them. Next up on the Rocky Stage: Action Bronson incited the crowd into a frenzy walking from the stage to the sound-board, hopping on a moving dolly while performing “Actin’ Crazy,” fitting. Santigold took over the Liberty stage along with two of her dancers happily hanging in their blow up kiddie pools chilling with their bags of hot cheetos. Fan engagement was a big part of her performance as well, inviting anyone who could make their way to the stage to come dance with her for her song “Creator,” while Marian Hill drew a crowd to the Skate Stage with their eclectic electro-pop sound. Later, Big Sean hyped up the antsy Weeknd fans at the Rocky main stage as the opener-forthe-opener, J. Cole. Sean played some crowd pleasers with “Clique” (his feature on the Kanye + Jay-Z song), “Blessings,” and arguably the most popular song off of his 2015 studio album Dark Sky Paradise, “IDFWU.” At the Liberty stage, Banks took the second to last spot preceding Swedes Axwell + Ingrosso. At the one year anniversary of her first studio album GoDdess, Banks drew a crowd of, mostly, women and girls to bask in her moody aura for a well-rounded fest set. Big Sean got the crowd plenty warmed up for J. Cole who drew a rather large part of the dedicated crowd at the front of the Rocky Stage. Everyone
sang along to tracks from his 2014 Forest Hills Drive album, along with his 6 song encore of popular singles like “Crooked Smile” and closed with “Power Trip.” And to close out the weekend, The Weeknd made his MIA debut. With the release of his album Beauty Behind the Madness, Abel was not shy to include the new hits in his set list. “Losers,” “Often,” “Prisoner,” “Tell You Friends” and “The Hills” were spread throughout the performance along with a cover of Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love,” a solo rendition of his collab with Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder,” his contribution to Fifty Shades of Grey “Earned It,” and his smash summer hit “Can’t Feel My Face.” Even though he’s from Canada, The Weeknd was the perfect choice to close Made In America on Sunday night. In its fourth year, Budweiser and Jay-Z put together a great lineup and environment for celebrating good music, celebrating America on Labor Day weekend, and celebrating Philadelphia. LOCATION: September 5-6, 2015 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19130
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