Rolling Loud Music Festival

I went to Rolling Loud Miami for the first time in May. Keep reading to see why it took me while to write. I hadn’t fully decided whether I absolutely hated it or would give it another chance. Keep reading to see where I landed.

Originally, I was planning on making my 6th stop to Coachella in April. The lineup came out and it was mediocre and underwhelming. Then, Rolling Loud released the Miami lineup. Within 48 hours, my group sold our tickets and made plans to hit that fest for the first time. The lineup was incredible and despite it being a relatively new festival (celebrating their 5th year) we were all in.

I went with a group of 7 and found us an incredible house in the Fort Lauderdale area. We’ve done a variety of fests together . The festival takes place over 3 days in Miami Gardens. Miami Gardens is directly in between FLL and Miami. So if you’re planning to go in 2020, either city works for accommodations. As a more seasoned group, FLL proved to be the best choice. House was dope, but the area was peaceful and safe. We would layer find out Miami that weekend was overcrowded and riddled with fights and gunshots. Not the ideal beach vacation.

I booked the house through Airbnb. We stayed at the Blue Pearl which was an amazing group oasis and very affordable. We went to the beach briefly before checking in Thursday and then went to the store to stock up the house for the weekend. Best house I’ve stayed in within US borders.

Friday afternoon, we headed in for Day 1. Music is always most important at a fest, but I also look for experiences around the grounds. Rolling Loud did not offer good food options, things to do in between sets or an other perks and surprises. That was highly disappointing. Once again, we came for the music. Young M.A. and City Girls were my fave sets. The guys def did not do their cardio and a lot had backing tracks. It was all about the ladies and we were excited to Cardi B go on at 10PM before Migos…that never happened.

Being seasoned festival goers, we were in the back. I saw Cardi in 2018 at Coachella and it was amazing. She only had 3 new songs so I didn’t feel I needed to be in the mix. As we were waiting, we heard an eruption and then saw a stampede of people coming towards us. Of course, to not get trampled (as we later heard many people did) we ran too. In the chaos, people were yelling it was an active shooter.

We found a food truck and took cover behind it. We didn’t hear anything but screaming and cries. We waited and it began to die down so we got up. Then another stampede happened. After this, I was tired and just wanted to go back to the house. I got a cab and left. The show did go on after police and troopers secured the area and have the all clear. Later, it was said someone was just fighting. I don’t know how that could cause thousands of people to run and panic though.

Here’s my problem with Rolling Loud. They didn’t check wristbands or bags on Friday when we came in. I had an extra that was deactivated and I joked I could have just worn that or sold it to someone for cheap. Because they didn’t check bags, it was highly likely someone brought in a weapon. For me personally, I don’t play about shootings at festivals after Vegas.

I was at Life is Beautiful Music Festival in Las Vegas a few days the tragic mass shorting that took place. The shooter had scoped out that festival, but ultimately decided on the on by MGM. So for me they’re not a joke and not funny. Rolling Loud however made a joke of the scare via Twitter. They deleted it, but we know nothing is ever deleted from the internet. I was livid. Safety at festival should always be the #1 priority for festival promoters and it was not for Rolling Loud. Festivals are a place to be carefree and enjoy yourself. You should be able to do that and not worry.

Despite all of that, we went back Saturday. I won’t get into the details, but can you believe it happened again? I once again left and we just drank and ate by the pool. Rolling Loyd’s 5th anniversary was certainly cursed and disorganized. Sunday it stormed and rained causing all of the sets to be pushed back. However, once they began, Sunday ended up being the best day.

Tyga, DMX, Megan thee Stallion and Lil Nas w/ Billy Ray Cyrus made the day. It was a nice redemption for the festival. But almost like too little too late. Also, Lil Wayne never performed because he didn’t want to get searched and Kodak Black was arrested onsite and never performed. Once again, cursed!

I’ve been to the biggest festivals in America, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and lots of midsize ones. Never at any of those festivals did I fear for my life, feel unsafe, feel like the promoters didn’t care or that it was poorly planned. I hope Rolling Loud gets some new, older team members. It seemed like young adults and kids planned it. I hope they take safety seriously and create more experiences. With those changes, I would go back. Why? The music lineup is like none other. But without those changes, I would gladly sit out and watch on YouTube. There are too many options that have everything together.

Did you go to Rolling Loud 2019? Are you planning on going next year or in Cali? Tell me in the comments below. Scroll down for more pics.

love,

Leigh