2 Chainz of Collegrove
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Big Boi
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Chvrches
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Chvrches
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
G-Eazy
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Joe Jonas of DNCE
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Leon Bridges
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Melanie Martinez
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Melanie Martinez
photo by Carmen O'Hagan
Music Midtown 2016 introduced a new Saturday-Sunday schedule, replacing its former tradition of a Friday-Saturday format. The music festival ran a jam-packed two days with four stages strewn across Piedmont Park. In addition to the schedule change, Music Midtown organizers opted out of staging classic rock and pop artists and country stars. Past years have seen the likes of Elton John, Van Halen, Zac Brown Band, etc.
This year’s festival featured more fringe groups and also a greater emphasis on rappers when compared to the last few years. G-Eazy, Logic, Big Boi, ColleGrove (Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz) all made appearances in high billing spots.
Gates opened Saturday at midday. A total of 18 artists played through the sunny and humid weather. Twenty One Pilots headlined the night, and perhaps were arguably the main act for the weekend even though The Killers were given top billing and were slated for the Sunday night show.
Crowds packed in very early at the Electric Ballroom Stage to get a good spot for Twenty One Pilots. The band has quickly risen through the ranks. They played Music Midtown just two years ago, then performing a daytime set on the much smaller Honda Stage. Their cult following has also been intense and dedicated, but wide-spread popularity and radio airplay has drastically increased their numbers.
Weather started out iffy on Sunday morning, as a gigantic dark cloud seemed to rest over the skyline of Atlanta. Off and on showers speckled the morning. By the time Melanie Martinez took the stage at 2:45 pm, a rain storm was imminent. Soon thereafter a downpour pelted the crowd. Surprisingly, Martinez persevered and so did her dedicated crowd. Her Cry Baby-driven set was outstanding and her stage presence was masterful.
The rain continued with threats of more severe weather. While the rain provided a brief relief from the heat and humidity, it also caused a mandatory evacuation of the festival grounds. The rain couldn’t deter the crowds or the artists, however. After about an hour gates were reopened and music resumed thirty minutes after that.
Kesha made back-to-back Atlanta concert performance Sunday at the festival after playing Saturday night at Philips Arena. The pop star is just coming back on the road from a highly publicized hiatus fraught with lawsuits and scandal regarding reports of abuse against her previous producer, Dr. Luke.
The Killers closed out the festival with a special surprise guest. The rockers were able to get none other than James Bond actor Daniel Craig to introduce them to the Atlanta crowd.