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Rolling Loud, the world’s biggest hip-hop festival franchise, has announced details for the return of its West Coast edition.
The California event is set for 3–5 March 2023 and will be the first-ever music festival to take place at the revamped 300-acre Hollywood Park, on the ground adjacent to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Rolling Loud – which first began as a one-day event in Miami in 2015 and has since expanded globally – established its California presence in 2017 with Rolling Loud Bay Area and Rolling Loud Southern California, which was held in San Bernardino.
The SoCal instalment then moved to Los Angeles in 2018 and 2019 before returning to San Bernardino in 2021 but organisers said the location was “too far and didn’t work for us”.
“Rolling Loud is deeply honoured to be the first-ever music festival to take place at the incredible Hollywood Park,” Rolling Loud co-founders and co-CEOs Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif said in a statement.
“We’re pumped to return to LA and make our debut in Inglewood, such an important neighbourhood in rap history. Rolling Loud California 2023 will be an event worthy of its historic location, celebrating the undeniable influence of the West Coast on hip-hop and featuring some of the hottest rappers in the game. Stay tuned for our biggest and best California festival yet!”
“We’re pumped to return to LA and make our debut in Inglewood, such an important neighbourhood in rap history”
Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, adds: “As the world’s largest hip-hop festival, Rolling Loud will bring fans from around the globe to our Inglewood community. Hollywood Park’s 300-acres lends itself to hosting a variety of large-scale events. With Rolling Loud as our first music festival, we will further showcase Hollywood Park as a global stage and multifaceted entertainment destination.”
Since launching in 2015, Rolling Loud has expanded from its flagship Miami festival to launch in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Sydney.
Earlier this summer, Rolling Loud made its European debut in Portugal. Headlined by J Cole, A$AP Rocky and Future, the Live Nation-backed event was held on Praia Da Rocha Beach, Portimão, in the Algarve. The Portuguese spin-off was originally set for the summer of 2020 before being called off due to the pandemic.
In addition, Rolling Loud is expanding to Canada for the first time with headliners Dave, Future and Wizkid at Ontario Place, Toronto from 9-11 September. Its New York edition, meanwhile, is lined up for Queens Citi Field from 23–25 September, headed by Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky and Future.
Alongside its sister events, the brand also joined forces with the Netherlands’ Woo Hah! hip-hop festival to launch Woo Hah! x Rolling Loud at Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek. Held from 1–3 July, acts included J Cole, Future, Dave and Roddy Ricch.
Most recently, the franchise announced that it would plant its flag in Thailand next year, though no further details have been announced.
The flagship event in Miami took place in July with acts including Kendrick Lamar, Future and Playboy Carti.
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YouTube Theatre, the new 6,000-seat live music and entertainment venue located at Hollywood Park in California, is now open.
The venue’s initial slate of events spans September, October and November and will culminate in a grand opening this winter when YouTube Theatre and Live Nation, the venue’s exclusive booking promoter, will announce the first artist residency.
Throughout autumn, the YouTube Theatre will host concerts with the likes of Pitbull, Iggy Azalea, TLC, Evanescence, Halestorm, Marina (and the Diamonds) and Louis Tomlinson, as well as awards shows, esports competitions, community gatherings and conferences.
The state-of-the-art indoor venue has a focus on digital technology, with capabilities to “seamlessly” stream live events to YouTube’s two billion global monthly users.
The three-story, 227,000-square-foot venue is part of Hollywood Park, a privately funded 300-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Kroenke.
“YouTube Theatre will share the event experience with our two billion global monthly users through live streams and VOD”
The YouTube Theatre is housed under the same roof canopy as the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium (home to American football teams, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers) and the American Airlines Plaza.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be the exclusive promoters of this incredibly dynamic venue coming alive in Los Angeles,” says Rich Best, Live Nation’s regional head of talent for California. “Alongside Hollywood Park, we plan to make this a must-visit live entertainment venue and we can’t wait to unveil what is in store for this unique space.”
Angela Courtin, VP of brand marketing, YouTube, added: “YouTube Theatre will drive the uniqueness of YouTube by combining physical, ‘in real life’ events that bring creators and fans together, while simultaneously sharing that same event experience with our two billion global monthly users through live streams and VOD content.”
Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, says: “When he set out to build YouTube Theatre, Stan Kroenke envisioned an intimate, world-class venue that exemplified three core aspects: technology, creativity, and entertainment. We cannot imagine a better partner to help us bring this vision to life than YouTube.”
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LA Stadium & Entertainment District at Hollywood Park (LASED), a new venue and entertainment complex in Los Angeles, has made four new high-profile hires as it gears up for opening in 2020.
The 298-acre Hollywood Park will comprise a 70,240-seat stadium and 6,000-seat performance venue, along with 1.5m square feet of office and retail space, a hotel and more than 20 acres of parkland.
It is currently being built in Inglewood, California – also home to Madison Square Garden Company’s the Forum, as well as an in-the-works new basketball arena – by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) owner Stan Kroenke.
New to LASED are Christy Castillo Butcher, Kameron Durham, Skarpi Hedinsson and Joe Sesin, who join as senior vice-president of programming, VP of guest experience, CTO and VP of finance and accounting, respectively.
Castillo Butcher most recently served as senior VP of booking and events for AEG’s Staples Center (21,000-cap.) and Microsoft Theatre in central LA. She spent 19 years at Staples Center and played a key role in booking some of the venue’s most successful events, including the 2000 Democratic National Convention, multiple Grammy Awards ceremonies and X Games competitions, and more than 250 sold-out concerts.
“We are assembling a dedicated organisation of talented individuals”
All four will report to LASED managing director Jason Gannon.
“As part of Mr Kroenke’s vision for this global sports and entertainment destination, we are assembling a dedicated organisation of talented individuals,” says Gannon. “To that end, we are thrilled to welcome Christy, Kameron, Skarpi and Joe to our team.
“Each brings a unique expertise that will help us deliver an unparallelled experience for all who visit Hollywood Park.”
Hollywood Park is projected to open in 2020, with American football clubs Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers expected to move in around August. When the two teams move to LA Stadium, where they will play their home games, it will mark the return of major professional sports to Inglewood for the first time since the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings (a basketball and ice-hockey team, respectively) left The Forum for Staples Center in 1999.
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