Budweiser: Made in America Festival

Alexander Volz

Over Labor Day Weekend, the Budweiser Made in America music festival created by Jay-Z and his business partners will be held at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles. The previous two music events were held in Philadelphia, but this year they will take place in both cities simultaneously, and with a portion of the proceeds going to the United Way of the Greater Los Angeles area and Lancaster, California. The announcement for the LA concert was made in April by Jay-Z and Mayor Eric Garcetti, who says that the festival will bring in millions of dollars to the local economy.

Made in America features rock, hip-hop, and EDM artists, and the schedule for Saturday August 30 will consist of Imagine Dragons, Kendrick Lamar, Afrojack, Iggy Azalea, Sublime with Rome, Metric, Capital Cities, and Schoolboy Q. On Sunday August 31st, the lineup will consist of Kanye West, John Mayer, Juanes, Weezer, Rise Against, Steve Aoki and Cypress Hill. DJs Gareth Emery, Cut Snake, and R3hab will be performing double duties at the Los Angeles and Philadelphia shows on Saturday, while Rapper YG will perform in both cities on consecutive days, starting in Philadelphia.

The Las Vegas alternative arena rockers, Imagine Dragons, are sure to electrify the expected 50,000 fans in Grand Park on Saturday night. Praised as one of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2013 by MTV and Billboard, they are known for their hits “Radioactive” and “It’s Time.” The band’s debut album Night Visions is certified platinum worldwide. Imagine Dragon’s sound has been described as “epic” and “soundtrack ready,” which rings true because these two popular songs have been featured in a number of movie trailers and commercials.They claim to have been working on a new album since 2012 with enough material for over 50 demos. Their album song “Battle Cry” was featured in the latest Transformers soundtrack, and fans may be lucky enough to hear some new material at Made in America.

LA’s own Kendrick Lamar is headlining Saturday night. Lamar made waves in 2012 when he released the album good kid, m.A.A.d city featuring the massive radio hit “Swimming Pools (Drank).” MTV called him the hottest MC of last year and he received an insane seven Grammy nominations. His performance will likely feature many guest appearances, since most of Lamar’s fellow musicians being produced by Top Dog Entertainment are also performing at Made in America.

Another headliner at this music event, ZZ Ward is an upcoming songstress who seamlessly blends R&B, blues rock, and pop rock. Proving that Ward doesn’t shy away from her hip-hop roots, she released a mixtape in 2011 called Eleven Roses that features her renditions of hip-hop songs by Tyler, The Creator and Childish Gambino. Her debut album Til the Casket Drops has appearances by Kendrick Lamar and Freddie Gibbs. Fans of Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, and Lily Allen will most definitely enjoy Ward and her smooth blues voice and catchy tunes that will be perfect for a summer day in Downtown Los Angeles.

If you need a break from the sensory overload of EDM artists or just want to see a different type of electronic music, be sure to check out Classixx. This Los Angeles duo’s blend of disco, funk, soul, and synth is so much fun that fans would be disappointed to miss them. Their album Hanging Gardens sounds like a Miami Vice drug haze lost in waves of island jams and vocoder vocals.

Hit-Boy is the man behind “Niggas in Paris”, “Clique”, and A$AP Rocky songs “Goldie” and “1Train.” This former producer for Getting Out Our Dreams Music (Kanye West’s label) is breaking out on his own and following in the footsteps of his mentor. Best known for his solo mixtape HITstory, Hit-Boy is also a part of the Inland Empire rap group HS87, which released All I’ve Ever Dreamed of and We the Plug. Pusha T said that the “Niggas in Paris” beat sounded like a video game. This could be said for any number of Hit-Boy’s production since he uses simple sounds to create his club bangers. Hit-Boy has also shown that he is capable of making complex mind bend beats as featured on HS87 “Scorn.”

Steve Aoki is a DJ to the stars and one of the more popular EDM artists playing Made in America. This workhorse DJ has been rocking clubs and venues since 2006 and claims to play over 250 shows a year. Aoki is known for his versatility work with musicians Lil Jon, Travis Barker, will.i.am, Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), and Kid Cudi. He is the founder of the record label Dim Mak Records which has released music by Bloc Party, The Kills, MSTRKRFT, and the Bloody Beetroots. Aoki is best known for his remix of Drake’s “Forever,” which made the song a huge hit in the clubs. Concertgoers who are looking to get lost dancing will find the right beat with Aoki’s hypnotic rhythms and electro-house music.

Juanes is a Colombian ex metal-head who plays Latin pop rock and has won a number of Latin Grammys, selling 15 million albums worldwide. Like soccer, Juanes is more popular in the rest of world than the United States, but in 2002 his album Un Dia Normal was on the US billboard charts for over two years. People who may not be hip to the Latin music scene have more than likely heard Juanes hit song “La Camisa Negra”at their Spanish speaking friends’ parties. His latest album “Loco de Amor”was released in March of this year.

A hot up-and-coming rapper from Chicago, Chance the Rapper received universal acclaim for his mixtape Acid Rap, which appeared on a number of year-end lists and features appearances by Twista, Childish Gambino, Action Bronson, Ab-Soul, and Nosaj Thing. The title Acid Rap is perfect for Chance’s unusual style of hip-hop and his songs included samples by Kanye West and Curtis Mayfield displaying classic Chicago influence. Most of his songs are a perfect blend of smooth funk and laid-back beats, and he is known for the nasally tone of his voice, more like Ol’ Dirty Bastard than Drake.

Concertgoers should make sure to catch Rita Ora from London, England. Discovered by Jay-Z, Ora has achieved a great deal of success in a short amount of time. She is best known for her hits “R.I.P.” and “How We Do (Party),” as well as her debut album Ora featured production by will.i.am, Diplo, and Major Lazer.

Budweiser Made in America music festival will be held at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles on August 30 and 31.