Summer Jam is one of the biggest musical festivals to annually capture the ears of New Yorkers. Hosted by hip-hop radio station Hot 97, the festival brings the hottest acts in hip-hop to the Tri-State Area. Fans who gather every year for the event may find themselves disappointed with the lineup this summer, though. The festival stage for Summer Jam will feature plenty of up-and-coming acts, but none that will capture the cultural zeitgeist of the moment.
Festival stage lineup
On Monday morning, the Summer Jam festival stage lineup was released. The list includes Young M.A, A Boogie & Don Q, Dave East, Lil Yachty, D.R.A.M., PnB Rock, Casanova, and Phresher.
The festival will take place on Sunday, June 11 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Tickets officially go on sale on Friday, April 28 on Ticketmaster.
The lineup does give some opportunity for collaboration on the stage. For instance, the song "Broccoli" will allow D.R.A.M. and Lil Yachty to take the stage together. Most of these up-and-coming acts don't have big names, though. Perhaps it will mean that the main performers will be of an even higher caliber to compensate for the festival performers. Those Summer Jam performers will be announced on Hot 97 on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM ET.
History of the festival stage
The Summer Jam festival stage began to take shape in 2009, featuring Asher Roth as one of the primary performers.
In 2013, it became more of an official part of the festival. Action Bronson, Kid Ink, and Troy Ave are among the big names who hit the festival stage that year. 2014 brought an even stronger lineup to the build-up portion of the event. Childish Gambino, Iggy Azalea, Jhene Aiko, and August Alsina all performed on the festival stage.
In 2015, the idea of having established stars came to be. Travis Scott and Fetty Wap were both emerging names, but Joey Badass and B.o.B were well established by this point in their careers. Last year, however, Summer Jam appeared to revert to form, bringing in up-and-comers like Chance the Rapper, Tory Lanez, and Desiigner.
Additionally, Dave East performed, meaning 2017 will be the second straight year he takes the festival stage. Fans will wait in excitement until Tuesday to find out who the mainstage performers will be, harboring hopes that maybe Future, Drake, or Kendrick Lamar will be part of the festival. The Summer Jam village stage needs a different identity, though.
