The Weeknd, Metric, Mick Jenkins and more bring the heat to Made In America Day Two

The Weeknd| Photo by John Vettese

Day two of this year’s Made in America festival was decidedly more about the music than being seen in the same vicinity as Queen Bey. I was greeted by two very cheery security guards who, after searching my bags and person, handed me a bottle of water about three times bigger than the one I brought with me and told me to have a great time. That definitely set the tone for the day.

The number of people having, let’s say, too good of time were not as numerous as Saturday. That day saw passed out bodies strewn throughout the Parkway by dinner time, not to mention people pushing rudely through crowds looking for their friends and having loud conversations throughout nearly every set. Sunday, by comparison, saw the party people outnumbered by those who were foused on the performances.

First up at the Skate Stage was Remy Banks, a charismatic Queens rapper who brought members of the World’s Fair collective out on stage to play songs such as “B.O.T.P,” and “Let em Know.” I knew nothing about these guys going in but they won me over and had the crowd singing along in no time. Next was Mick Jenkins who had a more serious message but was equally engaging playing songs from his mixtape The Water[s]. He spoke about “the waters” being the truth and how the media doesn’t like to give us the truth. Hailing from Chicago, a city that has issues with being completely honest about its problems, Jenkins knows of what he speaks and had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

I then focused on the pop end of things: Marian Hill drew a large crowd with their synthy Portishead-meets-AlunaGeorge style. “One Time” had everyone bouncing and the group was energized and psyched to be there playing for their hometown.

Next I moved to the Liberty Stage to watch Santigold. Her set was fun with costume changes, awesome choreography (her dancers, in yellow jumpsuits, paraded around the stage with selfie sticks), and crowd participation. She played her hit “Creator,” with members of the audience on stage dancing and singing along. At the end, she brought out Atlanta rapper ILoveMakkonen for a song (they also shot a video on the grounds).

I strolled over to see Metric who played many of the hits and had a nice mix of indie rock and breezy pop that hit the spot. It was then time for Future – which, either you get him or you don’t. Those who got him were loving every minute, rapping along and dancing. One guy in front of me broke out into jumping jacks during “F*ck Up Some Commas,” which did seem appropo for the energy level of the MC’s set.

J Cole graduated from playing the Liberty Stage last year to the much larger Rocky Stage last night, and he and his adoring fans jumped around and rapped joyously throughout his set. I think it must be hard for one MC to maintain a lot of energy in such a big space and I think Cole suffered from that; the setting was too expansive and my mind was wandering by the end of his performance, though it seemed many around me would disagree.

I took my first gander at the EDM stage for Axwell & Ingrosso who had pyrotechnics and dropped Beiber,Tove Lo and “Enter Sandman” between house beats.

Finally, The Weeknd was last and showed us why he was the headliner. His band was amazing, the set was intense and I could have listened to his vocals all night. Abel Tesfaye mostly visited his new album Beauty Behind the Madness and surprisingly House of Balloons. He also tossed in songs he’s featured on such as Drake’s “Crew Love,” and Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder,” and did a smoking cover of Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love.” When his set ended, I couldn’t believe over an hour had gone by already. Even though I was exhausted from the weekend, I wanted more Weeknd!

Below, check out photos from Made In America day two – where we also caught Banks, Bully, Action Bronson and more – and take a look at our day one coverage here.