The 2023 Lovers and Friends Festival was a failed attempt at reliving a prime era of hip-hop and R&B.
The 2023 Lovers and Friends Festival was everything previous festivals like Dreamville and Something In The Water weren’t — and I mean that in the worst way possible.
Kicking off their second year in Las Vegas this past Saturday (May 6), the 2023 Lovers and Friends Festival brought A-list musical icons like Mariah Carey, Summer Walker, Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, and Missy Elliott together. Essentially, it was a clusterfuck of hip-hop and R&B artists from the ‘90s and ‘00s, the festival pushing a synchronized theme of nostalgia that fans also participated in. Walking through the festival grounds, you could see young ladies wearing pink Juicy Couture sets with Air Force 1s or Aaliyah and Tommy Hilfiger recreations, and men dressed as Nelly or Dem Franchize Boyz with oversized white t-shirts and baggy jeans. But it was clear that there was a disconnect between what the festival aimed to deliver and the final product, resulting in an underwhelming event meant to celebrate a prime era of hip-hop and R&B.
The first problem was the chaotic lineup. Cramming all of its performers into one day across four stages was…
