Meadows Music & Arts Festival has is now officially in the books. The inaugural edition of Founders Entertainment's second festival had its up and downs. The Weeknd canceling and the nightmare communicating that to the fans and Kanye West cutting his set short due to a family emergency are two of the unfortunate low points, but otherwise the festival was a success. Day 2 was heavy on big name hip-hop acts like Pusha T, Bryson Tiller, Chance The Rapper and Kanye West. We were there to document what down.
1:00 - The main stage is a little large for Zella Day, but she is showing her talent there.
1:45 - Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires are bringing a change of pace to the proceedings with some funk, R&B and soul.
2:30 - In a day dominated by hip-hop, The Temper Trap's festival-ready indie rock was a welcome addition to the main stage. They keep the songs moving, going from one to the next without any sort of talking interlude. The finale of "Sweet Disposition" brings out phones from nearly everyone in the crowd. Bassist Jonathan Aherne balances his kid on his shoulders while playing the song.
3:00 - The crowd at this point already seems bigger than it was all day Saturday.
3:15 - King Push has ascended to his throne on the Shea Stage. He mixes in some tracks from Darkest Before Dawn like "M.F.T.R.," "Untouchable" and "Crutches Crosses, Caskets." He also takes it back for "Grindin" and a few features on other tunes. His potent rhymes translate very well to the live arena.
3:35 - There is a reason why Jack Garratt has been so loved by critics. His live show is second to none as he handles, drums, guitar, programming and singing all on his own. It is really a marvel to watch him do all of this.
4:00 - Why is Metric so loud? Their crowd is pretty small, but super passionate, so there is no need to pump out decibels aimed at Connecticut.
4:30 - Bryson Tiller tells the story of how he was at rock bottom just two years ago with little more than $20 to his name. He recalls a conversation with a friend who implored him to get into music because one song can change your life. This is where "Don't" comes in.
5:00 - There are several dozen seagulls flying scarily close to the Queens and Linden stages. They are circling something, but I am unsure what.
5:15 - Borns starts out energetic and then settles into some slower jams. The crowd isn't all that big over here, but he could let them sing most of his songs if he wanted to.
5:25 - Chris Rock walks through the media / backstage area looking very confused. I hope you found what you were looking for Chris.
5:30 - Line for Kanye merch is only about 200 people deep. This is better than yesterday.
6:00 - Chance The Rapper starts out his spell-bring set with tunes like "Angelz" and other from Acid Rap. Carlos the lion comes out and the performance aspect of the show gets taken to another level.
6:30 - he goes back and forth with Carlos about keeping on message, which allows Chance the go back to some older tunes and tell a story with his tracks. He drops "Ultralight Beam" without Kanye and it is totally fine.
6:55 - Tears have been shed during his set that brought gospel to a large festival main stage. He ends with "Summer Friends."
7:15 - Being up front for The 1975, the band doesn't even need to sing. Everyone up there is belting out all the words to each track. Their own production is among the best at the whole festival.
7:45 - Twin Shadow's cover of Purple Rain is interesting. His cover of the actual song is good, but the rest doesn't always work. His crowd is getting smaller and smaller as more people filter out to the two headliners.
8:00 - The crowd feels younger today and there are a few very young kids.
8:10 - Kygo has a surprisingly large crowd for his set. He is stationed on top a very large LED wall that blends in with the three others already installed. He brings out Parson James to start with "Stole The Show."
8:47 - Kanye finally shows up and he is not joking around. He has the stage. He opens with both "Father Stretch My Hands" to turn things all the way up.
9:05 - He is moving through songs at nearly one per minute at this point. The crowd is clearly all there for him and they are loving it. He runs through "Facts," "Famous" and "Mercy."
9:20 - He goes through his extensive catalog of his with tunes like "All Day," "Jesus Walks," "New Slaves," "Flashing Lights" and "Power." These go off maybe even better than the new stuff. He raps "Highlights" dissing Ray J and repeats the line "only thing" to end the track about his own money.
9:39 - He abruptly cuts off his set in the middle of "Heartless" saying there has been a family emergency. The crowd is understandably very confused and doesn't leave until an announcement that it was indeed over. Reportedly Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room.
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