WIRE Festival

WIRE Festival is an annual techno and house festival produced by Knockdown Center at its industrial venue in Maspeth, Queens. Built around themes of community, conversation and world-class techno, it programs continuous multi-day sessions across four stages, including a main hall, crew-takeover stages curated with international collectives, an all-night Ambient Stage and an outdoor Ruins stage, alongside light installations and free panel discussions run with Resident Advisor. The event has grown into a fixture of New York's underground rave calendar

Attendees repeatedly praise the sound, the production and the sets, with many calling recent lineups among the strongest US techno bills they have seen and singling out sweat-drenched back rooms and long b2b sets as highlights. The welcoming, queer-forward crowd and vibe draw frequent praise. Recurring critiques center on the trek to the Queens venue, a crowd some describe as male-dominated, and occasional underwhelming closing sets

The 2026 edition ran four days and nights of techno across the venue, with a lineup led by names including Alva Noto, Arushi Jain, Dopplereffekt, LYDO, Voices From The Lake, DAX J, Stef Mendesidis and Chlaer. Attendees highlighted standout sets from artists such as Yanamaste, Voicedrone and Newa, while some felt certain nights and closing sets did not match previous years