, hosting Acid Pauli, Jan Blomqvist, Âme, Booka Shade, Adana Twins, Denis Horvat, and many more across its bi-annual showcases (re-watch Sainte Vie’s 2025 Akumandra set here).
“It was always a dream of mine to organize a festival, and I couldn’t be happier to be doing it with Akumandra in my favorite city, New York, and at my favorite venue, Knockdown Center. We’re going to celebrate the 4th of July outdoors at The Ruins during the day, then move it inside to the Main Hall at night.” — Sainte Vie
The daytime program from 3PM to 10PM will unfold at Knockdown Center’s outdoor courtyard, The Ruins. Longtime Akumandra residents Mateo and Eli — with the party since its first New York event in 2015 — will open the day with a back-to-back set. German producer Rezident will be performing a live set filled with deeply moving, euphoria-infused melodic house. Sainte Vie takes the sunset slot with a live set built around remixes from Pablo, his debut full length album. French duo Betical — brothers Max and Martin, whose “Back on 74” rework topped Burning Man’s most-played list and earned cosigns from Keinemusik and Adriatique — makes their NYC debut to close out The Ruins, as the festival transitions indoors.
Once the sun sets, the festival will move inside to the Main Hall from 10PM to 5AM. Mateo and Eli return to open the night, before handing things off to Milan-based producer Ivory, whose releases span Innervisions, Afterlife, Kompakt, and Multinotes. Slovenian-born and classically trained, Brina Knauss — whose catalogue spans Afterlife, Tomorrowland, and her own EMPATH label — leads into Irish producer and Maeve / Passion Beat label founder Mano Le Tough, whose library of melodic house and techno records has soundtracked sets at Berghain, Fabric, and Dekmantel. Sainte Vie brings the party full circle, returning behind the decks to perform the festival’s final DJ set into the small hours.
Knockdown Center continues to be a longtime home for Akumandra. The Maspeth, Queens industrial complex has become one of New York’s most architecturally distinctive dance music venues. The Main Hall’s cavernous architecture and The Ruins’ open-air expanse give Akumandra room to scale up its immersive, art-forward production. Akumandra is building a custom lighting design for both spaces, distinct from the venue’s defaults.
Day tickets for The Ruins (3PM to 10PM) are available now at $35-55. A discounted $30 option is offered for guests arriving before 5PM. Night tickets for Main Hall (10PM to 5AM) are $30-40. Combination Day & Night passes covering the full 14-hour run are $55-75. Day ticket holders can upgrade to a Night ticket at the venue based on capacity. Akumandra Festival is a 21+ event. Tickets and full pricing tiers are available via DICE.
