Live Nation Urban acquires Broccoli City festival

Live Nation Urban has taken a “significant equity stake” in Broccoli City, a Washington DC-based festival touted as “the largest event in the US for Black people under 30-years-old”.

The festival’s co-founders Marcus Allen and Brandon McEachern will now take on executive roles at Live Nation Urban, where they will work with president Shawn Gee to “scale the Broccoli City brand and catalyse the creation of new content and culture-centric live experiences and festivals”.

Launched in 2010, Broccoli City describes itself as a “Black-owned social enterprise” and has featured artists such as Lil Wayne, Cardi B, Childish Gambino, and the late Nipsey Hussle, as well as rising superstars Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Summer Walker, Wizkid, and City Girls.

The festival supports environmental consciousness in the African-American community and promotes creativity through innovative initiatives in the areas of technology, music, art, and social impact.

“For us as a company, this investment was an important one,” says Gee. “When we formed in 2018, one of the first deals we did was the original co-promotion deal with the Broccoli City team. I promised the guys that the success of our partnership would lead to greater things, and it was important to me to keep my word.

“For us as a company, this investment was an important one”

“We are not simply investing in a festival; we are investing in these amazing founders. We believe this will be the first of many brands that we will build together with Marcus and Brandon as they have an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit. One of the core tenants of Live Nation Urban is identifying young black entrepreneurs in the live space and investing in their vision. I’m looking forward to continuing to build with Brandon and Marcus.”

McEachern adds: “We are super excited about this partnership with LNU/LN, and working closer with Shawn Gee. I really appreciate him encouraging us to be big thinking entrepreneurs and brand builders… not limiting us to event producers.”

Allen comments: “We are going to focus on curating untapped niche markets, bigger partnerships, and international expansion. Reimage the future of live cultural experiences. Our big picture goal is to create a 100-million-dollar community at the apex of live entertainment, social impact, and digital media.”

Broccoli City returned this May after a two-year pandemic-induced break, with a lineup topped by 21 Savage, Ari Lennox, Summer Walker and Wizkid.

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