Made in America Festival
August 30-31, 2014
Los Angeles, CA & Philadelphia, PA
Ending off summer correctly, Jay- Z’s Made in America Festival finally came to Los Angeles, after having been successful in Philadelphia for the past few years.This year, on August 30-31 the shows were put on in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles, with very diverse line up’s, different weather situations and different pro’s and cons. We were in both cities covering the weekend’s festivities. Check out the pros and cons of the weekend:
The Line-Up:
The acts were hand picked by Jay Z and featured a wide array of talent. Both cities were fairly different, although some headliners including Kanye West made appearances at both cities.
Pro: Both cities were graced with talent from all across the musical spectrum. There was rock, hip-hop, EDM, Alt-rock and more. It was a great way to get exposed to different genres of music and discover your new favorite artist and enjoy some old favorites.
Con: The line-up was all over the place, putting Imagine Dragons right after Kendrick Lamar in Los Angeles and Kanye West after The National in Philadelphia. There were multiple stages and they should have been separated by genre so the show could flow more easily and be more enjoyable. Although not many, there were a few conflicts with set times overlapping. If your two favorite artists were performing- we hope it wasn’t at the same time!
The Weather:
The two cities could not be more different in terms of the weather. Los Angeles was almost at the 100 degrees for both days of the festival while Philadelphia went through a rain storm and had to be evacuated during the second day.
Pro: Because Los Angeles’ festival was in a public park, there were plenty of trees and shady area’s to stand and still enjoy the summer heat and concert. Philadelphia had the perfect concert temperature on Saturday, not too hot and not too cold.
Con: For fans in Los Angeles who weren’t able to find shade, or were in the front row all day, the heat was a major problem. Many fans were dehydrated and weren’t able to stand in the heat for long enough to see their favorite artist. Philadelphia had to endure a rainstorm and thunder during the show. Fans had to evacuate the festival grounds until further notice.
The Stages:
Los Angeles featured 2 main stages and 1 side stage while Philadelphia had 2 main stages and 2 side stages.
Pro: In both cities, the stages featured large screens where fans could watch the performances. Because the main stages alternated between performers, you could watch (on the big screen) what was happening on the other stage, from the stage you were at. It was a cool feature for fans who didn’t want to lose their spot but still want to see the other performances.
Con: In Los Angeles, and Philadelphia he main stage, was SO tall that standing in the front row till about 50ft back was pointless. People in the first 50 feet (ish) rows could not see anything because the stage was so tall. What’s the point of being in the front if you can’t see anything?
See our show review and photos from Philadelphia and Los Angeles here: https://onceno.com/0ther/soundcheck411/the-2014-budweiser-made-in-america-festival-takes-on-philadelphia-and-los-angeles/
