Following tradition, the long-awaited return of Broccoli City was met rain and cloudy skies. Days before the festival, forecasts showed early signs of a tough weekend ahead for festival goers. But as festival organizers said, “Broccoli City is rain or shine”. For attendees, the grueling, soggy weather was merely a minor setback as they showed up in numbers to pack the crowds. The turnout speaks to not only the anticipation but the resilency of the festival and community as well. As Broccoli City celebrates its ten year anniversary, they made their return following a two year hiatus due to the coronavirus. In just a decade, the black-owned festival has built brick-by-brick to become of the area’s biggest annual events. Not just for music lovers, but local business owners and entrepreneurs alike.
To commemorate the success, this festival extended to two days for the first time ever and the acts didn’t disappoint. The first day did not fail to electrify the crowd as it came full of memorable moments. Things began with rising LA singer Joyce Wrice being the opening act, performing at BC for the first time.
While acts like Lil Durk and Larry June delivered standout performances, a lot of Saturday’s highlights came from DMV’s own buzzing music scene. Even in scattered showers, Rico Nasty commanded mosh pits as she ran through hits like “Tia Tamera” and “Smack a B***h”. Wale came out later for his set and brought what felt like half the DMV on stage with him. His set was an array of hits from his deep catalogue mixed in with classic go-go jams. In between sets featured surprise appearances from hometown heroes like Big Flock, No Savage, and MoneyMarr. Even the headliner for the day was none other than DC’s very own soulful songstress Ari Lennox. Despite the weather, Day 1 stands as a W and a spectacle for the area’s emerging sound.
Day 2 was a perfect way to end the festival as skies cleared and the sun peeked out. The weather left fans estatic and it reflected as the crowds near the stage filled up early on. Newcomers Alex Vaughn and Babyface Ray graced fans with early performances, and the crowd already became alive by the time Masego came to perform. Nigerian star Tems left her mark with a beautiful performance, also one of her only US performances this year. Arguably, the best performance is when she came out during Wizkid’s performance to sing their smash hit “Essence”.
Don Toliver and Gunna performing back to back was a highlight as well, as both artists delivered high-octane energy that moved the crowd enough to erupt. The headliner for the evening followed the previous day’s R&B tone, as Summer Walker closed the night out. Not only did she give a strong performance, but her stage design was easily the most elaborate and aestethically pleasing.
Even in the rain and wind, Broccoli City gave the DMV another memorable festival. Their first two-day festival proved to be not only a success, but the reclamation of their momentum that they needed. For the first time since 2019, Broccoli City Fest is looking like it is here to stay.
