MP3 ROUNDUP — Made in America Cancelled, John Summit Headlines a Stadium, WAKAAN Finally Drops STACKED Lineup

Welcome to MP3 ROUNDUP, your one-stop-shop for all things festival and dance music updates, reported every Friday. 

1. Pretty Lights is BACK

Okay, we’ve been waiting for this moment for 5 YEARS! And we’re happy to report: the Pretty Lights return is just as grand as you’d expect, complete with an immaculate lights show, daring production, and a revitalized, jam-centric approach to the electro-funk and glitch-hop aesthetics Derek Smith (AKA Pretty Lights) has been praised for since the late 2000s. His three-night run at Mission Ballroom was nothing short of extraordinary, and with upcoming dates at the Cascade Equinox and Hulaween music festivals, plus a special three night run at Tennessee’s iconic Caverns venue, he’s only getting started. Read our review of his grand return to the stage, below.

READ — MP3 TAKES: Pretty Lights Night 1 at Mission Ballroom

2. John Summit Announces First Stadium Headline

John Summit’s rise to dance music stardom is one of unprecedented glory and swift acceleration. At this point, the millennial house music guru needs no introduction, and the official announcement that he’s embarking on his first stadium headline at LA’s BMO Stadium should’t be too surprising. Surely, John Summit is celebrating with a bender for the ages. Good for him.

MY FIRST EVER STADIUM HEADLINE 😭

cant wait to rave w 22,000 of u sickos in los angeles dec 16.. presale tomorrow at 10am pst using code ‘summitbmo’ pic.twitter.com/nD3LxsAaJd

— John Summit (@johnsummit) August 9, 2023

3. Made in America Festival is Officially Canceled

Made in America, Philadelphia’s multi-genre music festival put on by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, has officially been cancelled just three weeks before it was scheduled to take place, and nobody knows why. According to a press release put out by Roc Nation on Tuesday, the festival was canceled “due to severe circumstances outside of production control” but would return to “the great city of Philadelphia” next year.

This announcement is part of an alarming trend and growing graveyard of canceled festivals, joining the likes of Okeechobee, Bamboozle and Desert Days, to name a few.

READ — The Rumors Are True: Okeechobee Officially Canceled in 2024

4. WAKAAN Finally Drops 2023 Festival lineup

This one’s for the bassheads out there (we love you!). WAKAAN has officially released this year’s lineup, which, as always, features a heavy, experimental-focused exploration of bass music’s biggest acts and rising superstars — even GRiZ is making an unexpected appearance before his indefinite hiatus from the stage begins this Fall. From Liquid Stranger and LSDream b2b INZO to Ravenscoon and Ahee, theres dozens of artists waiting to blow your mind. Your neck is going to be feeling this one, there’s no doubt about that.

READ: Wakaan Music Festival Announces Lineup ft. Liquid Stranger, GRiZ, LSDream, Ravenscoon, Ahee, and more

5. Tomorrow x Together Make History at Lollapalooza

Last weekend, Tomorrow x Together made history as the first K-pop group to headline Lollapalooza in America, an accolade that’s long overdue. Just last year, the five-piece Korean boyband became the first Korean band to play the iconic Chicago festival in any capacity. But fans loved their performance so much that Lollapalooza decided to give them a dedicated headlining slot in 2023, which, considering the massive crowd and fan reactions, turned out to be a great idea. If there’s a petition to bring more Korean acts to U.S. festivals, just let us know where to sign.

READ — MP3 Takes: Lollapalooza Music Festival 2023

still thinking about #TOMORROW_X_TOGETHER (@TXT_bighit) last night at @lollapalooza 💕 #투모로우바이투게더 pic.twitter.com/jV6N1qzkXD

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) August 6, 2023

OTHER NEWS:

• RL Grime Announces “PLAY™live” Tour
• Esseks and Tiedye Ky Drop New Track, “Dead Meat” on Of The Trees’ Memory Palace Label
• Cascade Equinox Announces DJ Contest & Special Prizes