By Leighton Maynard
Music Midtown excitement (and stress) begins long before you get to Piedmont Park. While I can’t speak for all girls, I can tell you that many of us have to put a lot of thought into what we’re going to wear. Wear a dress but it can’t be too short, wear a top but it can’t be too low, wear shorts but they can’t be too ripped, wear a tube top but it can’t fall down, wear long sleeves but don’t get hot. .
With the contents of your closet dumped out over your floor, you might just be able to find an outfit that is somewhat acceptable.
And it doesn’t stop with the clothes.
“I had to make my friend do my makeup because I knew I would have screwed it up,” sophomore Amelia Friedman said.
It is really important that your makeup stays on through the night or else you will come home looking like a raccoon. “Primer, setting spray, and setting powder was lathered on like there’s no tomorrow,” junior Amelia Minutelli told me.
Still, it’s all pretty fun. “Getting ready with your friends before an event is the best thing ever,” junior Georgia Hayes Kimberly said.
Once the (abundant) prep work is done you are finally ready to enjoy yourself.
The concert started on a Friday so everyone was ready to get their weekend going as soon as they got out of school.
Getting into the concert was super easy. Staying there was a bit trickier, for one main reason. “The only thing that was bad was the mud,” sophomore Sarah Barwis said. Unfortunately, it had downpoured the night before Music Midtown, so all the freshly cut grass had turned to a brown mush. This did not stop anyone…unless your foot got stuck in the mud.
Friday’sartists were played P!nk, Flume, Pitbull, J.I.D, Skiawater, and Leah Kate.
As you can imagine P!NK was a big hit. “When she flew above the crowd it was so cool,” Senior Ana Gore said. “When she played ‘Raise the Glass’ I immediately started screaming.” Her performance was filled with sparkles, jumping, yelling, and yes, pink.
Another favorite artist on Friday night was Pitbull. His performance was described as “heart-racing,” by senior Anna Gor.
All of that heart racing made it so that most people needed a bottle of water. But what did they find out… IT WAS 5 BUCKS. Anna Gor told me “The food was good but not for the amount.” It makes sense why they would overprice everything at Music Midtown but five bucks for water was absurd.
On Saturday the lineup was a little more “stacked” than it was Friday night. With 17 singers somehow they were all able to perform in one day. The biggest hits from Saturday were Billie Eilish, The 1975, Nial Horan, Young Gravy, and Destroy Lonely.
Junior Georgia Hayes loved Billie Eilish’s performance. “Billie was super cool with all the lights and everyone knew her songs,” she said. Billie did not disappoint Amelia Friedman either as she explained at the end she and her best friend “stood together taking in the amazingness of the concert.”
Well, Junior Coi Kilcrease had some different opinions on Billie’s concert. “Different strokes for different folks,” she said.
Though Coi didn’t exactly like Billie Eilish she proclaimed her love for Destroy Lonely. His concert consisted of a little more jumping “In The Air” instead of being “bored” at Billie’s concert.
One unfortunate aspect of this year’s Music Midtown was that some people were losing their phones. Most people thought they were just falling out of pockets but they came to realize they were being stolen. Every person I interviewed knew someone whose phone was stolen.
After Saturday’s craziness, Sunday rolled around. At this point, everyone’s shoes were covered in mud, some were missing phones, and bank accounts were emptier.
But Junior John Hershal Tucker thought “Sunday was the best day.” On Sunday, the biggest artists were Guns and Roses and Lil Baby. “Seeing Guns and Roses might have been the best experience ever,” John Hershal said. He went with a group of people on Sunday and did not regret the decision at all. Having school the next day did not stop him and his friends. “The show must go on,” he said..
It is certainly a come down when the party’s over (another one of Billie’s songs) or when Music Midtown was over. “It had been something I was looking forward to for weeks and now it is done,” said junior Amelia Minutelli.
At least she has the year to get her makeup ready.
