Music Midtown or Music Mudtown?
Imagine 37 concerts, two days, and thousands of people and kids in various states of consciousness. Add it all up and you know what that means: another Music Midtown. This year’s two-day event, held September 17 and 18, in Piedmont Park, had acts that ranged from DJ Mustard to the Alabama Shakes.
The year 2016 was the first year since the restart of the festival where the attendees dealt with the continuous rainfall on the second day of the festival. On Sunday, the rain started at around 7 a.m. and the result was mud all over the whole park. The precipitation stopped around 11:30 p.m. but at around 2 p.m. people were evacuated from the park for something vaguely called a “weather threat.” Heightened concerns about the prior day’s bombings in New York raised concerns that possibly the threat was actually related to a bomb.
After a few hours, attendees were admitted back into the park giving everyone enough time to make it to the next concert and a fan favorite- Grouplove.
Music Midtown in Atlanta dates back to 1994. From the start, the festival took place one weekend each year. During its peak years, it attracted 300,000 attendees annually. Music Midtown started as a two-day event and later grew to three days. Due to a decline in attendance and rising expenses after the 2005 Music Midtown, promoters placed the festival on hiatus in 2006. The impasse ran through 2010. When the event returned in 2011, it was just for one day. The current two-day format started in 2012.
After talking to attendees of this year’s event, the fan favorite was Collegrove, comprised of Lil Wayne and 2 Chains, followed by Ke$ha, The Lumineers, Grouplove, The Killers and Twenty One Pilots. With just four stages, the weekend showcased music from hip-hop, electronic, pop, R&B, and everything in-between. It was a happy but muddy affair. And despite the need for a new pair of shoes by the end of the weekend, most festival-goers deemed the event a success.