Are You Experienced? The Rise Of The Festival

Consolidation is the name of the game these days.

The truth is, music became a disposable commodity a long time ago, and right under our noses. Back in the day, it wasn’t anything for a kid that worked at a local grocery store in Anytown, USA to rush to the neighborhood record store to cop the latest CD from whatever artist/group was hot at the time, especially in terms of Hip-Hop. Beyond that, it was considered a religious experience to be able to attend a live Hip-Hop show. From N.W.A. and Public Enemy in the late 80s to Hova’s “Hard Knock Life Tour” to Snoop and Dre’s “Up In Smoke Tour” of the 1990s, and even to the current “I Am Still Music” tour featuring the likes of Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, the Hip-Hop concert was considered something that heads of all kinds would scrimp, scratch and save up all kinds of hard-earned coins for, call off from work to go to, and make any excuse to be part of. In the eyes of many, the Hip-Hop live show was, and still is, irreplaceable.

But somewhere along the line, with the economics and dynamics of the music industry in a flux, mega-promotion companies like LiveNation gobbling up everything in site and the crippling, crumbling, inevitable death of local music shops that just so happened to sell tickets to the next must-see show, the structure/model of the Hip-Hop concert/live show began to reconstruct into a whole new animal. Uncertainty continues to cloud the once lucrative and ridiculously profitable world of music and entertainment, and because of that, the live Hip-Hop show has changed.

And even now, Hip-Hop live shows have to continue changing the way they operate all around, from marketing, advertising and promotional activities to day-of logistics to ticket sales to sound systems to merchandising, just so that they can stay afloat and continue marching towards the one idea that the music world seems to be slowly losing a grip on…profitability. Sure, it should still be about the music. But inevitably, are artists, promoters, and labels doing all of this for their health or for just the love? Hell to the naw. If you wanna live, you gotta eat, and last time many of us checked, food aint free. Ipso facto: everybody involved wants to get compensated accordingly for his or her craft.

These days, we’ve been witnessed to the absolute explosion of the music festival model as somewhat of a replacement to the standard live show all around us. In terms of the mainstream, you’d need both hands (and maybe some feet) to count the number of festivals that have popped up over the years or have gained notoriety after hiding in the shadows for so long: Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, North Coast, Rothbury, South by Southwest (SXSW), Winter Music Conference, Outside the Lands, Sasquatch, Electric Daisy, Movement, Pitchfork, Austin City Limits…(somebody stop me.)

Enter: the Hip-Hop music festival. True enough, there’s still nothing like experiencing your fave emcee/artist live on stage, no matter the sub-genre, locale, or any other set of circumstances. And the standard Hip-Hop concert probably isn’t going away any time soon. But it’s not just about going to one emcees’ or groups’ show anymore. There’s getting to be less and less of a chance where one can see their favorite artist live just by themselves, as an opening act, or just serving as the headliner for a regular concert event. Be it the Rock The Bells tour that crisscrosses the entire country, the Paid Dues Festival, the A3C Festival in Atlanta, The Roots Picnic in Philly, or even the almighty Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, the Hip-Hop concert has quickly evolved into the Hip-Hop festival, with many of these events going strong into their fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh years. And yes, there have of course been casualties along the way (Bridging the Gap in Europe and this years’ Rock the Bells Boston stop, to name a couple.) But overall, we seem to be witnessing a growth and maturation on the Hip Hop Festival front, and for varying reasons.

The first and most obvious reason for the growth of the Hip-Hop music festival is plain and simple: in the current economic climate on pretty much all fronts, music consumers are looking to get a whole lot more out of their entertainment experience. They want more bang for their buck. So it’s not enough anymore to merely go to just one show to see a few artists take the stage, perform some of your favorite tunes for an hour or so, and then you and your crew go about your business. If people are gonna give up their precious dollars for entertainment, it’s all about the experience that comes along going to a show. The package deal is what’s in demand if there’s any chance of filling the seats at a venue nowadays.

Let’s paint a quick scenario: You have the chance to see an artist like Talib Kweli at an intimate club setting in your city, and he brings along, for example, Jean Grae and/or Strong Arm Steady for a few of the stops, while a local act opens the show. You might think you’ll see a pretty good show, right? Now, let’s sweeten the deal a bit. You could potentially see Kweli rocking the stage along with his long-time partner in rhyme Mos Def as they re-form Black Star and perform the entire body of their one-and-only album together on the current Rock The Bells tour. On top of that, you could potentially get a great glimpse of artists like Ms. Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Nas, Immortal Technique, Raekwon and a whole host of other big names at the very same tour. If you’re like many of the rest of us, you might be a little cash-strapped these days, and for that fact, you only have the ends to attend one of these shows. From where many of us sit, the choice would pretty obvious.

Companies and organizations that are beginning to bring in more and more big names from the Hip-Hop industry realize this. This years’ Rock The Bells international festival series, presented by Guerilla Union and sponsored by Boost Mobile, features some pretty huge and well-respected names putting on live sets to the seminal music of their careers: i.e., Nas performing Illmatic, Lauryn Hill doing The Miseducation…, Mos Def and Talib Kweli performing Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, and a whole lot more. The A3C Festival in Atlanta, billed as the biggest Hip-Hop festival in the southeast, will feature sets from well-known veterans and notable rising stars with the likes of Big Daddy Kane, M.O.P., Random Axe, Freeway, 9th Wonder, Freddie Gibbs, Skyzoo, Rapper Big Pooh and others. And the Paid Dues festival has been known for years to pack all kinds of big names into one setting, this year with the likes of Black Star, E-40, Asher Roth, Dead Prez and Bun B blessing the crowd with some live music gems.

Even in the case of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, Brooklyn Bodega has found it necessary and in the best interest of its supporters to expand greatly beyond just the one-day music festival. Because when it comes to Hip-Hop, it’s about more than just a one-time gathering. In recent years, the Bodega has created a whole weeks’ worth of programming and events that encompass nearly all the elements of hip hop music and culture, from graffiti art and DJing to Hip-Hop and music journalism, community activism and recognition, and support of local Brooklyn vendors. Again, in the current economic climate, more and better programming can equal more fan support, and potentially more dollars. Give Hip-Hop fans and experiences they can take with them after the show is over and see just how far things transcend.

Granted, the standard live show featuring just one or a few major name is still around, but to a certain extent, it’s becoming a dying breed. And the reasons are many, and on all sides: Live shows used to be the main way for a Hip-Hop artist to ensure that they’re making some sort of bread, but honestly, these shows aren’t packing in the crowds the way they used to. The facts remain that ticket sales are down, prices are up, and there’s getting to be less and less wiggle room for any independent promo company looking to make a name for itself. Which brings us back to the idea of consolidation: if all of these factors are coming together all at once, then what is the natural response? Easy. Try to do more with less.

And the numbers don’t lie. Just look at the amount of money it now costs to put on a live music event in this day and age. And lots of times, unless you’re a “mainstream” Hip-Hop artist like a Lil Wayne, a Drake, a Nicki Minaj, a Kanye West, do you really think artists are seeing all of the kickback from these events? It’s kinda the way Jay Z described himself as opposed to other up-and-comers on “Hola Hovito”: compared to the Hip-Hop festival model, the standard live Hip-Hop shows these days are a candle in the sun, and it isn’t quite evening out.

Secondly, music and entertainment are becoming more of a social experience than ever before, as opposed to just the one-way street that they used to be back in the day. Years ago, the standard Hip-Hop music consumer was more than happy to attend a regular concert, and one of the main draws wasn’t just the artists, but the togetherness and the idea of being able to connect with other fans on an equal level.

For example, with all that a person can get out of streaming and cloud music services from Spotify to Pandora to Rhapsody to iTunes, and newcomers like Rdio and iHeartRadio, the need to have this experience will naturally translate over to the live show experience. Moreover, music in all areas now has to compete with more forms of entertainment than one can count on both hands and feet. Social networking and media, augmented reality, educational and casual gaming, movies, live sporting events, flash mobs, you name it. And I know what you may be thinking at this point: there’s absolutely nothing like the live music experience. And you’re right. But taking into account the many different ways people can entertain themselves these days, on top of the fact that many of these types of entertainment sometimes cost little to nothing, and you start to get a clearer picture of why live Hip-Hop isn’t bringin’ em in like in years’ past.

For a time, it was a common thought that there is absolutely nothing that could replace the experience of going to a live music concert. Even to this day, to some degree, you still have mega fans that would follow their favorite artist/musician/performer/band to the ends of the earth (assuming they have the means to do so.) Case in point: I attended a live performance of The Roots in Detroit back in 2007 and a Philly native named Percy that told me he had seen the group over thirty times, and was still going strong! (They had a show the next day in Chicago, and guess who was gonna be there front and center…)

But to put it bluntly, even a group like The Roots that is well respected and has more stock in the game than damn near any other hip hop performer at this point, has to re-evaluate the way they do things in terms of the live show. Hence, they introduced The Roots Picnic just a few years ago in Philly, which has been going four years strong. Though I’ve never been myself, this really does seem to be their answer to the festival explosion, with big-named performers such as Yelawolf, Esperanza Spalding and Little Dragon having served on the bill for this past year. And, what with the bands’ busy schedule of serving as the house band for Jimmy Fallon and recording, it’s natural that they would not be on the road as much as they have been in the past. See what I mean? Even ?uestlove, Black Thought and them have to do a little bit of downsizing here and there to meet their goals.

With the structure of music and entertainment forming and reforming everyday, the Hip-Hop festival will only gain more steam and more support in the time to come. As more companies, be they Hip Hop music news sites, management companies, talent agencies, magazines or marketing firms, begin to rearrange, reposition and combine services, they more than likely will begin to look towards one of the last bastions that is considered somewhat of a money maker in the live show. And in doing so, they will be challenged to create a fan experience on par with what is already out there if they want to compete. When all is said and done, this may turn out to be a great thing for the Hip Hop music consumer after all, as there will be more chances to receive that once-in-a-lifetime music experience.

Will these large-scale, big-time Hip-Hop events continue to go and grow stronger and more viable in the near future? Will they be sustainable? Is this a new era for live, up close and personal, in-your-face Hip Hop as we know it? Hard to say. But hey, here’s hoping.

So what city are we hittin’ up next?

Follow Ron Grant on Twitter @RonGreezy