By Trévaris Hardy
This past weekend, the ATL became home to the biggest names in music from pop sensations DNCE to modern legend Beck to allegedly retired hip-hop icon Lil’ Wayne. These artists and more were part of the city’s most lit weekend to ever hit the streets: this year’s Music Midtown!
On September 17 in Piedmont Park, a beautiful attraction for local families and tourists alike flourished with great music and inebriated fans—the perfect formula for a musical festival. The beginning of the festival introduced an upcoming singer who’s often known for her cover of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” Zella Day, who delivered a hypnotic performance on the Electric Ballroom stage that kept the crowd entranced. Later in the afternoon on the same stage, DNCE, the band spawned from the former Jonas Brother, Joe Jonas, doused the crowd with their white hot foam to their not yet released single, “Naked.” Yep. It’s called “Naked.” Starting immediately after on the adjacent Honda stage, Logic got the crowd turned up and prefaced his set proclaiming that “I stand for one thing, and one thing only: peace, love, and happiness.” The night winded down with Beck on the Roxy stage rocking out to hits like “Loser” whilst on the Honda stage, the Lil’ Wayne and 2 Chainz collective, Collegrove, gave Atlanta a taste of their self-titled album earlier this year. The night ended with Twenty One Pilots, who closed out their set saying “if [Atlanta] will have us, we would love to be your festival band.” Definitely foreshadowing an appearance at the 2017 Music Midtown.
Day two opened with Daya on the Roxy stage, an artist renowned for her vocals on the Chainsmokers’ track, “Don’t let me down.” The same stage was later turned into a dollhouse (literally) when a large building block was rolled out to reveal Melanie Martinez. Martinez and her crew dressed up and disguised the stage to coincide with the toddler theme of her latest album, “Cry Baby.” After a short rain intermission, everyone gathered around GROUPLOVE and got tongue tied when they played songs from their album only released a week earlier, “Big Mess.” That night also saw the likes of indie band The Lumineers on the Electric Ballroom stage as thousands of voices amidst the chaotic waves of fans chanted along to their hit, “Ophelia.” Hungry for more, fans quickly moved to the Honda stage for Alabama Shakes, a band with one of the most impressive lead vocalists, Brittany Howard. Howard’s vocals mixed the band’s melodic instrumentals and shook the stage as they performed the fan favorite, “Sound and Color.” The festival ended with sets from both EDM artist, Deadmau5, and Las Vegas rock band The Killers on two separate stages to conclude the epic festival.
Music Midtown brought an eclectic mix of artists and a certain liveliness to Atlanta that’s never been seen before. Hopefully the 2017 Music Midtown will be just as exciting! For more festival news and chances to win tickets, stay tuned to ksuradio.com.
All photos courtesy of Perry Julien, Chris McKay, Naomi Smith and CatMax Photography.
