Music Midtown returns, but at what cost to fans?

Photo courtesy of Allie Ghisson, Student Publications

Despite the disappointing lineup this year, thousands rushed to Piedmont Park on Sept. 14 and 15 to experience the annual Music Midtown festival. The 2019 crowd as a whole seemed much younger, drawn to artists such as Billie Eilish and Jaden Smith. Pictured are some of the best acts in the linup this year, including Lizzo, Billie Eilish and MØ.

Lizzo really was “100% that bitch.” Her performance garnered arguably the largest crowd for a non-headliner and she reveled in the attention during her set. Lizzo was an act at Midtown in 2017 and expressed great pride in her progress as an artist.

MØ gave an impressive performance and surprised fans by walking through the crowd. Billie Eilish, though, was a letdown. Her microphone was extremely quiet and made it difficult to hear her act, even from up close.

Fans report it was nice to see her make a return to the city following her performance last year, but left without the brilliant performance they expected to see. Despite the auditory troubles, the visuals of her show were a very nice touch.

Quinn XCII was incredible but had a small crowd. It would be nice, for next year, to have some more artists at the middle level like Quinn XCII to transition between lesser-known and more popular artists. BANKS, like Quinn XCII, was stunning, with her choreography being the highlight of her hour-long set.

Travis Scott drew a huge crowd that was incomparable to that gathered by any other artist — including Cardi B. The fans his set was tailored to proved to be similar to the overall demographics of the attendees of the festival as a whole: young, white high-schoolers who vape heavily.

Finally, Panic! at the Disco could be heard nearly all the way down Piedmont Avenue. Despite the unnecessarily high volume, their performance was unbelievably good.

Advertising