On August 8th, Made In America shared a post to their Instagram account informing the public that the Made In America music festival for 2023 was canceled due to “severe circumstances outside of production control.” Fans were left hurt and let down. One comment pleaded, “Made In America please it’s my senior year. I just want to be with my friends one more time.
The Made In America official Instagram account has not posted since the announcement, not providing a further, more specific explanation for the festival being called off, leaving loyal fans confused as to why it was canceled in the first place.
Teenager Apsara Reese, A new concert goer who’s never been to the festival, did not take the news well. “I was really upset… I called my mom to talk to her about it because it was the first time she was actually letting me go to a concert… there was a lot of people that were going that I wanted to see.”
The concert lineup included Sza and Lizzo as headliners, Miguel, Metro Boomin, Ice Spice, Lil Yachty and more. Some suspect the festival’s cancellation had something to do with the new lawsuits against Lizzo made by her backup dancers alleging she created an unsafe work environment.
However some find that theory to be ridiculous. One mom stated, “I actually don’t think that [the allegations] have anything to do with it to be honest… because they would’ve just replaced her with someone else.” She also added that from a mother’s perspective, she was relieved the festival was canceled, claiming it was too dangerous anyway. “I think people really enjoy it and It’s a great time but we have so much violence in our city, I had some concerns about safety so I think it’s okay that it was canceled.
She isn’t far off. Philadelphia’s homicide rate has increased by 19% only since last year. It’s unsurprising that some parents may be fearful of public events such as music festivals. It could possibly have factored into the halt of the festival.
Although it’s upsetting for many that the festival was canceled, Made In America did announce in the same Instagram post “We look forward to returning to Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the great city of Philadelphia in 2024.”
Until then fans can look forward to next year’s lineup and potentially seeing their favorite artist perform live.
