S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay Z is going coast-to-coast this summer after announcing his annual Made In America concert series will go down in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
With support from Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti, Jay will help California fans enjoy the festival locally.
The Budweiser Made in America music festival is coming to Los Angeles, but who is performing and how the city will manage the two-day concert are still mysteries. Jay Z and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti held a news conference Wednesday to announce the music festival, which is planned for Labor Day weekend and will be held simultaneously with one in Philadelphia. They did not announce the lineup of performers or address residents’ concerns about the venue — a park in downtown Los Angeles that is crossed by several streets and partially surrounded by residential buildings. (ABC News)
During the conference, Young Hov expressed his goal to make the annual event bigger than a one-city showcase.
The announcement came at a press conference in L.A. Wednesday and is envisioned as a way to help revitalize the city’s downtown area. “Los Angeles is the perfect west-coast home for Made in America,” Garcetti said. Jay Z noted that the expansion continued his dream of “putting together a music festival that blurred those lines of genres, that all walks of life and all people can come [to].” (Rolling Stone)
Reports earlier this month claimed Young Hov had received heavy backlash from a city official over the potential complications the event could create.
Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar contends he was left out of discussions, spearheaded by Mayor Eric Garcetti in recent weeks, over bringing the two-day Budweiser Made in America music festival to Grand Park and the nearby steps of City Hall. Huizar, who represents most of downtown, called for the city to withhold approval of any permits for the Labor Day weekend event until the details are properly vetted. An application submitted for the event said it would have three stages, several beer gardens and street closures lasting from five to 10 days, depending on the location. (Los Angeles Times)
The councilman signaled the problems heavy amounts of people could have on Los Angeles streets a top concern.
“When we’re talking about bringing 50,000 people to downtown Los Angeles and closing streets potentially for 10 days, that’s really going to be a nightmare for the residents, for business owners and people who come to work here,” Huizar said Wednesday. (Los Angeles Times)
