Yesterday marked the last day of Chicago’s Freaky Deaky 2016. With everyone in their best Halloween costumes, fans were prepared for to close out the Halloween festival on a high mark. Now in its second year at its new location at Toyota Park, fall’s elite Chicago music festival delivered again this year! Freaky Deaky fans last night saw sets from Desiigner, Tiesto, Schoolboy Q, D.R.A.M. and many more, and we were there to capture the best moments.
Check out the photos of what the final day of Freaky Deaky had to offer in 2016, from our contributing photographer Jesus Montero.
Yesterday marked the second day of Chicago’s Freaky Deaky 2016. With everyone in their best Halloween costumes, fans were prepared to keep the momentum going from the memorable opening night on Friday. Now in its second year at its new location at Toyota Park, fall’s elite Chicago music festival delivered again this year! Freaky Deaky fans last night saw sets from DJ Khaled, A$AP Ferg, iLoveMakonnen, Metro Boomin and many more, and we were there to capture the best moments.
Check out the photos of what the second day of Freaky Deaky had to offer, courtesy of our contributing photographer Jesus Montero.
Yesterday marked the opening day of Chicago’s Freaky Deaky 2016. With everyone ready to rage in their best Halloween costumes, fans were prepared for an amazing weekend of music. Now in its second year at its new location at Toyota Park, fall’s elite Chicago music festival delivered again this year! Freaky Deaky fans last night saw sets from Travis Scott, Disclosure, Lil Dicky, Flatbush Zombies and many more, and we were there to capture the best moments.
Check out our photos below, of what Day 1 of Freaky Deaky had to offer in 2016, and make sure not to miss today’s artists!
Milwaukee’s historic venue, The Rave, experienced another packed and memorable performance from Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller tonight, as he brought The Divine Feminine Tour to the familiar venue. With opening sets from ClockworldDJ and Soulection, Miller always brings great company when he comes to Wisconsin. His past opening artists have included Chance The Rapper, Earl Sweatshirt and Vince Staples (just to name a few), so don’t be surprised if one of Mac’s openers headlines their own Milwaukee concert in the future.
After the opening performances set the tone for the night, it was time for Mac Miller to greet his Milwaukee fans. Miller started off his set with his Ty Dolla $ign collaboration ‘Cinderella’, off Miller’s fourth studio album, The Divine Feminine, which released just last month. One of the more mellow tracks from his performance tonight, Miller performed a variety of records throughout the show, mellow and hype, new and old; including a number of songs from his new LP, as well as records from his entire discography of albums and mixtapes.
Highlights of the night were anything but few and far between, as the Wisconsin crowd matched Miller’s energy until he stepped off stage after his encore performances. However Miller’s energetic performance of ‘Loud’, a track which Miller used to open his last headlining tour, was a personal favorite. If Mac Miller ever slows down, which is unlikely given that he continues to hold onto his core fan base while gradually picking up new audiences every year, he will always have a second home in Milwaukee, as they will always show up for a great Mac Miller show.
Check out our photos below and make sure you get your tickets for The Divine Feminine Tour before they are all sold out!
Last night Post Malone brought The Hollywood Dreams and Monster Energy Outbreak Tour to Chicago’s Concord Music Hall. Traveling with rappers Jazz Cartier and Larry June, the huge tour comes with some of the best emerging names in rap today.
Up first for the night was Bay Area rapper, Larry June. Performing a number of records from his new Cookin Soul collaborative mixtape, Orange Season, June is still introducing himself to many, but he certainly set the mood for the night and picked up some new fans in Chicago with his opening set. Next up was Toronto native, and one of the best emerging rappers today, Jazz Cartier. With one of the more slept on mixtapes of the past year, with Hotel Paranoia, Cartier is not one to ignore. Last night’s performance included cuts from the new tape, his 2015 project Marauding in Paradise, and more, Cartier had an energy filled set that fans won’t soon forget. If you want to read more on Cartier, check out our 2015 interview with Cartier here.
Moments later, it was time for Post Malone to greet the Chicago crowd for his headlining performance. Opening his set with his track ‘White Iverson’, a record which quickly made Post a household name in rap music, the crowd instantly went wild, singing every word to the addictive track. Malone then followed with his fan favorite song, ‘Too Young’, a track dedicated to rappers and artists everywhere who leave the world far too soon. And while fans are still awaiting Post Malone’s forthcoming debut album, Stoney, Post Malone’s set included performances from his 2016 mixtape, August 26th, his new single and Justin Bieber collaboration, ‘Deja Vu’, and more.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Stoney is expected to release sometime this year, and of the most exciting tracks on the LP will be Post’s collab with Pharrell, which we witnessed the birth of months ago at Bonnaroo. While we were awaiting Post’s Tennessee performance this past summer, fans in attendance included Odd Future’s The Internet, Miguel and none other than Skateboard P himself. Pharrell and Post instantly linked up on-site, which then led to a collaboration, which fans will hear soon.
Post Malone’s breakout record ‘White Iverson’ released only a year ago, and since its release we have seen Post perform four times, and each time he improves on his stage presence. Post has had a swagger and confidence from the beginning, but with more experience and more songs under his belt, his live shows benefit as a result. If you get the opportunity, definitely do yourself a favor and catch a Post Malone performance.
Check out our photos from yesterday’s show below and make sure get your tickets to a tour stop near you at PostMalone.com.
Tickets for iHeartRadio and 102.7 KIIS FM‘s Jingle Ball sold out in a matter of minutes, and if you take a look at the lineup it’s no mystery why. With an amazing cast of performers, from headliners like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Bruno Mars, to the best emerging artists in music like Daya and Alessia Cara, fans in attendance at the Staples Center are bound to have an amazing night on Friday, December 2nd.
And with such a great list of artists, it’s only natural that we already have a list in mind, of songs that we absolutely need to hear at this year’s LA Jingle Ball. From Meghan Trainor’s infectious single ‘NO’ to Lukas Graham’s ‘7 Years’, there are a number of songs that we can’t wait to hear in December.
Hit the jump and check out our list of the 10 songs that we need to hear at this year’s 102.7 KIIS FM Jingle Ball, and although Los Angeles’ Jingle Ball is all sold out, be sure to check out the other dates for iHeartRadio’s Jingle Balls here!
Tickets for iHeartRadio and 103.5 Kiss FM‘s Jingle Ball went on sale only hours ago and it won’t be long until Chicago’s Jingle Ball becomes sold out like New York and Los Angeles. And with amazing Jingle Ball artists like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, the Backstreet Boys, Ellie Goulding and more, it is no surprise why tickets are moving fast.
So whether you got your tickets the minute they went on sale, or if you’re one of the lucky ones who grabs some before they sell out, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite songs that we need to hear at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on December 14th. From Ellie Goulding’s ‘On My Mind’ to the classic Backstreet Boy record ‘I Want It That Way’, there are a bunch of must hear songs at the Jingle Ball this year.
Hit the jump and check out our list of the 10 songs that we need to hear at this year’s 103.5 Kiss FM Jingle Ball, and if you haven’t yet, get your tickets now while you still can, and check out the other dates for iHeartRadio’s Jingle Balls here!
On a drizzly Fall evening, on a stage in the heart of Chicago’s West loop, a fire raged, scorching the edges of each beat, burning through the lyrics of Capitol Music Group recording artist, NF.
For those who might imagine a hip-hop Christian artist to be dull, dry or lame, think again. For it is precisely the current of his melody, the spiritual context of his lyrical content if you will, that delivers an ailing heart so strong as to saturate and soothe simultaneously.
Nathan Feuerstein, known to the sold-out crowd as NF, delivered a powerful combination of grit, guts and in-your-face raw emotion Wednesday night at The Bottom Lounge. His incredibly satiating elixir of lyrics, which spring from his reservoir of pain he says, catapulted the hip-hop artist to the Top 10 Billboard Albums position in April 2016 with Therapy Session in the royal company of the likes of Beyonce and Prince.
The ballad-style rhythmic flow of Fleurie opened the show, and the two performed their hit ‘Mansion,’ in a smooth duet that moved the crowd:
Fleurie: “What’s reality with all these questions, feels like I missed my alarm and slept in…broken legs but I chase perfection. These walls are my blank expression, my mind is a home I’m trapped in and it’s lonely inside this mansion.”
NF: “Yo, my mind is a house with walls, covered in lyrics, they’re all over the place…that’s where I write when I’m in a bad place and I need to release and let out the version of NF you don’t wanna see. I put holes in the walls with both of my fists til they bleed, you might get a glimpse of how I cope with all this anger in me. I’m a keep the door shut, and keep the lyrics inside.”
Fueled by the anger and anguish of his mother’s fatal drug overdose in 2009, the Michigan born rapper strikes a universal chord with fans dealing with their own demons: depression, rejection, loss, pain and the residuals of existing in an imperfect world.
“He speaks from his pain, but his message is hope,” says Barbara Marrero who brought her 23-year-old niece, Marisa, to the show. “We need more of that.”
In ‘How Could You Leave Us,’ NF channels his pain into a hardcore anthem, laced in soulful melodies that tell the story of the grief over the loss of his mother:
“Yo, I don’t know what it’s like to be addicted to pills, but I do know what it’s like to be a witness, it kills…..they say pain is a prison, let me outta my cell….how could you leave us, why would you leave us…music is the only place where I can go and speak to you….I know you gone but I can still feel you.”
“He’s amazing, just expressing his feelings the way he does,” says Marisa Marrero. “I can just relate. He’s so inspiring.”
Indeed, if the standing room only crowd is any indication, the message and music is resonating. And not just teens and young adults but elementary-aged kids who are hoisted on their father’s shoulders near the back of the venue to get a better glimpse of the hip-hop phenomenon.
In “Grinding ft Marty”, NF gets the crowd amped with his dedication to the game, his relentless hustle to the top, not giving into distraction, doubt or competition:
NF: “Anybody sleep on me, better do something with your eyelids….I hear a lot of whining, I don’t hear a lot of rhyming…this industry ain’t nothing but a box, but I ain’t gone climb in it…you put me in a room full of rappers, come back in 5 minutes, I’m a be the only one still alive, with a note on my chest saying, ‘I did it’….I run with the Son of God…what is you running for?”
NF: “I’m out here grinding”
Crowd: “Okay, Okay, Okay”
“I listen to his music too,” says Angel Vega, a former Christian DJ who brought his 18-year- old son, Jordan, to the show. “It’s a positive message. It’s Christian. They’re the sort of lyrics that are needed instead of the garbage we listen to about sex, drugs and degrading women.”
Vega is a part of the wall-to- wall crowd, a wide swath of varied colors and ages.They are draped in NF t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, yelling in unison to NF’s ‘Therapy Session,’ which tackles domestic abuse, hate, suicide and family dysfunction:
“This girl at a show, looked me in the face and told me her life’s full of drama, said her Daddy’s abusive, apparently he likes to beat on her mama. I got so angry inside, I wanted to tell her to give me his number, but what you gone do with it, right? You gone hit ‘em up and he’ll start hitting her harder? That’s real. These kids, they come to my shows with tears in they eyes. Imagine someone looking at you and saying your music’s the reason that they are alive?”
In as much as the 25-year- old’s music is creating a lyrical therapy session, the process is also helping him, he says at the end of ‘Therapy Session.’
“I write about the things I’m actually dealing with..this is real for me…I’m not confused about who gave me the gift. God gave the gift and he gave me the ability to do this and he also gave me this as an outlet and that’s what music is for me. When I feel something, whether it’s anger, a passion about something, a frustration. This is where I go. This is real for me. I need this. This is a therapy for me.”
With a huge lineup of the biggest artists in music, from pop superstars like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, the most exciting emerging artists like Alessia Cara and Daya, ’90s pop legends with Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, rappers like G-Eazy and Pitbull and some of the biggest names in EDM with The Chainsmokers and Martin Garrix, the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball is the best it’s ever been in 2016.
Kicking off November 29th in Dallas, TX, and making stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and more, until the tour concludes December 18th in Miami, the Jingle Ball is the can’t miss event of the year, so stay tuned at iHeartRadio’s official website for information on how you can get your tickets before they are all gone.
And to get you excited for the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Presents by Capitol One, we have compiled our list of our 20 most anticipated artists for the big show, in no particular order.
Last night, Kanye West put on a memorable show for his hometown as the Saint Pablo Tour traveled to Chicago’s Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL. As with the previous dates on the tour, Kanye brought his one-of-a-kind floating stage, which creates for a huge party on the floor.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and check out the tour’s remaining dates here.
The Early Registration 