PHILADELPHIA, PA— The first day of this year’s Budweiser Made In America music festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is in the books. Over 50 thousand strong turned up, jammed out and enjoyed the festivities yesterday (September 5), aside from the crazy Uber surcharges (C’mon, Philly!).
Here’s what we saw:
Day One was a solid first day for the festival, which to most, felt a little light on talent but had a little bit of everything to offer someone.
For the seasoned vets, the legends De La Soul rocked the mic with their set, in addition to DJ Mustard, G-Eazy, Earl Sweatshirt, Vic Mensa and, of course, Philly’s own Meek Mill holding it down for hip-hop.
Meek’s set was consistent, with him playing a lot of the popular tracks off Dreams Worth More Than Money and bringing out his son to perform the “Whip” and “Nae Nae” dances.
Two words: Freaking adorable. But, honestly, I hear that song in my nightmares at this point. Someone, please help. Meek had more in store for his hometown crowd. he brought out his bae, Nicki Minaj, to perform their googly-eyes track “All Eyes On You,” as Nicki proclaimed “If you’ve got love for my baby daddy, make some noise.” Oh, rumors are fun aren’t they?
Modest Mouse rocked the stage, then Mama Bey closed out things like only she knows how to.
For those wondering what her set list would include, as Bey hasn’t been putting out new music recently, she arrived to “Crazy In Love” (“50 Shades of Grey” version) while mixing in tunes like “End of Time” and “Grown Woman.” Like a bawse, Bey didn’t have to bring out any surprise guests (we see you, though, Hov, singing along like the rest of us) but still delivered; unabashedly, my favorite part of her set came when she turned up to Future–one of the most anticipated acts for Day Two. Future Hendrix sent out a tweet of appreciation to Bey, which was fittings as the #BeyHive passes the cheering off to the #FutureHive.