New York City was treated with endless fun, Bacardi, and a performance by Indie star Macklemore.

The line curled around the street all the way back to 53rd and 8th Avenue, and that was at 6:45pm. An hour and fifteen minutes before the doors were set to open it looked like a zoo outside. Luckily, Roseland Ballroom is big enough and when everyone was settled in there were no unhappy campers.

Bacardi’s promotional efforts to push the brand in this new year incorporates the Bacardi Rebels series with the mainstream culture successfully. Apart from the musical acts that were featured, the good folks at Bacardi had a domino lounge, a tobacco stand, huts serving different mixed drinks, and photo booths for anyone wanting to collect a souvenir. The event was part history lesson as they served “Cuba Libre” next a 1950′s Chevy Bel-Air, the walls behind told the story of how the drink was originated in the Spanish-American War.

After roaming around and playing a few rounds of dominoes, Fitz And The Tantrums and DJ Cassidy had wrapped up their sets. Enter Macklemore, who came out to a diverse crowd that was more than happy to see him.

His set was short but it was worth while. Everyone was elated when he performed Thrift Shop, they sang along when Wanz stepped in to do the chorus. Before he moved on with his set he joked around with the audience saying that he was trying hard not to do a “Miguel” on stage. Macklemore wore a Patrick Ewing jersey as he got into “Same Love” and “Can’t Hold Us”, earning some points with the New York crowd as he killed on stage. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis continue to climb the ladder of success, last night showed me just how popular these two really are being that I never saw them live.

Virgilio Mendez
@REGULARGUYV