Soundcheck: Hip Hop Hits…And Misses Playground Music Festival

posted in: Music News • Urban

Hip hop heroes did more than disappoint this weekend when headliners for the First Annual Playground Music Festival skipped their sets, leaving fans and promoters scratching their heads and looking for refunds.

The event was billed as a two-day hip hop, rock and electronic festival, suited for all ages, and promised 200 bands over thirteen stages.  Hosted by Nick Cannon and headlined by The Game, E-40, Too Short, Big Sean,  New Boyz, Panic! At The Disco and The Bravery, it even boasted appearances by Lindsay Lohan and Pete Wentz.

When gates at Hidden Valley, Irvine opened at noon on Saturday, the mostly vacant parking lot was an early warning sign that the 30,000 capacity outdoor venue might not be packed that day.  Once inside, fans found their way across thirteen stages strewn throughout the Hidden Valley property, ultimately leading to the main stage, where Game was expected to perform his Number 1 album, R.E.D. later that evening.

With no signage or announcements of show schedules and stages, it was tough for fans to find the sets they came to see.  Luckily, we caught OurStage’s own ForestPunk delivering one of the best rap performances I’ve seen in years. The twenty-year old Los Angeles native spit thirteen tracks in his hour-long set, which included an eclectic range of thought-provoking prose over heart-pounding dubstep beats, up against his softer-sounding songs like Scary Monster over acoustic guitar. His set-closing number, Bad Monkey had tinges of Lupe-inspired sound fused with the insight and confidence expected from an artist twice his age.

As the night moved on, Shiny Toy Gunz and The Cataracs gave lackluster performances to an eager but small crowd.  As the lock neared 8PM, the sound plug was abruptly pulled and an announcement followed that Game won’t be performing tonight. Show is over. Please proceed to the exits. No talk of refunds or rescheduling followed, only herds of fans rushed through the grounds with no explanation as to why.  Too Short and E-40 also missed their headlining slots, with the entire night going up in smoke.

While promoters and producers did not offer an official explanation, rumors were swirling throughout the day that the headliners were having security issues.  The festival was heavily patrolled with police, and the extensive searched forced fans to discard water bottles, chewing gum and Tylenol before entering the venue.  According to one booker, The Game was not comfortable being searched by police, and felt his ryder was violated.  Despite the alleged claims, I’m thinking the show’s poor publicity, poor attendance and poor execution may suggest a deeper problem that led to the unexpected cancellations. No word on how Day 2 of the festival went, but at $65 a ticket, I hope at least one of the scheduled headliners, Kendrick Lamar,  Lil Jon and Big Sean showed up.  As for me I couldn’t take the chance.  And given the turn out of Day 1, it didn’t seem too likely.

ForestPunk’s latest free EP, Wake Up Dreamin’ available now right here on OurStage.