Washington, DC recently held court to a festival much bigger than music
With summer 2015 hosting a slew of festivals and concerts from Bonnaro Music Festival, Hangout Fest to even SXSW, it’s almost impossible to meet a music-lover who didn’t head to a live festival this past summer. With the immeasurable amount of festivals catering to individuals throughout the states from the uniqueness and individuality mantra of Afropunk to your day to day Hip Hop lovers (and Futurehive committee members) of Made In America, there was no question that if you loved music there was a festival out there for you.
This past weekend, Washington, DC once again played home base to it’s first music festival located on the capital’s “front yard” which featured the likes of hometown hero and rap great Wale, The Strokes, Miguel and the summer’s biggest artist and headliner Drake. Spanning over two days, the districts young, vibrant, eclectic and fresh set out to West Potomac Park in a music pilgrimage of sorts to celebrate their favorite acts while indulging in some of DC’s new and nostalgic eatery’s that set up shop on the festival grounds.
The artists that performed were a direct representation of the growing times and population shift of culture in today’s metropolitan area. On one hand, you can sit back and enjoy the essence of DC’s music culture with the colorful yet energetic performance by DC native Wale (he mentioned “Walepalooza” coming soon), or vibe out to the young and unapologetic declaration sounds of Chvrches. No matter who was on your mental bill to watch, the festival painted a vivid picture of the young and modern Washingtonian.
Captivating the crowd off his presence and energy alone, Drake managed to bring thousands of people to their feet with a fireworks display that was accompanied by the the countless hits he managed to create throughout his short career. After performing hit by hit, Drake closed out the show with his ever-so-popular hit “Legend”, which undoubtedly solidified his status in music among non-believers in the sea of festival-goers.
Despite Drake and The Strokes headlining the festival, the cause of festival and campaign was much greater than music. The festival served as a platform to help educate the millennial generation on the values and ideals of the National Mall’s history, while providing the harsh reality that hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance backlog is currently facing the National Mall. Due to the current state of the mall and various monuments, the festival served as a spark in a nationwide hope to help restore these memorials. Granted, it will take more than a music festival to help make a change, but if this past weekend was any indication of a brighter future, the National Mall’s Landmark Campaign will be a success. Learn more about it here
Talk Hip Hop, sports, entertainment and everything that revolves around the culture with Drew on Twitter @AndrewSomuah
*Photos by Travis Ellison of TravieTravPhotography and Charlton Woodyard & Ahad Subzwari of Washington Times Live*
