Jay-Z’s Made in America festival has been canceled for the second year in a row.
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia-based festival announced in a statement on social media that it “would not be held in 2024.”
“Since its inception, this innovative festival has celebrated music and community, from creating a space for fans to connect to encouraging local small businesses and shining a light on important causes,” organizers explained. “Accessibility has been fought for, eliminating barriers through affordable tickets and locations.”
The coordinators continued: “As purveyors of change, the Made In America executive production team is reinventing a live music experience that affirms our love and dedication to music and the work we do.”
Jay-Z’s Made in America festival has been canceled for the second year in a row; seen in September 2017
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia-based festival announced in a statement on social media that it “would not be held in 2024” (pictured in 2012).
“We promise an exciting return to the festival,” the organizers concluded.
A lineup had not yet been announced.
Made in America Festival is a two-day music festival held each Labor Day weekend on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia since 2012.
Aside from this and last year’s cancellations, the festival was only canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, festival organizers canceled the festival just a month before the start of the show due to “serious circumstances beyond the production’s control.”
“This decision has been difficult and has not been made lightly or without immense deliberation,” fans said. “Made In America has a legacy of delivering exceptional experiences for music fans and concertgoers, and we are committed to always delivering a top-notch festival experience.”
The annual two-day festival was founded in 2012 by Jay-Z and is the subject of the 2013 documentary Made in America, directed by Ron Howard.
Previous festival headliners include Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Pearl Jam, Drake, Kanye West, Imagine Dragons, Cardi B and The Weeknd.
Desiree Perez, executive director of Roc Nation, previously told Complex that the festival has always had the “vision of seeing all genres of music and the urban community in such a historic and culturally important setting.”
“Since its inception, this innovative festival has celebrated music and community, from creating a space for fans to connect to encouraging local small businesses and shining a light on important causes,” organizers explained.
Previous festival headliners include Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Cardi B (pictured above in 2019), Pearl Jam, Drake, Kanye West, Imagine Dragons and The Weeknd.
Jay-Z is reported to be heavily involved with the festival, from performing and selecting the lineup to “creating our stages” and food; seen in 2024
“Our vision was to see this place with all kinds of people, all kinds of music, and to gather and celebrate together without barriers,” he explained.
As for why Jay-Z chose Philadelphia, Perez noted that it’s “where the constitution was written.”
“Jay came up with the name Made in America, and when he said it, there was just one city that immediately appealed to us,” he continued. ‘Jay’s vision was to make sure it was an urban city that everyone could get to. Not everyone has the money to travel two hours away or get a hotel two hours away, so at the same time it’s attractive to the community.’
Perez also praised Jay-Z’s involvement in the festival, from the performance and lineup selection to “the creation of our stages” and the food.