Cyrus Langhorne
Music mogul JAY-Z might have some ample opportunity to branch out his Made In America summer festival to the mid-west if things don’t settle with Philadelphia’s Mayor Jim Kenney. New reports claim a popular Wisconsin city is ready to host Jigga’s annual showcase.
According to reports, a handful of Milwaukee officials have formally reached out to JAY’s Roc Nation about moving the September operation over there.
Ald. Khalif Rainey and four other aldermen on Thursday sent a letter to Roc Nation, the company run by legendary music mogul Jay-Z, touting the “City of Festivals” as the perfect home for its annual musical event. “I and my community have known for years the entrepreneurial spirit and remarkable success of this event and admired particularly the way it built the foundations of this success in the minority community,” they wrote. The letter was signed by Rainey, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton and Alds. Robert Bauman, Milele Coggs, and Russell W. Stamper II. (Journal Sentinel)
Yesterday, concert organization Live Nation stood up for JAY-Z and addressed the headline-generating drama.
Live Nation wholeheartedly supports Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s bid to keep the Made In America Festival at its home on the Ben Franklin Parkway. We have yet to hear a compelling or plausible explanation for why the festival cannot return to the site where it has successfully been housed for six years and generated $102.8M in positive economic impact to the city.
From Billie Holiday to Will Smith, Patti LaBelle, Jill Scott, The Roots and countless others, urban music is an indelible part of Philadelphia’s culture and history. By handicapping Made In America’s ability to bring the best show possible to the best site possible, this administration makes a statement about how it values the arts and plans to protect and expand the city’s vibrant musical heritage. (Statement)
A few hours prior, Mayor Kenney’s camp called the entire situation a misunderstanding.
“The City of Philadelphia supports the Made in America festival and is greatly appreciative of all that it has done for Philadelphia. We are committed to its continued success and thank them for their partnership,” a representative for Kenney’s office tells Billboard. “We hope to be able to resolve what has been an unfortunate misunderstanding. We are working with Roc Nation and Live Nation to resolve this issue and we are committed to continuing our partnership with the Made in America festival.” (Billboard)
[Made In America: 5 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About JAY-Z’s Annual Music Festival]
Earlier in the week, JAY publicly shared his frustrations with Mayor Kenney not reaching out before reaching a decision to disrupt the Made In America festival location.
